Chris Claremont
As a college undergrad in 1969, Chris went to work for Marvel Comics as a gofer/editorial assistant. His first appearance in professional scripting was Daredevil #102 (August 1973). As an entry into regular comics, he was handed the dying run of "Iron Fist" in Marvel Premier #23 in August 1975. He was joined two issues later by artist John Byrne who helped him revitalize Iron Fist in his own title. From 1975-1991 Claremont wrote Uncanny X-Men. He created Gambit, Mystique, Kittypride, Rogue, and many others. His X-Men #266 (1st Gambit) with Jim Lee is a major key. Claremont also has a record with Jim Lee that we will discuss. He is definitely one of the all-time greats. Don't miss out on his Anniversary Special that comes out this December.
Jim Lee
In 1987 Jim Lee attended New York's Comic-Con and had his portfolio reviewed by then Marvel editor Archie Goodwin. He invited Jim Lee over to Marvel where he introduced him to editor Carl Potts. Potts hired him to pencil Alpha Flight #51. In 1989 he worked on Punisher: War Journal. He also worked on the Uncanny X-Men run and co-created Gambit with Chris Claremont. The pair would go on to create some of the best comics ever produced. Including 1991's X-Men #1. This comic still holds the Guinness Book of World Records at 8.1 million copies sold. That is a lot of comics and undoubtedly will never be broken. In 1992 Jim Lee and other artists started Image Comics to publish their creator-owned titles. Lee sold Wildstorm Productions to DC comics in 1998, where he continued to run it until 2010. On February 18, 2010, Lee was announced as the publisher for DC Comics. Upon DiDio's departure in 2020, Lee became the sole publisher of DC Comics. He has been making huge changes as of late shaking up the DC brand. It will be interesting to see what he has planned for the future.
Ryan Stegman
Ryan Stegman started his career working with independent publishers. In 2005 his first appearance was in Midnight Kiss #0-5 (2005-2006) by APC publishing. He also did a variant in 2005 for Scatterbrain #1 by Markosia Publishing. Stegman worked for many independents such as Devil's Due Publishing, Harris Comics, Wagon Wheel Comics, and Zenescope. In 2010 Stegman signed exclusively with Marvel Comics and then launched his She-Hulk run for Marvel. In January 2013 he and writer Dan Slott started The Superior Spiderman Series. The first issue won the 2013 Diamond Gem Award for Comic Book of the Year over $3.00. He went on to work on Uncanny X-men and then Amazing Spiderman: Renew Your Vows. In 2018 Marvel relaunched the Venom Series with Stegman as Artist. In 2019 he did Absolute Carnage with Donny Cates. Now the pair seem to be untouchable as they are currently working on Venom, Thor, and the upcoming hits Crossover and King In Black. I believe the best is yet to come. Join us on our next chapter of artist and writer's first appearances.
