PHOENIX: THE DEATH & REBIRTH OF JEAN GREY OMNIBUS

One of the most original and widely respected writers in comics, Glasgow-born Grant Morrison got their start with British indie comics during the late 1970s and early 1980s before working on Marvel UK features such as Zoids. After co-creating the popular strip Zenith with artist Steve Yeowell in 2000 AD, Morrison made their mark in America with DC Comics, where they revived an obscure hero to critical acclaim in his Animal Man series. In 1989, they wrote the best-selling Batman graphic novel Arkham Asylum and began a memorably surreal run as writer of the freakish heroes of DC’s Doom Patrol. Subsequent DC projects included Kid Eternity, Sebastian O, Flex Mentallo, Kill Your Boyfriend, Aztek, Invisibles, DC One Million, Flash and a hugely popular revamping of DC’s JLA. Morrison then shifted focus to Marvel Comics, where they had already made a brief pit-stop co-writing 1995’s bizarre Skrull Kill Krew with Mark Millar. In addition to their groundbreaking four-year New X-Men run, Morrison’s Marvel credits include Fantastic Four: 1234 and Marvel Boy. They have since returned to DC, where their later credits include Seaguy, WE3, Vimanarama, JLA: Classified and Seven Soldiers. While serving as a special creative consultant to DC editorial, Morrison wrote All-Star Superman, and the flagship Batman title and its spinoff Batman Inc.; co-wrote the event series 52; and served as the mastermind behind Final Crisis.

Film director and screenwriter Greg Pak’s first feature, the sci-fi anthology Robot Stories, won 35 awards; he broke into the comics industry when his agent sent Marvel the screenplay. After writing a Warlock reboot, Pak made a splash with the X-Men: Phoenix — Endsong limited series and a lengthy run on Incredible Hulk, highlighted by the “Planet Hulk” storyline and the World War Hulk crossover. In addition to the acclaimed Magneto: Testament and Red Skull: Incarnate limited series, a War Machine revival and the retitled Incredible Hulks, Pak has written Dynamite’s Battlestar Galactica and contributed to Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology. His efforts with co-writer Fred Van Lente include Incredible Hercules, Herc, Heroic Age: Prince of Power, an Alpha Flight relaunch and the Chaos War crossover. Pak introduced Amadeus Cho as a new Green Goliath in The Totally Awesome Hulk and delivered mutant mayhem in Weapon X.

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.

Croatian-born illustrator Igor Kordey has earned a reputation for his prolific output, working on as many as three or four monthly books at the same time. His Marvel work includes Black Widow: Pale Little Spider, Captain America, Conspiracy, Soldier X, Tales of the Marvels: Wonder Years, New X-Men, and extended runs on X-Treme X-Men and Cable. Kordey united with his compatriot Darko Macan on Tarzan projects for Dark Horse Comics.

A veteran artist for the Distinguished Competition, Phil Jimenez has thrilled fans with his high-energy approach in Wonder Woman, Teen Titans and writer Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles. At Marvel, he teamed with Morrison for several issues of the writer’s epochal New X-Men run. After delivering the triumph of Infinite Crisis, Jimenez helped launch “Brand New Day” in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. After amazing Spidey fans with his art, he’s set to astonish X-Men fans when he teams up with writer Warren Ellis on Astonishing X-Men.

Industry giant Marc Silvestri entered the upper echelon of comics innovators in the late ’80s during fan-favorite, record-breaking runs on Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine. Silvestri left Marvel in 1992 to co-found Image Comics; his imprint, Top Cow, is one of its four longstanding autonomous studios. At Image, Silvestri created some of today’s most popular properties — including Cyberforce, Witchblade, Weapon Zero and The Darkness. Silvestri has returned to the world of Marvel’s mutants on New X-Men and X-Men: Messiah Complex.