An award-winning critic and journalist, Kieron Gillen wrote for organizations such as PC Gamer, The Guardian, Rock, Paper, Shotgun and WIRED before turning his attention to comics. His previous credits include the critically lauded Phonogram with frequent creative partner Jamie McKelvie, as well as Thor, S.W.O.R.D. and Generation Hope. Gillen relaunched two long-standing Marvel series in Uncanny X-Men and Journey into Mystery before again teaming with McKelvie for an acclaimed take on Young Avengers. Gillen turned his attention to Iron Man for Marvel NOW! and proved the perfect scribe to put carefully chosen words into the mouth of a legendary Star Wars villain in Darth Vader. Gillen introduced Doctor Aphra into the galaxy far, far away in those pages, and continues her adventures in her own series.
Writer Al Ewing began his career on the British anthology 2000 AD. Since breaking into American comics, he has written Jennifer Blood and spin-off series The Ninjettes for Dynamite Entertainment, and the Age of Ultron tie-in issues of Avengers Assemble for Marvel Comics. Ewing’s novels include the Pax Britannia series as well as The Fictional Man. With artist Greg Land, he relaunched Marvel’s Mighty Avengers; for All-New Marvel NOW!, gave the god of mischief a new assignment in Loki: Agent of Asgard. Ewing then took revamped versions of New Avengers and Ultimates, debuted U.S.Avengers; and joined the writing team for the “No Surrender” storyline in Avengers, which brought the Hulk back from the dead. His subsequent titles include Valkyrie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Defenders, the event series Empyre and the critically revered smash hit Immortal Hulk. Ewing has cemented his place in the Krakoan era of the X-Men titles comics with S.W.O.R.D. and X-Men: Red.
Acclaimed author and screenwriter Benjamin Percy broke into comics in 2014 with a two-issue Batman story arc for Detective Comics. He is also known for his work on Nightwing, Green Arrow and Teen Titans for DC Comics, and James Bond: Black Box for Dynamite Entertainment. Percy has written two seasons of Marvel’s Wolverine podcast series: Wolverine: The Long Night, which was listed as one of the top fifteen podcasts of the year by Apple and won the iHeart Radio Award for best scripted podcast in 2018, and Wolverine: The Lost Trail. In print, he is a key contributor to Jonathan Hickman’s Dawn of X initiative as writer of X-Force and Wolverine. Percy blazed a new trail for the Spirit of Vengeance with his deliciously dark revival of Ghost Rider.
Italian artist Valerio Schiti’s first work for Marvel Comics was “Sacrifice,” a short story appearing in 2011’s Ghost Rider #1. He has since illustrated Journey into Mystery, featuring the Asgardian warrior goddess Sif, with writer Kathryn Immonen and New Avengers with Jonathan Hickman. Schiti subsequently went cosmic with Brian Michael Bendis on Guardians of the Galaxy, upgraded the Armored Avenger with Dan Slott in Tony Stark: Iron Man, drew the blockbuster event Empyre and joined Al Ewing to send Marvel’s mutants into space in S.W.O.R.D.
Artist Pasqual Ferry became one of the most vital creators of Marvel’s Ultimate line. In writer Orson Scott Card’s Ultimate Iron Man II, Ferry brought out the bleeding-edge dynamism of Iron Man’s armor. He was also writer Mike Carey’s art partner on Ultimate Fantastic Four. His other work includes Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men. Ferry helped writer Chip Zdarsky answer the question “What if Spider-Man had kept his symbiotic black costume?” in Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow.
Italian illustrator Stefano Caselli broke into American comics during the early 2000s with work on titles including Marvel’s Mutant X and Thunderbolts. He enhanced his reputation on series such as Avengers: The Initiative, Secret Warriors and Avengers Assemble before playing a key role in the rotating art team on Dan Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man and joining Jonathan Hickman on Avengers. Caselli collaborated with Brian Michael Bendis on a groundbreaking Invincible Iron Man run featuring Riri Williams as a new armored hero, and joined Gerry Duggan on the seafaring X-series Marauders.