“Comics publishers are used to looking in a very, very narrow focused prism. It's like when I started writing 'X-Men.' Our 'meat and potatoes' money was made of newsstand sales, while anything that came through the Direct Market was considered gravy.”

English-born American comic book writer and novelist

Chris Claremont is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. He is best known for his long run on Uncanny X-Men, which lasted from 1975 to 1991 and became the defining stretch of his career. During that period, he helped shape the modern X-Men by developing strong female characters and bringing more complex literary themes into superhero stories. Under his stewardship, X-Men grew from an underperforming title into one of Marvel’s most popular series, and for a time it was the best-selling comic book in the world.