BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS is an award winning comics creator and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For the last twelve years, Bendis's books have dominated the top of nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts. As a leading writer for Marvel Comics, he works on their best-selling properties like The Avengers, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy. In addition, his original projects include Scarlet, Brilliant, Powers (currently in development as a TV series at FX), Torso (being developed as a film by Circle of Confusion), and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory. The winner of five prestigious Eisner Awards, Bendis lives with his family in Portland, where he writes and teaches comics and graphic novel writing at Portland State University and the University of Oregon. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. At the age of six, I stood in front of my family and declared myself the writer and artist of Spider-M