About the Author

Tom DeFalco's earliest comic-book scripts were for Archie and DC; he soon moved to Marvel, where he wrote Avengers, Machine Man and other titles, also launching Dazzler, a hit series of the early '80s. In addition to writing long and well-received runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Thor, DeFalco edited many titles, eventually becoming editor in chief. During the 1980s, he headed the creative team that provided fictional biographies for G.I. Joe members, originally included with Hasbro's toys and later used as the basis for multiple storylines on the animated series. Perhaps his best-known work is multi-title character Spider-Girl, whom he introduced in 1998. DeFalco has authored multiple books, including Ultimate Guides for Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk and Spider-Man.

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.

Peter B. Gillis began as a 1970s freelancer on Marvel Two-in-One, Super-Villain Team-Up and other titles. Later, he became regular writer on Defenders, Eternals and Strange Tales, in which he subjected Doctor Strange to a soul-searching gamut of good and evil magic. Elsewhere in the Marvel multiverse, he wrote Micronauts- The New Voyages and launched Strikeforce- Morituri with Brent Anderson, telling tales of a universe in which superhumans must embrace death to protect the Earth. He has also written for First Comics, TSR Games and others; he co-created Shatter, the first digital comic.

Formerly a regular artist on Solo Avengers, as well as West Coast, Mark Bright is noted for working with writer Christopher Priest on Falcon, Power Man and Iron Fist, Quantum and Woody and other titles. He has also drawn Marvel's incarnation of G.I. Joe and several DC flagship characters in Action Comics Weekly, Batman and Green Lantern.

After establishing himself on Eternity's Ex-Mutants and First's Badger, Ron Lim went cosmic with a six-year penciling run on Silver Surfer, followed by a collaboration with Jim Starlin on the Warlock/Thanos Infinity multi-miniseries saga. With writer Tom DeFalco, he helped create the look and characters of the MC2 universe, while he explored a different Marvel future during a 35-issue run on X-Men 2099. Lim's other Marvel credits include Captain America, Spider-Man Unlimited and Venom- Lethal Protector.

Jackson "Butch" Guice began his Marvel career during the 1980s penciling Micronauts, New Mutants and X-Factor. He moved to DC for a fan-favorite run on Flash, subsequently illustrating nearly three years' worth of Action Comics and participating in the "Death of Superman" event. He also co-created Resurrection Man and provided artwork for Birds of Prey. Back at Marvel, he penciled Captain America, Iron Man, Ultimate Origins and more. He has also worked on CrossGen's Ruse, Dark Horse's film tie-ins Terminator- Endgame and Aliens/Predator, First's Badger and Nexus, and Valiant's Eternal Warrior.