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.

Following stints at AC Comics and Eclipse, Erik Larsen replaced fan favorite Todd McFarlane on Amazing Spider-Man and quickly became a legend in his own right, chronicling Spidey’s cosmic-powered and powerless phases. His other Marvel credits include Defenders, Fantastic Four, Nova and Wolverine. At DC, he has penciled Doom Patrol, Outsiders, Teen Titans and others. Larsen’s greatest fame may be as creator of Savage Dragon at Image Comics, which he helped found and where he served as publisher for four years.

Charles Vess wrote and/or penciled stories for multiple Marvel anthologies, most notably Epic Illustrated. At DC, he provided artwork for Books of Magic, Swamp Thing and Sandman. Vess and Sandman writer Neil Gaiman teamed again on Stardust, which was adapted for film, and other projects, including children’s book Blueberry Girl. The pair’s collaborations have earned multiple honors, including two World Fantasy Awards.

Hired on the strength of his Official Marvel Tryout penciling submission, Mark Bagley rose to prominence as the artist of 1990s sleeper hit New Warriors. Following an acclaimed run on Amazing Spider-Man, he worked with writer Kurt Busiek on Thunderbolts. When Marvel launched its Ultimate line, Bagley and Brian Michael Bendis led the way with Ultimate Spider-Man, whose years of success made the pair the longest-running creative team in Marvel history. Bendis and Bagley have also collaborated on Avengers Assemble and the creator-owned Brilliant. His subsequent credits include Fantastic Four, Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand, Hulk, All-New X-Men and Venom.