New Avengers Omnibus Vol. 2 Billy Tan Cover

Award-winning comic-book creator Brian Michael Bendis is one of the most successful writers in the industry today. In addition to an acclaimed run on Daredevil, he has helmed a renaissance for Marvel’s popular Avengers franchise and written the event projects House of M, Secret War, Secret Invasion, Siege, Age of Ultron and Civil War II. Bendis wrote every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man from its launch in 2000 before bringing his multiracial Spider-Man, Miles Morales, to the Marvel Universe for continuing adventures. He took on Marvel’s mutants in the pages of All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, and launched Guardians of the Galaxy into the stratosphere. Bendis shook up the life of Tony Stark in Invincible Iron Man and related titles, introducing Riri Williams as Ironheart, and then assembled street-level heroes Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil and his co-creation Jessica Jones in Defenders. His creator-owned projects include Scarlet with Alex Maleev, Brilliant with Mark Bagley, and Takio and the Eisner Award-winning Powers with Michael Avon Oeming.

A copy of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way sparked Leinil Francis Yu’s interest in comics when he was 11. Whilce Portacio’s tutelage helped him land his first mainstream comics work on Wolverine in 1997. Following a successful run, Yu took on such titles as Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Superman: Birthright and Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk. After an extended period laying the groundwork in New Avengers, he and writer Brian Michael Bendis turned the Marvel Universe upside down with Secret Invasion, and the Marvel mainstay has subsequently worked on event comics including Avengers & X-Men: Axis and IVX, and such blockbuster titles as Star Wars.

Artist Michael Gaydos honed his craft at the Cleveland Institute of Art — going on to become an accomplished illustrator, painter and printmaker. Gaydos first collaborated with writer Brian Michael Bendis on the crime-noir series Jinx, followed by their critically acclaimed partnership on Alias for Marvel Comics. Gaydos’ work has been published by DC, Image, Tundra, NBM, Caliber and White Wolf — highlighted by turns on the famed anthology Negative Burn, The Crow and the original graphic novel Heaven’s War. In 2005, he reunited with Bendis to illustrate a milestone in Jessica Jones’ life: the birth of her baby in the pages of The Pulse.

David Mack submitted his first Kabuki collection while still in college as his senior writing thesis. (He got an A on the project.) Combining innovative storytelling, painting techniques and page design, Mack has won nearly every major comic-industry award, including the prestigious Eisner Award for Best Painter, and garnered praise from such luminaries as Jim Steranko and The Washington Times. Marvel fans first witnessed Mack’s stylings when his covers graced the legendary Daredevil storyline “Parts of a Hole,” which he also wrote. A few years after teaming with then-new Daredevil writer Brian Michael Bendis on the “Wake Up” arc, he returned to the title for the “Echo: Vision Quest” storyline, which reintroduced readers to the unique character he created in “Parts of a Hole.” Mack continues to write and illustrate his creator-owned series, New York Times Best Seller Kabuki, now published by Marvel’s Icon imprint, and has been nominated for several Eisner, Kirby and Harvey awards. He is also serving as the visual designer and co-producer on the forthcoming Kabuki feature film. Mack wrote the adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Ant for Marvel, and was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and a Producers Guild Award for his work on Showtime’s Dexter.

Artist Jim Cheung began his association with Marvel Comics in the 1990s, drawing titles such as Black Knight, Force Works, Iron Man, Maverick and an extensive run on X-Force. He also did popular work on the CrossGen series Scion. In 2005, Cheung launched the critically acclaimed Young Avengers with writer Allan Heinberg. He went on to illustrate New Avengers: Illuminati with writer Brian Michael Bendis, and reunited with Heinberg and their signature Young Avengers characters in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade. Cheung’s modern-yet-classic style has made him highly sought-after for covers and event series, including contributions to Infinity, Avengers & X-Men: Axis and Civil War II.