“When you're given the assignment to write, for example, 'Spider-Man,' the concept, characters and environment are all laid out for you. Everything is pre-established, and your sole responsibility as a creator is to craft an exciting, entertaining, hopefully original adventure, to add layers and colors to a canon that already exists.”

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.