Frank Tieri entered the early part of the new century as writer on diverse titles such as Wolverine, Iron Man and Weapon X. His Hercules limited series cast the Avenger as a reality-TV star reliving his twelve trials, continuing the lighthearted legacy of Olympus’ favorite son. Tieri’s Underworld and Civil War: War Crimes explored the effects of the heroes’ registration fight on Marvel’s criminal element. World War Hulk: Gamma Corps followed the next generation of gamma-irradiated superhumans as they sought to kill the Hulk. And Dark Reign: Lethal Legion charted the crash-and-burn exploits of an ad hoc team of bad guys as they vainly sought to topple Norman Osborn from power. Tieri, whose Marvel credits also includes New Excalibur, explored Weirdworld in the pages of Black Knight.

Sean Chen came to fame drawing such titles as X-O Manowar, Bloodshot and Harbinger for Valiant Comics. At Marvel, he illustrated a multi-year run on Kurt Busiek’s Iron Man, as well as Wolverine, Elektra and X-Men: The End. Chen’s later credits include Nova, Mighty Avengers and Avengers Academy.

Mark Texeira worked on Marvel’s New Universe titles, including Psi-Force and Kickers, Inc., and other books — but his reputation caught fire in the early 1990s as a revamped Ghost Rider returned the character to fan-favorite status. Texeira helped introduce Black Panther to Marvel Knights in an acclaimed run, and his art has long been a regular sight for Marvel readers — particularly on gritty characters like Wolverine, Moon Knight, Punisher and a return to Ghost Rider.

Barry Windsor-Smith — best known for Marvel’s Conan and Red Sonja — also illustrated memorable Uncanny X-Men, Iron Man and Daredevil stories; he revealed Wolverine’s origin in the “Weapon X” serial. Windsor-Smith has also published several art books in the tradition of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.