Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. Nevertheless: Having begun his career with wartime Timely Comics and staying the course throughout the Atlas era, Stan the Man made comic-book history with Fantastic Four #1, harbinger of a bold new perspective in story writing that endures to this day. With some of the industry’s greatest artists, he introduced hero after hero in Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men and more — forming a shared universe for rival publishers to measure themselves against. After an almost literal lifetime of writing and editing, Lee entered new entertainment fields and earned Marvel one opportunity after another. He remains one of Marvel’s best-known public representatives.
Jack "King" Kirby's comics career began in 1937 and continued for nearly six decades. With partner Joe Simon, Kirby first made his mark in comics in the 1940s by drawing and/or creating numerous features for DC Comics including SANDMAN, THE NEWSBOY LEGION and MANHUNTER, and for Marvel including CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE YOUNG ALLIES and the KID COMMANDOS. As the most valued team in comics, Simon and Kirby went on to create titles and concepts including FIGHTING AMERICAN, BOYS' RANCH and the creation of the romance comics genre. In 1961, the first issue of Marvel's FANTASTIC FOUR cemented Kirby's reputation as comics' preeminent creator, and a slew of famous titles followed that elevated him to legendary status, including INCREDIBLE HULK, AVENGERS and X-MEN. Kirby returned to DC in 1971 with his classic FOURTH WORLD TRILOGY, which was followed by THE DEMON and KAMANDI. Kirby continued working and innovating in comics until his death in 1994.
Steve Ditko was a prominent American comic book artist and writer. He began his career in the early 1950s after studying under comic artist Jerry Robinson and worked for various publishers, including Charlton and Atlas Comics, the latter of which later became Marvel Comics. Ditko is best known for co-creating iconic characters such as Spider-Man and Doctor Strange during the Silver Age of comics, as well as designing memorable villains like Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin. His unique artistic style and storytelling contributed significantly to the revival of super hero comics. Despite his reclusive nature, Ditko's influence on the comic book industry remained strong, leading to posthumous recognition and honors, including induction into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame and the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.
John Lind is a designer, editor, and co-founder of the Dark Horse Comics imprint Kitchen Sink Books (with Denis Kitchen). Specializing in print design with a client list that includes projects for Abrams, Bloomsbury, Chronicle Books, Disney, Hyperion Books, Simon & Schuster, and W.W. Norton in addition to numerous publishers in the comic industry.
Chris Ryall boasts a prolific career in comics as writer, editor, publisher, and historian. Currently the co-founder of Image Comics imprint, Syzygy Publishing and editor-at-large at Abrams ComicArts, Ryall is also the former Chief Creative Officer at IDW Publishing. His co-creations include of Zombies vs Robots, Onyx, Groom Lake, The Hollows, and Dreamweaver. He was an Executive Producer on Netflix’s Locke & Key.
