GIANT-SIZE MARVEL OMNIBUS GIL KANE X-MEN COVER

Gerry Conway wrote Daredevil, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and others. He was instrumental in Marvel’s 1970s horror boom with work on Man-Thing, Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night. His years on Amazing Spider-Man yielded such historic highlights as the groundbreaking death of Gwen Stacy and the debut of the Punisher. He also wrote DC’s Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Legion of Super-Heroes. For TV, he has written and produced episodes of Diagnosis: Murder, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Huntress and Matlock.

An award-winning writer since 1973, Marv Wolfman succeeded mentor Roy Thomas as Marvel’s editor in chief. Well-remembered for his Tomb of Dracula scripts, he also enjoyed runs on Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four and Nova, among other titles. New Teen Titans, his 1980s collaboration with George Pérez, became DC Comics’ biggest hit in years. Wolfman and Pérez literally rewrote DC history with Crisis on Infinite Earths. He subsequently penned episodes for such animated TV series as G.I. Joe, Transformers and others.

After co-creating DC’s Swamp Thing in 1972, Len Wein moved to Marvel for lengthy runs on some of the company’s biggest titles — Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk and Thor — and helped bring the landmark Giant-Size X-Men #1 into the world, changing Marvel forever. Returning to DC as an editor, Wein oversaw an influx of British writing talent, highlighted by Alan Moore’s historic Watchmen miniseries. Wein also has worked in television and animation, returning to his roots to develop a Swamp Thing screenplay. He has written comic-book adaptations of The Simpsons and Futurama.

His place in Marvel history assured when he helped introduce Deathlok in the pages of Astonishing Tales, Rich Buckler also penciled several storylines in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man — along with runs on Jungle Action’s Black Panther, Fantastic Four, Thor and other monthly titles, as well as Roy Thomas’s miniseries Saga of the Sub-Mariner and Saga of the Original Human Torch. Buckler’s 1970s DC work includes Lois Lane, Secret Society of Super-Villains and World’s Finest, as well as the groundbreaking Superman vs. Shazam. During the 1980s, he and Thomas collaborated on All-Star Squadron. He worked in the barbarian and horror genres for both Marvel and DC, illustrated Archie’s Mighty Crusaders, and contributed to black-and-white magazines for both Marvel and Warren Publishing. He was editor of the short-lived Solson Publications and wrote two books on comic-book art.

John Buscema (1927-2002) literally wrote the book on being a Marvel artist — namely, How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way — and few were better qualified. His career dated back to the Timely/Atlas era of the late ’40s and early ’50s. Soon after beginning the Marvel Age of Comics, Stan Lee recruited Buscema from the advertising field to the Marvel Bullpen. Buscema followed a long run on Avengers with the long-anticipated first Silver Surfer series. He subsequently succeeded Jack Kirby on Fantastic Four, Thor and other titles. By the time of his retirement in 1996, Buscema had penciled nearly every Marvel title — including his personal favorite, Conan the Barbarian.

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.