Lee Ferguson: artist/creator
I'd initially encountered Lee's work strictly as a fan and a lurker on the Event Comics boards, but watching Miranda develop from character design to promotional piece to star of her own book through his artistic hands has been something special to witness. His Miranda work is obviously the finest of his career and just like everyone involved with this, he's only getting better with time. It's become my job to give him a few things in every script that initially make him want my hands broken, but between you and me--I think he likes figuring out how he's going to draw 42 panels on a page, or a giant spider made of black glass. Or maybe it just looks that way when these amazing pages come back.
Marc Deering: inker
Lee's personal pick to ink his work, which in itself is an incredibly ringing endorsement. I decided a long time ago that in regards to the art, Lee was absolute lord and master, so when he said Marc Deering should be the one to ink his work, then Marc Deering became the guy without discussion. How he manages to preserve the intent of the pencils without diminishing them is amazing to me, and he continues to learn from and adjust to Lee's style on every page. The closer we got to the end of the first issue, the better his work became, and you could see them starting to merge together. Lee would leave an element specifically for Marc to provide a personal flourish, knowing exactly what he would do with it. There's even a scene at the end where Marc spent three or four passes attempting to replicate the famous "Kirby dots" effect for a character's grand entrance.
He's as committed as any of us, and holds the distinction of being the first person to have the Miranda cover blown up to poster size and placed on his wall. But he's doing the work of his young career and is very close to being the only man Ferguson trusts to ink his work.
Felix Serrano: colorist
Felix is our version of Devin Hester, an electrifying presence that re-energizes every facet of the game. This is yet another reason why we were fortunate to sign with Archaia, because without the mighty rolodex of Joe Ill, we wouldn't have the services of Mr. Serrano. Recruiting a decent colorist was always something that scared Lee and I half to death, so when Joe sent us Felix's samples (all of them Marvel-related), we breathed a collective sigh of relief. Still, while what we glimpsed was impressive, it was impossible to know how his style would translate to Lee's pencils and the wonderful world of Miranda Mercury.
To say that everybody was blown away by his first piece of Miranda color art is an understatement. This was literally everything we had envisioned, plus stuff we'd never even bothered to ask for. The colors were vibrant, striking---all without burying the beautiful lines Lee originally laid down. Felix Serrano just gave day one of a clinic on how to color Lee's pencils, coming perilously close to his own personal mantra---"like Steranko Nick Fury...in the year 2050." When you put pages into this man's hands, good things just happen.
Matty Ryan: letters
Without this man, it's all just pretty pictures. Mr. Ryan has bailed us out of, and really, been put into more deadline disasters than anyone else on squad and all of us are in his debt. Ryan used to work in Marvel's trade department and that's a really big reason why I'm so excited to have him onboard. Because on top of the lettering, and the production experience, and that brilliantly designed logo---there is a man who specializes in designing graphic novels. And as beautiful as Miranda Mercury's comic will be, expect her hardcover to look significantly better. Lee and I have been compiling material for over two years now and we'll be asking Matty to pack behind the scenes and development material into it 'til it bursts. We want to convey the illusion that we've glimpsed a little bit of the future, and Matty Ryan is instrumental in putting that vibe onto paper in an attractive and digestible format.
Joe Illidge: Editor
Joe Ill is the perfect head coach for Team Miranda, pushing us whenever necessary and ensuring that we have everything to get the job done, while trusting us enough to head out there and make some big plays. Anything he's ever suggested or brought to the table has been to the respectful. When we get blinded or otherwise lost in the material, he pulls us back and gets us back on track. Joe never loses sight of the big picture. Not just the creation of the work, but the delivery and promotion of the work, the overall perception of the work. Joe Illidge is indispensable to the project and just one of many reasons why we were fortunate to get picked up by Archaia.