Chris Claremont is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year (1975-1991) stint on "Uncanny X-Men," far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero narratives, turning the once underachieving comic into one of Marvel's most popular series. John Byrne is a British-born comic-book writer and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero. Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics' "Superman" franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the "X-Men" comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with "Fantastic Four" (where he started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including "Next Men" and "Danger Unlimited." He scripted the first issues of Mike Mignola's "Hellboy" series and produced a number of "Star Trek" comics for IDW Publishing.