New York Times best-selling author Mark Waid has worked for every major company in the comics industry in a nearly three-decade-long career, writing thousands of issues, including runs of Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men, Ka-Zar and Fantastic Four. His other works of note include his collaboration with painter Alex Ross on Kingdom Come, which earned an Eisner Award for Best Limited Series. Waid enjoyed his greatest outpouring of critical acclaim with the Eisner Award-winning Daredevil — which included a revered collaboration with frequent artistic partner Chris Samnee. He later took on such diverse pop-cultural icons as Princess Leia and Archie, and ushered in a new era of greatness for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in All-New, All-Different Avengers. His Marvel work continued with Avengers, Black Widow, Captain America, Champions and Doctor Strange.
Eisner Award-winning writer Greg Rucka is the author of nearly a dozen novels — seven featuring bodyguard Atticus Kodiak and three featuring Tara Chace, the protagonist of his Queen & Country comics. He has also penned several short stories, countless comics and the occasional nonfiction essay. In comics, he has written stories featuring some of the world’s best-known characters — Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman — as well as creator-owned properties such as Whiteout and Queen & Country, both published by Oni Press. His work has been optioned several times over, and his services are in high demand in a variety of creative fields as a story doctor and creative consultant.
Paolo Rivera earned acclaim for his painted artwork on Mythos, retelling the origins of Marvel’s most popular heroes with writer Paul Jenkins. His Spider-Man team-ups with Wolverine and Punisher in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man helped make him a favorite among fans and critics, leading to his collaboration with Joe Quesada on the pivotal “One Moment in Time” story arc. With writer Mark Waid and fellow artist Marcos Martin, Rivera helped relaunch Daredevil. His covers are a regular, and always welcome, sight for Marvel fans.
Chris Samnee has drawn comics for major and indie publishers including Marvel, DC/Vertigo and Oni Press. His credits include the Vertigo graphic novel Area 10 with writer Christos Gage and the Marvel series Thor: The Mighty Avenger with writer Roger Langridge. He subsequently joined a team of artists including Mike Deodato Jr. and Butch Guice on Ed Brubaker’s Captain America, and helped launch Captain America and Bucky. His two collaborations with writer Mark Waid, on Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom and Daredevil, won him the 2013 Eisner Award for Best Penciler/Inker, shared with Hawkeye’s David Aja. Waid and Samnee continued their professional relationship on Black Widow.
Marcos Martin’s clean, fluid style became an instant hit on DC’s Batgirl: Year One. He next worked on Breach and illustrated a brief Green Arrow run. At Marvel, Martin collaborated with writer Brian K. Vaughan on Doctor Strange: The Oath and became part of the rotating team of artists drawing Amazing Spider-Man. Martin played his part on the Eisner Award-winning Daredevil relaunch written by Mark Waid, and claimed both an Eisner and Harvey Award for his reunion with Vaughan on the creator-owned digital comic The Private Eye.