John Byrneis a comic-book writer and artist. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on many major American superheroes. Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics'X-MenandFantastic Fourand the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics'Supermanfranchise, the first issue of which featured comics' first variant cover. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciller, Byrne began co-plotting theX-Mencomics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest withFantastic Four(where he started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, includingNext MenandDanger Unlimited. He scripted the first issues of Mike Mignola'sHellboyseries and produced a number ofStar Trekcomics for IDW Publishing. In 2015, Byrne and his longtimeX-Mencollaborator Chris Claremont were inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.