88 years young on December 28th, Stan Lee has done it all. He's been at one time or another a comic book writer, editor, publisher, and president -- as well as an actor, producer, and all-around TV personality. Lee is probably one of the biggest celebrities hailing from the comic book industry in the world, with near-universal recognition. And it is exactly that ability to cross over fandoms and touch the general populace that has helped make not only Marvel Comics a household name, but comic books as well.

Born Stanley Lieber in 1922, he grew up at the height of the Great Depression in New York City. Lee was a hard worker, and one of his first writing jobs was obituaries for a news service. He became an assistant at the new Timely Comics in the 1940s, and made his comic-book writing debut with a text piece entitled "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge" in Captain America Comics #3; he signed the work "Stan Lee," hoping to reserve his real name for more literary writings. Read more...

Tags Kapow Comic Con, Marvel Comics, MTV Comics, POW! Entertainment, Stan Lee, Talenthouse, The Seekers

MTV Geek wishes the prolific Keith Giffen a very happy birthday today. Where do we begin when listing his many accomplishments and contributions to comic books? His epic run on Legion of the Superheroes? The creation of the character Lobo? The side-splitting antics of Ambush Bug and the Justice League? His work on countless titles, such as Doctor Fate, Suicide Squad, 52, Doom Patrol, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and XO Manowar?

Giffen started his comic book career in the 1970s, with the black-and-white series "The Sword and the Star" in Marvel Preview. He then went on to draw the Defenders, gaining a fan following in the process. He began drawing and then also writing the title Legion of the Superheroes, a run that would span the 80s and 90s, and co-created the late 80s Justice League International along with JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire. Since then, he has written and/or drawn literally scores of different comics, including 52, Countdown to Final Crisis, and the Marvel Annihilation event.

A Jack Kirby influence is often very present in Giffen's art. In an interview with "Kirby Collector" magazine, Giffen had this to say about the impact of Jack: "Jack was something that grew on me, like a taste for martinis. It was only after I began I realized all the work he had done and all the memories I had that were locked into him that I began to understand how important he was."

Below are a few of the many covers of comics featuring Giffen's work: Read more...

Tags Ambush Bug, DC Comics, Justice League International, Keith Giffen, Legion of the Superheroes, Lobo, Marvel Comics

MTV Geek wishes a very happy birthday to Greg Rucka, the multiple-Eisner and Harvey-award-winning writer of such books as Queen & Country, Gotham Central, Batwoman: Detective Comics, Wonder Woman, Action Comics, Wolverine, Whiteout, and many more.

Rucka got his start writing the popular Atticus Kodiak novels, drawing on his real-life experience as an EMT to give the books their realism. He then burst onto the comics scene with the critically acclaimed Whiteout from Oni, followed by Queen & Country. It was at Oni that Rucka established what would become one of his trademarks: a focus on strong female characters. He continued that focus with comics like Gotham Central (with Ed Brubaker), Wonder Woman, and a critically lauded Batwoman run in Detective Comics with J.H. Williams III.

His latest work is the Queen & Country novel “The Last Run,” and a Captain America story in the Marvel anthology “I Am An Avenger.” Below is a cover gallery from some of his most popular series: Read more...

Tags Batwoman, DC Comics, Gotham Central, Greg Rucka, Marvel Comics, Oni, Queen & Country, Whiteout