THUNDERBOLTS EPIC COLLECTION: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

Kurt Busiek is perhaps most famous for his Eisner Award-winning collaboration with Alex Ross on Marvels, a fully painted classic that still amazes a quarter of a century later. Busiek launched Thunderbolts in the wake of “Heroes Reborn,” later writing Avengers and Iron Man upon the heroes’ return to the Marvel Universe. He teamed his two signature supergroups in the Avengers vs. Thunderbolts miniseries and spanned the history of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers Forever. He has revisited the Modern Era’s early years in such titles as Amazing Fantasy, Iron Man: The Iron Age, Thor: Godstorm and Untold Tales of Spider-Man. At DC, he has written multiple Justice League and Superman titles, and even pitted the Avengers against the JLA in a blockbuster crossover. Busiek launched his own super-hero multiverse with his Astro City series, which he’s been writing since 1995. Busiek has returned to the world of Marvels for various projects, including curating Marvels Snapshots and writing the series The Marvels.

Prolific writer/penciler/inker Karl Kesel inked the acclaimed Mark Waid/Mike Wieringo run of Fantastic Four; he has also written several FF stories himself, including issue #56 (2002), which revealed the Thing’s Jewish heritage. His work spans Marvel time and space, ranging from Fantastic Four 2099 to Marvel Apes. At DC, he wrote the 1980s Hawk and Dove, and multiple Superman titles and spinoffs, including his co-creation Superboy (Kon-El). For Dark Horse, he worked on media tie-ins Indiana Jones and Aliens: Space Marines. Back at Marvel, he scripted miniseries Captain America: The 1940s Newspaper Strip, which he also illustrated, and Captain America: Patriot.

Barbara Kesel is perhaps best known for her work in the CrossGen universe, having written First, Meridian, Sigil and other titles. With then-husband Karl Kesel, she co-wrote one of DC’s Hawk and Dove incarnations. At Dark Horse, she helped develop Comics’ Greatest World’s “Golden City” and wrote Aliens vs. Predator: Booty. Her other media tie-in projects include IDW’s Ghost Whisperer: The Muse and Tokyopop’s Legends of the Dark Crystal. Her editorial work on Dark Horse’s Hellboy: The Wolves of St. August TPB earned a Harvey Award.

Hired on the strength of his Official Marvel Tryout penciling submission, Mark Bagley rose to prominence as the artist of 1990s sleeper hit New Warriors. Following an acclaimed run on Amazing Spider-Man, he worked with writer Kurt Busiek on Thunderbolts. When Marvel launched its Ultimate line, Bagley and Brian Michael Bendis led the way with Ultimate Spider-Man, whose years of success made the pair the longest-running creative team in Marvel history. Bendis and Bagley have also collaborated on Avengers Assemble and the creator-owned Brilliant. His subsequent credits include Fantastic Four, Cataclysm: The Ultimates’ Last Stand, Hulk, All-New X-Men and Venom.

Artist George Pérez made team titles his specialty with runs on Marvel’s Avengers and Fantastic Four, along with DC’s Justice League of America and New Teen Titans, the latter co-created with Marv Wolfman. The pair redefined the DC Universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths. In collaboration with writer Kurt Busiek, he returned to Avengers following the “Heroes Reborn” event. The pair surpassed expectations with JLA/Avengers, a 2003 crossover that featured nearly every member of both long-running teams.