THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 6

An award-winning writer since 1973, Marv Wolfman succeeded mentor Roy Thomas as Marvel’s editor in chief. Well-remembered for his Tomb of Dracula scripts, he also enjoyed runs on Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four and Nova, among other titles. New Teen Titans, his 1980s collaboration with George Pérez, became DC Comics’ biggest hit in years. Wolfman and Pérez literally rewrote DC history with Crisis on Infinite Earths. He subsequently penned episodes for such animated TV series as G.I. Joe, Transformers and others.

Bill Mantlo began his Marvel career on Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, in which he introduced White Tiger, one of the industry’s earliest Hispanic super heroes. Eventually writing stories for almost every Marvel title, he did some of his most fondly remembered work on Incredible Hulk and Spectacular Spider-Man. He also launched Cloak and Dagger in a pair of miniseries and guided Alpha Flight through some of its most harrowing ordeals. Mantlo excelled at integrating licensed properties into the Marvel Universe, as demonstrated by Micronauts and Rom: Spaceknight, both of which he wrote from start to finish. At DC, he wrote the Invasion miniseries for one of the company’s biggest crossover events.

Jim Starlin introduced not only Thanos but also Shang-Chi and many other memorable characters. After seemingly killing both Adam Warlock and Thanos in one of Marvel’s earlier multi-title cosmic arcs — for which he won two Eagle Awards — Starlin wrote Marvel’s first graphic novel, The Death of Captain Marvel. Returning to Marvel to write Silver Surfer, he resurrected Adam Warlock and Thanos, both of whom figured prominently in a veritable franchise of miniseries he wrote and/or penciled: Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War, Infinity Crusade, Infinity Abyss and more, plus the Warlock and the Infinity Watch and Thanos monthlies. Starlin continued to chart the saga of the Mad Titan in a recent series of original graphic novels.

Keith Pollard drew simultaneous runs on three of Marvel’s longest-running titles: Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Thor, including Roy Thomas and Mark Gruenwald’s “Eternals Saga.” During the 1990s, he singlehandedly penciled hundreds of characters for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition.

In 1976, Ross Andru (1927-1993) made comic-book history by penciling the first large-scale intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man, having spent years illustrating both characters in various titles. He also made Marvel history in Marvel Feature, drawing the Defenders’ first appearance. At DC, he spent nine years collaborating with Bob Kanigher on Wonder Woman. With Marv Wolfman and Mike Esposito, he co-created Vigilante (Adrian Chase).

After a start as inker to his older brother John, Sal Buscema penciled Captain America, Defenders, Incredible Hulk and more. Famed for his ability to meet tight deadlines, he spread his talents across multiple genres. His 1970s work ranged from Ms. Marvel and Nova to Sub-Mariner and Spider-Woman’s first appearance in Marvel Spotlight. He was the uninterrupted artist on Spectacular Spider-Man for more than one hundred issues and penciled the web-slinger’s adventures in Marvel Team-Up, in which he and writer Bill Mantlo introduced Captain Jean DeWolff. After handling more team-ups in the Thing’s Marvel Two-in-One, he reunited with brother John on Steve Englehart’s Fantastic Four. He later provided inks for Tom DeFalco’s Spider-Girl titles and Thunderstrike miniseries.