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Jim Valentino began his career in small-press underground comix in the mid-1970s. He soon moved onto work in independent comics with his seminal parody series, normalman, and his eponymous autobiographical series for Aardvark-Vanaheim/Renegade Press.

After a brief stint in animation in the mid-1980s, working on storyboards for The Real Ghostbusters, The Defenders of the Earth, and more, Jim then went onto Marvel Comics as both a writer and an artist. There, he lent his talents to several titles, including Silver Surfer, Avengers Spotlight, and various annuals before his notable stint on What If? and his renowned relaunch of the original Guardians of the Galaxy in their first self-titled series.

In 1992 Jim partnered with friends and peers to co-found Image Comics, launching the hugely successful ShadowHawk and the Eisner-nominated A Touch of Silver, among many others, including Vignettes, Drawing From Life, and The Official Image Timeline. From 1999 to 2004, he served as publisher of Image, introducing such titles as The Walking Dead, Invincible, Powers, Ministry in Space, The Pro, Mage, the oversized Leave It To Chance hardcover edition, and many more. He transitioned the company into maturity, bringing in Alan Moore, Jeff Smith, Kurt Busiek, George Pérez, John Romita, Jr., Kevin Smith, Warren Ellis, Joseph-Michael Linsner, and Ted McKeever, leading Image to become the diverse publisher it remains to this day. As publisher, he also championed then-new talent like Eric Stephenson, Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, Riley Rossmo, Scott Morse, Jim Mahfood, Brian Michael Bendis, and a host of others, both through Image-Central and his own Shadowline partner studio.

Jim served on the steering committee of the first Free Comic Book Day, recommending its inaugural date of May 5 to coincide with the release of the first Spider-Man movie. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors for The Hero Initiative, a charity formed to aid indigent cartoonists.

Jim is currently enjoying retirement in sunny old Portland, Oregon.