Few artists have shaped what a superhero looks like on the page as directly as Jim Lee. His early-nineties X-Men work, all dense crosshatching and coiled anatomy, became a house style that later artists still work against. He left to co-found Image Comics and WildStorm, then became one of DC's defining figures on Batman: Hush and Justice League.
Quesada works in strong silhouettes and heavy blacks, and his Daredevil: Guardian Devil helped launch Marvel Knights. He went on to run Marvel as editor-in-chief through the period that reshaped its modern line.
Romita builds figures from blocky, weighted shapes that land with real force. Across four decades he has drawn most of the Marvel line, from Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil to Thor and Uncanny X-Men, plus Kick-Ass with Mark Millar and a run on Superman.
Ito finds horror in pattern and repetition: a spiral, a hole cut into a mountainside, a face that keeps coming back. His linework is meticulous, which only makes the transformations worse.
