Writer J. Michael Straczynski made pop-culture history with the epic TV series Babylon 5. In 1999, Straczynski penned Top Cow's Rising Stars, leading to an offer from Marvel to write Amazing Spider-Man, a title he revolutionized. "JMS" went on to write Supreme Power, Fantastic Four, Bullet Points, The Twelve and a fan-favorite revival of Thor. The latter helped inspire Marvel's Thor feature film, on which he shares a writing credit. JMS' screenplay for Changeling was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Angelina Jolie, while his other movie credits include Underworld: Awakening and World War Z. For DC Comics, he has written iconic characters Superman and Wonder Woman. Peter David is one of the industry's most prolific and versatile writers whose record-breaking stint on Incredible Hulk remains a fan-favorite to this day.
His similarly long-running -- and critically acclaimed -- association with X-Factor began in the early 1990s and continued in 2005 and 2014. His other Marvel work includes Captain Marvel, two lengthy stints on Spider-Man 2099, Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider and the smash-hit Symbiote Spider-Man limited series and its sequels with artist Greg Land. David is also a novelist and screenwriter. Among his credits are some forty Star Trek tie-ins; original novels such as Sir Apropos of Nothing, Howling Mad and Knight Life; movies Trancers 4 and Trancers 5; and episodes of Babylon 5 and Crusade. He also co-created the TV show Space Cases with actor-writer Bill Mumy. Hollywood writer Reginald Hudlin launched his career with the blockbuster House Party; his follow-up Boomerang grossed more than $150 million. Hudlin developed Bebe's Kids, the first mainstream animated feature film aimed at African-American audiences, and served as BET's President of Entertainment. In 2005, Hudlin wrote Birth of a Nation, a satirical graphic novel produced with Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder and award-winning cartoonist Kyle Baker.
A longtime Marvel fan, Hudlin jumped at the opportunity to write Black Panther, as well as a run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man. Artist Mike Deodato Jr. was already a renowned illustrator in his native Brazil when he got his big break in American comics in 1994, illustrating DC's Wonder Woman. For Marvel, he drew such series as Avengers, Elektra, Spider-Man and Incredible Hulk. After refining his inimitable style on the creator-owned Jade Warriors, he returned to Marvel for a second turn on Incredible Hulk, with writer Bruce Jones, and a stint on J. Michael Straczynski's Amazing Spider-Man. Deodato has forged an association with the Avengers on various titles -- including collaborations with Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker and Jonathan Hickman -- and demonstrated his superstar status on the event book Original Sin. Deodato joined writer Jeff Lemire in exploring one of Marvel's greatest villains in Thanos.
The late Mike Wieringo established himself as one of the leading artists in the comic-book industry with his work with writer Mark Waid on DC's Flash during a run that included the debut of Impulse. Wieringo's continued collaboration with Waid brought him to Fantastic Four in 2002; the pair kicked off their tenure with a history-making nine-cent first issue. Wieringo's ability to translate dynamic action to the comic-book page made him uniquely suited to launch Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in 2005 with writer Peter David. Pat Lee is best known for bringing the look and feel of Japanese anime to American comics. He provided artwork for the Marvel Knights Spider-Man chapters of "The Other" crossover.