Writer Daniel Way has been one of Marvel's most prolific and influential writers, making a career of crafting defining stories for some of the House of Ideas' most popular characters. He is best known for lengthy runs on Ghost Rider and Deadpool, and took a turn at Marvel's most deadly father-son team in Wolverine: Origins and Dark Wolverine (co-written with Marjorie Liu). Way has also helped shed light on some of the Marvel Universe's darker corners, bringing back Starr the Slayer, introducing the world to Hit-Monkey, showcasing the assassin Bullseye's "Greatest Hits," declaring open season on Sabretooth and exploring the world of Supreme Power's ruthless vigilante Nighthawk in various limited series, as well as adding Deadpool to the roster of his reinvention of the Thunderbolts.

The late artist Steve Dillon had his first paying work at age 16 for the UK-based Hulk Weekly magazine. Like many of his British contemporaries, Dillon honed his skills on the legendary 2000AD. In 1993, Dillon joined writer Garth Ennis on DC/Vertigo's Hellblazer. Their work earned overwhelming praise from the title's devoted fan base and led to a second collaboration on Preacher, which earned an "A" grade from Entertainment Weekly and was later turned into a TV series on AMC. After Preacher's 66-issue run, Dillon again teamed with Ennis on a revival of Marvel's classic antihero, Punisher. Dillon later illustrated Daniel Way's Wolverine: Origins, Ennis' Punisher: War Zone, Mark Millar's Ultimate Avengers and Jason Aaron's PunisherMAX. Dillon again drew Frank Castle for Marvel NOW! in the relaunched Thunderbolts and later in All-New, All-Different Marvel's The Punisher.