As someone that makes a living out of entertaining those who decide to read these articles, it’s easy to side with a guy like Jim Starlin since he too is someone that seeks to entertain others, but stepping away from that it would almost seem that once a person gets that big payday they forget what it was like to have very little and be in it for the love of the art. That might not be entirely accurate since there’s no doubt that Jim still loves the job and what he does, but his recent quibbles with Marvel over the fact that they haven’t been paying him what he thinks is fair seem to undercut the idea that he’s responsible for creating something that millions upon millions of people have found to be thrilling, entertaining, and something that has shaken up an entire fictional universe, and a fan base, unlike anything ever has.
Here are a few things you might not have known about Jim.
10. He was an aviation photographer for the US Navy in Vietnam.
Jim did serve his country and was apparently set on course for what he wanted to do later on in life. One might not think photography can prepare you for being an artist, but the two are linked in ways that are kind of obvious if you really take the time to understand it.
9. Not long after leaving the Navy he sold two comic stories to DC.
He’s worked back and forth for DC and Marvel throughout the years as a lot of people have. It might be seen as selling out to the other side by some people but in this business you tend to go where you’re going to get paid for your work.
8. Jim joined up with Marvel comics in 1972.
At first he didn’t really take on a lot of responsibility and had more menial jobs that allowed him to gradually work his way into the business. Eventually though he started being given more to do and greater responsibilities that eventually led to him taking over certain characters.
7. After drawing an issue of Captain Marvel he was allowed to take over the character of Thanos.
This really seemed to kick start the idea of the Cosmic level that the Marvel universe started to rely on more often since it opened up the world in a way that was a lot more expansive than it had been before, and Thanos was by far one of the toughest characters around.
6. He helped to create the character of Shang-Chi.
There have been a lot of talks about bringing Shang-Chi into the MCU at some point and though nothing has really happened yet it’d be interesting to see what will come of it whenever someone gets up the gumption to put him into the fray.
5. Death and suicide are regular concepts in Starlin’s work.
This makes sense with Thanos since he has a very intimate relationship with Death, or at least tries to. The character in the comics has had an infatuation with Death for so long that it’s become something of an obsession, and it was a big key to the Infinity Gauntlet series that finally inspired Avengers: Infinity War.
4. He co-wrote four novels with his wife.
Jim hasn’t really just stuck to being an artist as he’s sold several stories and written a few along the way as well. This is a guy that’s been a virtual giant in the comics industry but has managed to branch out in other directions too.
3. Jim had a cameo in Endgame.
As Vaneta Rogers of Newsarama shows, Jim got to be part of the support group that was run by Steve Rogers, along with the director who was in there as well. Some might think that this was deserved since without him Thanos probably wouldn’t have come to be the guy he is now. That’s kind of amusing though since the MCU Thanos still isn’t quite the same guy that a lot of comic book lovers remember.
2. Amazingly, he and Marvel don’t have a very good relationship.
Throughout the years he’s been feeling shortchanged by Marvel on more than one occasion and feels as though he’s been undercut more than once. The only problem with stories such as the one told by Jim and repeated by Abraham Reisman of Vulture is that there might be a lot of truth to it, but until Marvel has their say we’re only getting one side.
1. Apparently DC paid him more for his time on Batman vs. Superman than Marvel did for any movie he had something to do with.
Graeme McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter discovered that apparently Jim was paid more by DC for his involvement than he was by Marvel for any movie featuring characters that he’d created or helped to create.
Obviously it’s better when a person gets paid for their work, but throwing shade at a company that helped out when you were still beginning seems kind of spiteful.
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