X-Men Epic Collection: Fall of the Mutants

Industry legend Chris Claremont is best known for his epic sixteen-year run on Uncanny X-Men. Claremont's focus on the themes of prejudice and tolerance struck at the hearts of comics fans, and he built an unparalleled following during the next three decades. Under his pen, the X-Men franchise spawned a vast array of spin-offs, many of them written by Claremont himself. His other credits include Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, Power Man and Spider-Woman. Claremont has returned to the X-Men universe in New Exiles, GeNext, X-Men Forever, Chaos War: X-Men and Nightcrawler.

Tom DeFalco's earliest comic-book scripts were for Archie and DC; he soon moved to Marvel, where he wrote Avengers, Machine Man and other titles, also launching Dazzler, a hit series of the early '80s. In addition to writing long and well-received runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Thor, DeFalco edited many titles, eventually becoming editor in chief. During the 1980s, he headed the creative team that provided fictional biographies for G.I. Joe members, originally included with Hasbro's toys and later used as the basis for multiple storylines on the animated series. Perhaps his best-known work is multi-title character Spider-Girl, whom he introduced in 1998. DeFalco has authored multiple books, including Ultimate Guides for Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk and Spider-Man.

Industry giant Marc Silvestri entered the upper echelon of comics innovators in the late '80s during fan-favorite, record-breaking runs on Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine. Silvestri left Marvel in 1992 to co-found Image Comics; his imprint, Top Cow, is one of its four longstanding autonomous studios. At Image, Silvestri created some of today's most popular properties -- including Cyberforce, Witchblade, Weapon Zero and The Darkness. Silvestri has returned to the world of Marvel's mutants on New X-Men and X-Men: Messiah Complex.

Kerry Gammill has illustrated Fantastic Four and Power Man and Iron Fist for Marvel, and DC's Superman. In Marvel Team-Up, he and J.M. DeMatteis introduced Frog-Man and the White Rabbit, and he penciled Louise Simonson's scripts on Fallen Angels. Moving to the film industry, Gammill served as a special-effects artist, character designer and storyboard artist on such projects as Species II and Tremors: The Series. He also became one of the guiding minds behind Monster Kid Magazine, a publication focusing on classic monster movies of another era.

Three different incarnations of Cloak and Dagger were only a few of Rick Leonardi's artistic achievements for Marvel. His other credits include Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants and Spider-Man 2099. At DC, he drew Batman family titles Batgirl and Nightwing, as well as comic/film crossover Green Lantern vs. Aliens. At Event Comics, he penciled Painkiller Jane.

The career of British-born artist Alan Davis took off like a rocket after his humble beginnings at Marvel UK, where he impressed with an acclaimed run on Captain Britain. Davis broke into U.S. comics with runs on Batman and the Outsiders and Detective Comics. Hired by Marvel U.S. in 1986, Davis launched Excalibur with Chris Claremont, and the book quickly became one of mutantdom's most unique and humorous titles. When Davis took over as writer, he continued many plot threads from his Captain Britain run. After a lengthy arc writing and drawing X-Men, Davis illustrated writer Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers Prime and contributed to the status-quo-changing X-Men: Schism.

Since his beginnings with Ann Nocenti in Longshot (which earned him a Russ Manning Award), Arthur Adams has most often displayed his distinctive and detail-intensive art in miniseries or one-shots (including several Uncanny X-Men Annuals) -- along with brief but memorable stints on Fantastic Four, X-Factor and other titles. He co-created "Jonni Future" for Alan Moore's Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, and Dark Horse Comics has published his creator-owned Monkeyman and O'Brien. Renowned for cover art at Marvel, DC and elsewhere, Adams has also illustrated trading cards, posters and shirts, among other products; his art can be found in toy design, film advertisements and a series of X-Men-themed Campbell Soup labels. Jeph Loeb's Hulk series featured a string of issues in which Adams provided interior art.

Marshall Rogers (1950-2007) provided pencils for Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Doctor Strange, G.I. Joe and Silver Surfer. His best-known non-Marvel work is an acclaimed run, with writer Steve Englehart, on Detective Comics and other Batman titles; when a Batman newspaper comic strip debuted in 1989, Rogers was chosen as the strip's artist.