Writer/editor Stan Lee (1922-2018) made comic-book history together with Jack Kirby in 1961 with Fantastic Four #1. The monumental popularity of its new style inspired Lee to develop similarly themed characters -- including the Hulk and X-Men with Kirby, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Steve Ditko, and Daredevil with Bill Everett. After shepherding his creations through dozens of issues -- in some cases a hundred or more -- Lee allowed other writers to take over, but he maintained steady editorial control. Eventually, he helped expand Marvel into a multimedia empire. In recent years, his frequent cameo appearances in Marvel's films established Lee as one of the world's most famous faces.

The unique, shadowy style of Gene Colan (1926-2011) most memorably appeared in long stints on Captain America and Daredevil, and all 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula -- among the dozens of other Marvel titles he has drawn. His DC work on Detective Comics and Night Force is equally well remembered. During the Golden Age, he drew multiple war stories for Marvel and DC alike. Colan has earned several Eagle Awards and had professional art showings in New York City. His work on Ed Brubaker's Captain America at the age of 82 drew well-deserved raves.

John Romita was born in 1930 and drew for Atlas Era Marvel Comics across many genres. By the time Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko were defining the look and feel of the Marvel Age of Comics during the 1960s, Romita had made the move to DC Comics, where he was working exclusively behind the boards of the company's many romance comics. It wasn't until 1966 that he returned to Marvel Comics and the super-hero genre, drawing Daredevil before taking over from Ditko on what was fast becoming Marvel's most important book, Amazing Spider-Man. Romita's slick, clean craftsmanship would be a hallmark of his tenure, and his years of drawing beautiful women in DC's romance books paid off with iconic renderings of Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson and the other women in Peter Parker's life.