Bob Layton

Bob Layton began as a prolific and popular inker for Charlton, Marvel and DC Comics, where he first teamed with longtime collaborator David Michelinie on Claw the Unconquered and Star Hunters. The Michelinie-Layton duo’s writing work on Iron Man (1978-1982 and 1987-1989) is one of the most popular and influential interpretations of that character. Leaving Marvel in 1990, he became a key writer/artist/editor at Valiant Comics, where he co-created characters such as X-O Manowar and rose to the post of editor in chief before departing. He still does occasional freelance work for DC and Marvel, notably Michelinie-Layton reunion projects Iron Man: Bad Blood (2000), Iron Man: Legacy of Doom (2008) and Iron Man: The End (2009).

After beginning his writing career on DC horror titles, David Michelinie moved to Marvel. He and co-writer/inker Bob Layton established Iron Man’s battle with alcoholism, use of specialized armor variants and vendetta against Doctor Doom, as well as other aspects of the character that endure to this day. Michelinie’s unique blend of action, suspense and humor distinguished not only Iron Man, but also Amazing Spider-Man. With artist Todd McFarlane, he introduced the vicious vigilante Venom; he also wrote the first Venom limited series, Lethal Protector. Michelinie’s run as Amazing writer was second in length only to that of Stan Lee himself, while he also authored tie-in titles Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man and Spider-Man. He moved from Marvel’s flagship character to DC’s with a stint on Superman’s Action Comics, later returning to the world of Tony Stark for writing collaborations with Bob Layton on Iron Man: Legacy of Doom and Iron Man: The End.

Jim Shooter entered the comic-book field at age 14 as writer and penciler of the “Legion of Super-Heroes” feature in Adventure Comics. Later moving to Marvel, he wrote Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Two-in-One and other titles. As editor in chief, he tightened Marvel’s publishing schedule; added new titles; nurtured fresh talent; launched the New Universe; and wrote the 12-issue Secret Wars and its sequel, Secret Wars II. Eventually leaving Marvel, Shooter wrote for Valiant, Defiant and Broadway Comics before entering different creative fields at Phobos Entertainment and TGS Inc. Later returning to DC to write Legion of Super-Heroes, he subsequently helped revamp Gold Key heroes at Dark Horse.

John Romita Jr. is a modern-day comic-art master, following in his legendary father’s footsteps. Timeless runs on Iron Man, Uncanny X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil established him as his own man artistically, and his work on Wolverine and World War Hulk is among the most explosive comic art of the 21st century. In addition to Eternals with writer Neil Gaiman, JRJR teamed with Mark Millar on the creator-owned Kick-Ass, later developed into a blockbuster feature film starring Nicolas Cage. Spidey fans rejoiced at the artist’s return to Amazing Spider-Man with the “Brand New Day” storylines “New Ways To Die” and “Character Assassination.” He later helped relaunch Avengers with writer Brian Michael Bendis and Captain America with Rick Remender, and contributed to the blockbuster crossover Avengers vs. X-Men. For DC Comics, he drew big-name characters such as Superman, Batman and the Suicide Squad before making a welcome return home to Marvel and Amazing Spider-Man.

Following Golden Age work at Marvel predecessor Timely Comics — as well as at Fawcett, Hillman and others — Carmine Infantino (d. 2013) made history at DC Comics, helping usher in the industry’s Silver Age with the reintroduction of the Flash, within whose title he cocreated the Elongated Man and several members of the hero’s famed Rogues’ Gallery. His 1961 story “Flash of Two Worlds,” which literally reshaped the DC Universe by introducing the Earth-1/Earth-2 concept, won Infantino two of his eventual 12 Alley Awards. After serving as DC’s art director and publisher, Infantino returned to penciling on several titles; for Marvel, he provided notable runs on Nova, Spider-Woman and Star Wars, along with brief stints on Daredevil, Ghost Rider and Iron Man. He also drew Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man, the historic first Marvel/DC crossover.