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.

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.

Larry Lieber helped introduce Ant-Man in Tales to Astonish, Iron Man in Tales of Suspense and Thor in Journey into Mystery. He also wrote Human Torch solo stories for Strange Tales. In 1968, he and his brother, Stan Lee, collaborated on the pivotal Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5, which revealed the secret of Peter Parker’s parents. Lieber both wrote and drew runs on Marvel’s top Western titles: Kid Colt Outlaw, Rawhide Kid and Two-Gun Kid. Later, he scripted Marvel UK’s Captain Britain, also contributing occasional covers.

During the 1960s, when males dominated the industry, Marie Severin earned the respect of her peers with her seemingly limitless talents in every facet of comic-book production — from penciling to inking to lettering to coloring. Her earliest recorded work was for EC Comics in 1949, and she went on to contribute coloring across the famous publisher’s line before moving to Marvel’s predecessor Atlas Comics. In the Silver Age of comics, Severin made her mark in the Bullpen, drawing the adventures of Doctor Strange and becoming the company’s head colorist before going on to concentrate on penciling. Her extensive contribution to Marvel across a wide array of titles includes providing the original design for Spider-Woman. Severin was inducted into the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame in 2001.