Writer J. Michael Straczynski made pop-culture history with the epic TV series Babylon 5. In 1999, Straczynski penned Top Cow's Rising Stars, leading to an offer from Marvel to write Amazing Spider-Man, a title he revolutionized. "JMS" went on to write Supreme Power, Fantastic Four, Bullet Points, The Twelve and a fan-favorite revival of Thor. The latter helped inspire Marvel's Thor feature film, on which he shares a writing credit. JMS' screenplay for Changeling was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Angelina Jolie, while his other movie credits include Underworld: Awakening and World War Z. For DC Comics, he has written iconic characters Superman and Wonder Woman.

Artist Olivier Coipel caught the eyes of Avengers fans with his work in a series of startlingly fresh and exciting stories in 2004, then delivered a star turn on the 2005 blockbuster limited series House of M. Proving his mettle with the grand splendor and huge cast of a Marvel epic, he earned the plum assignment of restoring the hallowed halls of Asgard to grandeur in J. Michael Straczynski's Thor. Again called on to illustrate a Marvel mega-event, Coipel reunited with House of M writer Brian Michael Bendis on Siege. His subsequent credits include returns to the world of the Thunder God, as well as contributions to Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men and Avengers vs. X-Men.