IRON FIST: DANNY RAND - THE EARLY YEARS OMNIBUS

Roy Thomas joined the Marvel Bullpen as a writer and editor under Stan Lee, scripting key runs of nearly every title of the time: Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, Thor, X-Men and more. He wrote the first 10 years of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan; and launched such series as Defenders, Iron Fist, Invaders and Warlock. At DC, he developed All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc. and related titles, proving instrumental in reviving the Golden Age Justice Society of America. Thomas later became editor of Alter Ego, a magazine devoted to comic-book history, and co-scripted the sword-and-sorcery films Fire and Ice and Conan the Destroyer.

Industry legend Chris Claremont is best known for his epic sixteen-year run on Uncanny X-Men. Claremont’s focus on the themes of prejudice and tolerance struck at the hearts of comics fans, and he built an unparalleled following during the next three decades. Under his pen, the X-Men franchise spawned a vast array of spin-offs, many of them written by Claremont himself. His other credits include Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, Power Man and Spider-Woman. Claremont has returned to the X-Men universe in New Exiles, GeNext, X-Men Forever, Chaos War: X-Men and Nightcrawler.

In addition to runs on Fantastic Four and Thor, original Moon Knight scribe Doug Moench specialized in writing features outside the Marvel mainstream — including Adventure into Fear’s Morbius, Frankenstein, Inhumans, Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle, Master of Kung Fu, Werewolf by Night and Astonishing Tales’ Deathlok. Proving his eclectic abilities, he also wrote the full run of Godzilla, most of Shogun Warriors and stories for virtually every Marvel black-and-white magazine of the 1970s. He expanded on his Star-Lord and Weirdworld sagas in multiple anthology titles. At DC, he wrote memorable runs on Batman, Detective Comics and Legends of the Dark Knight — along with numerous Batman one-shots, cross-company crossovers and Elseworlds sagas. He further contributed such short-lived but unique series as Electric Warrior, Lords of the Ultra-Realm, Slash Maraud, Wanderers and Xenobrood.

The career of the late Gil Kane began in comicdom's Golden Age. Following his role in ushering in the Silver Age of Comics via the re-creations of Green Lantern, the Atom and others, he became Marvel's star cover artist and the regular penciler on Amazing Spider-Man. Kane also helped develop Iron Fist, Morbius the Living Vampire and other Marvel mainstays. In 1971, he published the sword-and-sorcery/science-fiction hybrid Blackmark, often called the first American graphic novel. He was a multiple winner of the National Cartoonist Society Award; in 1997, he was inducted into both the Eisner Award Hall of Fame and the Harvey Award Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.

John Byrne has worked continuously in the comics industry as both writer and artist since 1975. After he initially collaborated with writer Chris Claremont on Iron Fist, Byrne and Claremont moved on to X-Men for a run still regarded as one of the title’s finest. Byrne contributed an equally famed stint on Fantastic Four, earning comparisons to the original Lee/Kirby issues for his imaginative plotlines and dynamic artwork. He also spun Alpha Flight into its own title. In 1986, he revamped DC’s flagship hero, Superman, reimagining the Man of Steel in a historic project heralded by a Time magazine cover. His remarkable contribution to the Marvel Universe extends to memorable associations with virtually every major hero, including celebrated runs on Captain America, Iron Man, Sensational She-Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner and Thing. In the 21st century, Byrne’s considerable body of work includes IDW’s Star Trek and Angel.

Writer/artist Larry Hama got his start as a penciler before becoming a respected editor and later a writer during the ’80s with his career-defining work on G.I. Joe and a memorable run on Wolverine. Through the years, Hama proved his versatility — writing Avengers, Blaze, Elektra, Generation X, Punisher: War Zone and multiple Venom limited series. Hama also contributed to Devil’s Due and IDW’s relaunched G.I. Joe franchises. At Continuity Comics, he created Bucky O’Hare, launching a franchise that extended to animation, video games and toys line. Hama revisited his era helming the adventures of Logan with the Wolverine: Patch limited series.