James Shooter is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth editor-in-chief, and his work as editor in chief of Valiant Comics.
Joshua Waitzkin is an American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life.
The Avengers is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Avengers and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original The Avengers comic book series which debuted in 1963.
Jim Lee is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey Award, Inkpot Award and three Wizard Fan Awards.
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles The Flash, Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright as well as his work on Captain America, Fantastic Four and Daredevil for Marvel. From August 2007 to December 2010, Waid served as Editor-in-Chief and later Chief Creative Officer of Boom! Studios, where he also published his creator-owned series Irredeemable and Incorruptible. In October 2018, Waid joined Humanoids Publishing as Director of Creative Development before being promoted to Publisher in February 2020. In addition to that, Waid has written for a variety of comics publishers, including Fantagraphics, Event, Top Cow, Dynamite and Archie Comics.
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to retailers, as well as other popular culture products such as toys, games, and apparel. Diamond distributes to the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive distribution arrangements with several major U.S. comic book publishers, including Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and IDW Publishing.
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series Static Shock, Damage Control, Justice League Unlimited and Ben 10, and co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic book company Milestone Media, which focused on underrepresented minorities in American comics.
Defiant Comics was a comic book publishing imprint of Enlightened Entertainment Partners, LP. Defiant was established in 1993 by former Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for co-creating The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Invincible, Tech Jacket, Outcast, Oblivion Song and Fire Power for Image Comics, in addition to writing Ultimate X-Men, Irredeemable Ant-Man and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of its co-founders.
Kevin Walker is a British comics artist and illustrator, based in Leeds, who worked mainly on 2000 AD and Warhammer comics and the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. He is now working for Marvel Comics.
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.
The Good Guys is a comic book series that was published monthly by Defiant Comics from November of 1993 until July of 1994. Written by Jim Shooter, Jan C. Childress, D. G. Chichester, and Mike W. Barr, the series ran for a total of 9 issues until Defiant ceased publication. It was odd for the time in that its characters were created via a "talent search" for interesting character concepts.
Marvel Graphic Novel (MGN) is a line of graphic novel trade paperbacks published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics. The books were published in an oversized format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French albums. In response, DC Comics established a competitor line known as DC Graphic Novel.
Ken Goldstein, also known as Kene G and Jack Dempsey, is an American musician, film and television writer, producer, director and occasional actor. He is a co-founder of Planet illogica and CEO of The Six Shooter Company and the author of the book series, The Way of the Nerd. Goldstein is an active speaker at conferences and festivals, universities and private and public institutions. He has been a featured and Keynote speaker in Brazil, Australia, France and Germany. He is also a songwriter, guitar player, performer and recording artist who often performs under the stage name Jack Dempsey. In 2014 Ken Goldstein completed his first solo album as Jack Dempsey at Capitol Records. The album was produced and engineered by Niko Bolas.
Jan Lucanus is an American comic book writer, filmmaker, martial artist, musical artist, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of the transmedia company Creative Impulse Entertainment, Inc., co-creator/co-writer of the mixed martial arts comic books series, JFH: Justice For Hire, is a filmmaker, an international martial arts champion in both the full contact sport of San Shou and the sport of Tai Chi Push Hands, and is a rapper/singer/songwriter. Lucanus also consults on business, production, and creative strategies for companies and individuals across comics, film, television, music, and games. He is a graduate of the New York University Maurice Kanbar Institute for Film & Television, Tisch School of the Arts, holding a degree in Film Production.
JFH: Justice For Hire is a mixed martial arts themed entertainment property that encompasses a series of comic books, films, videos, music, and animations. The JFH story follows two sons of a duo of vigilante fathers that get their family's hero-for-hire business legalized, spawning a worldwide industry of heroes, villains, and mercenaries for hire dubbed the Retribution Industry. Produced and published by Creative Impulse Entertainment, JFH remains one of the first examples of transmedia storytelling in the comic book industry.
Creative Impulse Entertainment is a transmedia production company founded by Jan Lucanus in 2003. With the company mantra "Intrigue, Entertain, Inspire Social Change", CIE bills itself as a home for artists that create content across multiple forms of media. CIE's production portfolio encompasses comic books, film, video, animation, music, and games, with subsidiaries dedicated to each craft.
Aurore Barry is an American screenwriter, film & music video director, and fashion entrepreneur. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University's film school, Aurore first gained recognition for her Senior thesis film Adventures in the Mind of Jack Quimby, which was an official selection of the Palm Springs Shortfest. In 2007, she cofounded the clothing line Daughters of the Revolution with designer Emily Cadenhead. Aurore won the 2008 Duke City Shootout competition for her screenplay Mantrap, which was produced by the program with her directing, subsequently garnering a second award for production design. She has written and directed music videos for several artists, including Ember FX, Ultra Vanity Testosterone, and Jan Lucanus. At the 2013 San Diego Comic Con Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza, it was announced that Aurore would co-write and co-direct an upcoming film production based on the acclaimed mixed martial arts comic book series JFH: Justice For Hire.
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia 
