Phoenix Omnibus Vol. 2

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.

John Byrne has worked continuously in the comics industry as both writer and artist since 1975. After he initially collaborated with writer Chris Claremont on Iron Fist, Byrne and Claremont moved on to X-Men for a run still regarded as one of the title’s finest. Byrne contributed an equally famed stint on Fantastic Four, earning comparisons to the original Lee/Kirby issues for his imaginative plotlines and dynamic artwork. He also spun Alpha Flight into its own title. In 1986, he revamped DC’s flagship hero, Superman, reimagining the Man of Steel in a historic project heralded by a Time magazine cover. His remarkable contribution to the Marvel Universe extends to memorable associations with virtually every major hero, including celebrated runs on Captain America, Iron Man, Sensational She-Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner and Thing. In the 21st century, Byrne’s considerable body of work includes IDW’s Star Trek and Angel.

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.

A former animator for cult cartoonist Ralph Bakshi, Paul Smith penciled Uncanny X-Men during a brief but pivotal run that included Rogue joining the team, Storm’s controversial makeover, Wolverine’s near-marriage and Cyclops’ wedding to future villain Madelyne Pryor. He then moved to Doctor Strange, Marvel Fanfare and others, later drawing the acclaimed X-Men/Alpha Flight miniseries. With James Robinson, he created DC’s groundbreaking Golden Age miniseries, highlighting the publisher’s wartime heroes like few before or since. His work for other companies includes First’s Grimjack and Image’s Leave It to Chance; he returned to Marvel to pencil the miniseries Kitty Pryde: Shadow and Flame, revisiting some themes from his Uncanny work.

After achieving industry acclaim for DC’s award-winning “Manhunter” feature in Detective Comics, Walter Simonson moved to Marvel where he introduced multiple characters and concepts from both myth and outer space during his revered run scripting and penciling Thor. He collaborated with his wife, Louise, on both X-Factor and Wildstorm’s World of Warcraft, later returning to Marvel to illustrate Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers.

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.