Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles to Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti's company Event Comics; Event hired the creative teams for the Knights line while Marvel published them.
Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the Ultimate Universe. Those characters include Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Ultimates, the Fantastic Four, and others. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men in 2001, followed by The Ultimates and Ultimate Fantastic Four in 2002 and 2004 respectively providing new origin stories for the characters. The reality of Ultimate Marvel is designated as Earth-1610 as part of the Marvel Comics Multiverse.
Joseph Quesada is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom. He later worked on numerous books for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, such as Batman: Sword of Azrael and X-Factor, before forming his own company, Event Comics, where he published his creator-owned character, Ash.
Azrael is an alias used by multiple fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version, Jean-Paul Valley, was created by Denny O'Neil, Joe Quesada, and Peter Milligan, and debuted in Batman: Sword of Azrael #1. The second character to assume the alias was Michael Washington Lane, in Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #1. Both iterations are Christian vigilantes and assassins created by the Order of St. Dumas and/or its derivatives, secretive religious organizations seeking to restore justice to Gotham City through religious extremism. They are typically portrayed as antiheroes and reluctant allies of the superhero Batman and the Batman Family, battling forms of manipulations employed by their respective orders, violent tendencies shaped by tragedies in their life, and proving themselves trusted allies to Batman.
Fabian Nicieza is an Argentine-American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, Nomad, Cable, Deadpool and Thunderbolts, for all of which he helped create numerous characters, among them Deadpool, Domino, Shatterstar, and Silhouette.
Trevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch.
Painkiller Jane is a fictional superheroine created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the Punisher, Vampirella, and Hellboy.
Humberto Ramos is a Mexican comic book penciller, best known for his work on American comic books such as Impulse, Runaways, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man and his creator-owned series Crimson.
Brian Augustyn was an American comic book editor and writer. He often worked as editor or co-writer with writer Mark Waid, such as on The Flash in the 1990s. He wrote Gotham by Gaslight – which imagines Batman tracking Jack the Ripper – the prototype of DC's Elseworlds imprint, which featured versions of their characters in alternate settings.
Deathmate is a six-part comic book crossover between Valiant Comics and Image Comics published in 1993–94. The series is remembered for its negative impact on comic book retailers and the industry as a whole due to its late, over-ordered but poorly-selling books.
James Palmiotti is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film.
Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' Soulsearchers and Company and Harris Comics' Vampirella in the 1990s. Her 2000s work includes Mad magazine, and such DC Comics characters as Harley Quinn, Power Girl, and Atlee.
The Hero Initiative, formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots, or ACTOR, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers, and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers, including Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Wizard Entertainment, CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501(c)(3) charity aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance.
The Punisher, also known as The Punisher: Purgatory, is a four-issue comic book limited series written by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, and published by Marvel Comics from 1998 to 1999. The series was a departure from typical Punisher stories in that it dealt with supernatural themes.
Isabella Carmela Magdalena "Ma" Gnucci is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is an enemy of the Punisher.
Achebe is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Christopher Priest and Mark Texeira, the character first appeared in Black Panther Vol. 3, #3. Achebe is a recurring enemy of the superhero Black Panther.
Battle of the Planets is a comic book series, based on the television series of the same name. As of 2024 two series have been produced - the first was published by Gold Key Comics between 1979 and 1981; the second was published by Top Cow Productions between 2002 and 2003.
Event Comics was an American independent comic book publisher founded by veteran artists Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada. The company published during the years 1994 to 1999. In 1998, it was contracted to form the Marvel Knights imprint for Marvel Comics.
The Samurai Jack comics was a monthly American comic book series chronicling the travels of Samurai Jack, the protagonist of the eponymous series on Cartoon Network. The comic book series follows up on Season 4 of Samurai Jack, which tells of an unnamed, time-displaced feudal Japanese samurai prince, who takes the name "Jack", in his singular quest to find a method of travelling back in time and defeating the tyrannical demon Aku.
Mike Wolfer is a comic book writer and artist. He attended The Kubert School for two years.
