Penciller Quesada and
inker Palmiotti, after working well together on various projects such as
Valiant Comics'
X-O Manowar, and following the creation of their first joint project in
Kid Death & Fluffy for a "Creators Universe" card series, decided to create their own studio with their own original characters. They spent two weeks in the
Florida Keys developing
Ash, their flagship character. Event published several series starring Ash, as well as stand-alone crossovers with another Event title,
22 Brides. The initial series, simply titled
Ash, ran for a total of seven issues, with issue #6 leading directly into issue #0. The second series,
Ash: The Fire Within ran for three issues. The final series to focus on the title character was
Ash: Cinder & Smoke, which ran for a total of six issues. Ash also co-starred in the
intercompany crossover Azrael/Ash, co-published with
DC Comics in 1997. Another popular Event character was
Painkiller Jane, who made her first appearance in
22 Brides #1 (1995). Originally a five-issue mini-series, Painkiller Jane went on to star in numerous
crossover books with the likes of
Punisher,
The Darkness,
Darkchylde,
Vampirella, and
Hellboy. In 1997, Event launched
Crimson Plague, the first creator-owned comic by popular veteran cartoonist
George Pérez. Originally intended as a six-issue mini-series about an alien with ultra-toxic blood, Pérez produced only one issue. He later temporarily revived the title with
Image Comics in 2000. Other Event Comics titles included
Thrax (1996), the
Kid Death & Fluffy Spring Break Special (1996), the
Kid Death & Fluffy Halloween Special (1997),
Legends of Kid Death & Fluffy (1997), and
Here Come the Big People (1997).
Marvel Knights In 1998, the Event Comics team was contracted by
Marvel Comics to breathe new life into some of their second-tier characters. Under the designation of "
Marvel Knights", Palmiotti and Quesada were given creative control of
Black Panther,
Daredevil,
The Punisher and
The Inhumans. Event hired the creative teams for the line while Marvel published them, and in September the Marvel Knights imprint was born. As Marvel Knights editor, Quesada encouraged experimentation and used his contacts in the
indie comics world to bring in new creators such as
David W. Mack,
Michael Avon Oeming,
Brian Michael Bendis,
Garth Ennis, and
Steve Dillon. The Event Comics creative teams eventually produced popular, well-regarded Knights runs like
Kevin Smith & Quesada's
Daredevil and
Christopher Priest's
Black Panther. Once Marvel Knights was implemented back into Marvel proper, Quesada and Palmiotti returned to the Marvel fold, and Event Comics was shut down, the last comics published being
Ash: Fire and Crossfire in January and March 1999, respectively. In 2000, Quesada ascended to the role of Marvel's editor-in-chief. As of June 2010, he is also Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Marvel Entertainment; this double commitment led to Quesada stepping down as editor-in-chief in January 2011: == Titles ==