Chris Claremont

Industry legend Chris Claremont is best known for his epic sixteen-year run on Uncanny X-Men. Claremont’s focus on the themes of prejudice and tolerance struck at the hearts of comics fans, and he built an unparalleled following during the next three decades. Under his pen, the X-Men franchise spawned a vast array of spin-offs, many of them written by Claremont himself. His other credits include Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, Power Man and Spider-Woman. Claremont has returned to the X-Men universe in New Exiles, GeNext, X-Men Forever, Chaos War: X-Men and Nightcrawler.

Ralph Macchio began as an assistant editor on Marvel’s black-and-white magazines. His career grew more colorful with writing stints on Avengers, Thor and others. As editor, he oversaw Master of Kung Fu, Moon Knight, Daredevil and more. After editing multiple Spider-Man titles, he moved to the Ultimate line, which he guided through world-shaking changes.

Roger Stern enjoyed well-regarded runs on Amazing Spider-Man, in which he introduced Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) and the Hobgoblin; Avengers; and Captain America. He launched West Coast Avengers and wrote numerous tie-in miniseries starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. At DC, he relaunched Atom and co-created Starman (Will Payton) before participating in one of comics’ most shocking events: the 1992 “Death of Superman.” He later returned to Marvel to write Amazing Spider-Man and related titles.

Artist Michael Golden’s realistic artwork on The ’Nam chronicled a platoon of Vietnam War soldiers in a series widely acclaimed by both readers and veterans of the military conflict. He contributes cover artwork to a variety of projects, including Batman and Superman.

Multiple Eisner Award-winner Frank Miller broke into the comics business during the late 1970s, landing a choice assignment on the series Daredevil. His work quickly made the title one of Marvel’s best-selling series, as well as establishing Miller as a fan-favorite superstar. During his tenure on Daredevil, he introduced the assassin Elektra, who became a major Marvel character in her own right. After completing his initial run, Miller returned to Daredevil as writer of the acclaimed “Born Again” run with artist David Mazzucchelli; he then collaborated with John Romita Jr. for the Daredevil: Man Without Fear limited series. Miller has also had monumental success with his work on other iconic characters. In 1986, he made a splash at DC with the wildly popular and hugely influential Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which told the tale of an older Batman still fighting crime decades after his prime. The following year, Miller reteamed with David Mazzucchelli for Batman: Year One, putting a modern spin on Batman’s classic origin story. Miller writes All Star Batman & Robin with artist Jim Lee, continuing to put his distinctive mark on the Dark Knight. Miller has parlayed his talents as a comic-book creator to major success in Hollywood. In 2005, Miller collaborated with Robert Rodriquez to co-direct Sin City, a film that was widely praised by both fans and critics. Two years later, Miller’s 300 met with similar success, breaking multiple box-office records. Miller wrote and directed The Spirit, based on Will Eisner’s classic hero.

Mike Mignola started out as an inker on Daredevil and Power Man & Iron Fist, moving into penciling on Alpha Flight and Incredible Hulk. At DC, he illustrated Cosmic Odyssey, based on Jack Kirby’s famed Fourth World creations, and the one-shot Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, whose success initiated DC’s Elseworlds concept. In 1994, he created Hellboy, launching a franchise of titles, both live-action and animated films, and other merchandise. In other media, Mignola designed characters and locations for the TV series Batman Beyond and worked as concept artist for the Marvel film Blade II.