For those not desperately into the world of comic books, and the creation thereof, these pieces of illustrated literature seem to burst forth from the ether on a monthly basis like some kind of magic spell. The fact of the matter is that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who are working tirelessly every day to produce the reading material that is now the basis of some of your favorite movies, games and TV shows. Most of these people are relatively unknown to the average viewing audience. There are, however, some people that you have heard of who find comic books to be a viable medium for getting their ideas out there. You may have never heard of Warren Ellis, Matt Fraction of Kelly Sue DeConnick (seriously read the damn credits on a comic book will ya) but these guys you've definitely heard of, and you probably had no idea that they made comic books.

Chuck Palahniuk - Author

Famed author of such stellar books like Lullaby, Survivor and everybody's favorite, Fight Club; Chuck Palahniuk has been a mainstay of popular fiction since the mid-'90s. His work is often dark, dreary and packed with a level of detail that only an obsessive compulsive can appreciate. Along with his non-fiction essays, Chuck Palahniuk has become the nihilist's Chuck Klosterman (look him up) for both understanding, and deconstructing, modern day life. He's the dark and depressed equivalent of the uncle reading Fred Savage The Princess Bride book.

Starting in May of 2015, Palahniuk decided that he wanted to do a sequel to his most popular novel and, thanks to the influence of comics maestros Bendis and Fraction, he decided to do it in comic book form. Taking place 10 years after the first book ended, we find ourselves following The narrator of the original book and Marla Singer as they suffer through the boringness of their suburbanite lives. Marla is tired of the mundane and desperately wants Tyler to come back out and bring some excitement back into her life. Pretty much the story of anyone who has lived in suburbia for more than six months. Pick it up in TPB form on May 31st 2016.

William Shatner - THE William Shatner

William Shatner is best known for being the comma stunted actor who played Captain James T. Kirk. Through the years he has lived off the fame that his turn as the Star Trek captain has brought him. After giving up the captain’s chair, he spent a while as an LA Sheriff in T.J. Hooker and then created a series of sci-fi novels called Tek-War that stretched the idea of what the word "novel" really meant (admittedly, as a 12-year-old I ate up these books like most people eat cornflakes, which should tell you the depth of the story that was presented).

Not content with giving up the idea of not being in the public sphere, William Shatner decided that he too should cash in on the comic book phenomenon that all the kids are talking about these days. With that said, he created Man-O-War. What is Man-O-War you ask? It's a motion comic—the likes of which you can already find on Netflix (based on better comics). This is a list of people you didn't know created comic books, not necessarily good comic books.

Gerard Way - My Chemical Romance Ringleader

The lead singer of My Chemical Romance is a comic book creating genius. I don't want to admit it, but he is. A protege of Grant Morrison, Gerard Way created one of the greatest comic book stories of the modern era with The Umbrella Academy. You'll want to discount him because of his teeny bopper image, but the fact of the matter is he's been a student of the form for years and two volumes of The Umbrella Academy and one volume of Killjoys have cemented his legacy as a bonafide among the creator circle.

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is a monster mash of ideas from rebellion, to corporate corruption, to the struggle with identity (both sexually and personally). The first volume of The Umbrella Academy starts with an alien dropping a flying elbow on an intergalactic octopus and the second volume somehow involves time travel and killing Kennedy through the power of suggestion. It's some of the most insane comic reading you're ever going to see from a man who makes billions of teenage girls scream in public. Just get your credit card out and read it for yourself; you'll thank me.

Kevin Smith - Filmmaker, Podcaster, Reckless Stoner

Best known For his pop-culture infused movies cataloging the ins and outs of the slacker generation as they struggle with the realities of growing up, Kevin Smith has made a name for himself as the voice of Generation X and their reliance on pop culture to survive in the everyday world. As an avid comic book reader (and owner of a couple comic book stores), it should come as no surprise that Kevin Smith has taken his turn at writing the comic books that took up so much of his youth.

He's written Batman, Daredevil (which explains how his hetero life mate Ben Affleck got the titular role), Green Arrow (which fellow stoner Seth Rogan went on to play on the big screen) and many more. The fact of the matter is that Kevin Smith has spent his life devoted to the intricacies of pop-culture and he has a specific outlook that he brings to the world of comic books. Yes, okay, maybe he wrote a scene where Batman pissed his pants during one of his missions. Take that for what you will—and don't judge Kevin too harshly, he does love the form.

Anthony Bourdain - Chef, Writer, Travel Enthusiast

Anthony Bourdain is a food obsessed, ex-addict, punk rock throwback who gives the least amount of shits about your feelings and more about pushing the boundaries of the world around him. I have watched every episode of every show he has done, read most of his books and he is my absolute favorite on this list. His love of food, culture and his ability to craft a poetic, yet cynical tale—along with his dalliances with fraternal organizations involved in the restaurant industry in New York City—made him the perfect person to tell the story of Get Jiro.

Named after, everyone assumes, legendary sushi chef Jiro Ono, the titular character is an uncompromising sushi chef in a dystopian world where two warring factions of chefs are fighting for culinary control. The people of this world are willing to kill and die for a perfect meal, a perfect fish purveyor, an organic tomato. Fine dining etiquette is a point of pride and those that violate it are dispatched with vim and vigor—like the opening scene when a sloppy sushi diner’s head is lopped from his body and no one bats an eye. If you enjoy foodie-based, mafia-inspired—yet delicately crafted and illustrated—stories you need to pick this up.

And then you need to learn how to be a better diner, or someone might chop off your fucking head.

Just sayin'.