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.

As a boy, artist Dave Cockrum (1943-2006) dreamed of working in the comic-book industry; after a six-year stint in the Navy, he headed straight for the big time. With a natural talent for illustrating super heroes, Cockrum landed a gig on Legion of Super-Heroes for DC Comics. Soon after his debut, Cockrum showcased his knack for innovative costume designs, becoming the first artist to revamp the look of the classic futuristic super-hero team since its original Silver Age debut. After leaving Legion in 1975, Cockrum collaborated with writer Len Wein to create a new lineup of X-Men – including Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus. Cockrum’s bold new mutants quickly caught the attention of comic-book fans, transforming X-Men into a best-selling title. Although Cockrum has reduced his artistic output in recent years, his strong influence on modern creators remains steadfast – as evidenced by the release of The Uncanny Cockrum Tribute Book in 2004, boasting contributions from more than 75 notable writers and artists.

Journalist, editor, filmmaker and more, Ann Nocenti has a long history in comics, both as a writer and editor. As an editor at Marvel, she oversaw such titles as New Mutants and Uncanny X-Men. As a writer, she has worked for both Marvel (Longshot, Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine) and DC (Batman, Kid Eternity), but is probably best known for her groundbreaking run with John Romita Jr. on Daredevil.

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 has drawn big-name characters such as Superman, Batman and the Suicide Squad.

Barry Windsor-Smith — best known for Marvel’s Conan and Red Sonja — also illustrated memorable Uncanny X-Men, Iron Man and Daredevil stories; he revealed Wolverine’s origin in the “Weapon X” serial. Windsor-Smith has also published several art books in the tradition of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Three different incarnations of Cloak and Dagger were only a few of Rick Leonardi’s artistic achievements for Marvel. His other credits include Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants and Spider-Man 2099. At DC, he drew Batman family titles Batgirl and Nightwing, as well as comic/film crossover Green Lantern vs. Aliens. At Event Comics, he penciled Painkiller Jane.