DC has a long history of fantastic storytellers taking on or creating iconic characters and adventures. This AAPI Heritage Month, we’re wrapping things up by celebrating six comic book creators who have molded, shaped, or grown alongside DC. We're looking at everything from beloved Batman writers to inkers and letterers who don't often get the recognition they deserve to maybe the most famous comic book artist alive today. So, if you want to learn more about your faves or perhaps find a new one, then sit back and dig into this edition of DC House of List-ery.
 

Jim Lee

It's hard to understate the impact of DC's current Chief Creative Officer, Jim Lee, on not only the publisher but also the comics industry as a whole. From the early work that established him at Marvel to the founding of Image Comics and the eventual sale of his studio to DC in 1998, all the way through his iconic runs on Batman and Justice League, Jim Lee has changed the face of comics in more ways than one.

As a high profile Korean American comics creator in the ’90s, Lee gave a whole generation of hopeful AAPI artists a hero to look up to. And over his time with DC Comics, he's steered the company into its most profitable and successful eras from the New 52 all the way through to the billion-dollar success of Aquaman and Joker. Through it all, he's still an artist at heart, sharing his gorgeous, instantly iconic work with fans via DC covers, art auctions and massively popular streams.
 

Janice Chiang

One of the most prolific letterers of her generation, Janice Chiang has been lettering comics for over thirty years and is still going strong. She's credited on over 1,500 comic book issues including iconic DC titles like House of Mystery, Action Comics, Batman and many more. In recent years, Chiang has lettered books like Shadow of the Batgirl, while standing as one of the earliest letterers to adopt digital lettering, making her a trailblazer in the field.

While it can often be easy to forget how important letterers like Janice are, without her—and letterers as a whole—we'd never know what was going on in the minds and mouths of our favorite heroes. With her years of work, Chiang has brought a vibrant visual literacy to the DC Universe.
 

Dustin Nguyen

With hundreds of credits at DC alone, Dustin Nguyen has long been a creative force to be reckoned with at DC. Beginning his career with the series Gen-Active at Jim Lee's WildStorm Studios in the early 2000s, he soon became a regular artist at DC. His gorgeous and instantly recognizable work has reframed how we see the Bat-Family and has introduced Gotham to generations of kids.

Working alongside iconic creators like Paul Dini and Scott Snyder on a variety of Bat-titles, and co-creating his own like the iconic Batman: Li’l Gotham, Nguyen has cemented himself and his style as residing among DC's most interesting and accessible, whether you’re eight years old or eighty. If you aren't already a fan, we’d say it’s well past time for you to dig into his catalog and discover a new favorite.
 

Steve Leialoha

Inking the lion's share of Fables means Steve Leialoha has literally shaped the face of one of the most famous and long-running Vertigo titles. Along with Mark Buckingham, Leialoha won four Eisners for his work on the acclaimed fantasy series, including the Best Penciller/Inker Team Eisner award in 2007. Leialoha also worked on titles like Batman, Detective Comics, Justice League international and a number of Sandman books. Working largely as an inker—though he does occasionally pencil too—Leialoha is sometimes overlooked when discussing outstanding and long-standing DC creators, but he's a massive talent who has long been making his mark on DC comics and the industry as a whole.
 

Mariko Tamaki

Mariko Tamaki was already an established and celebrated comics writer when she turned her eye to the world of DC, bringing her thoughtful, funny and sweet touch to Supergirl alongside artist Joelle Jones in Supergirl: Being Super. That gorgeous story was Tamaki's introduction to DC, where she would soon make a creative home.

From her gorgeous Harley Quinn coming of age story Breaking Glass all the way through her riotous series Crush & Lobo and impressive stint on Detective Comics, Tamaki has become a DC stalwart and the kind of creator who fans will follow no matter the title or character. We can't wait to see what she does next in her soon-to-be-released Zatanna DC Black Label book with Javier Rodriguez.
 

Gene Luen Yang

He's the man who brought the magical Monkey Prince to the DC Universe, but that was far from his first foray into DC Comics. With credits on titles like New Super-Man, Detective Comics, Action Comics, Batman/Superman and many more, Yang is a prolific comics creator whose work always stands out from the crowd.

For me, his bravest and most game changing DC work is his standalone, all-ages limited series inspired by an infamous episode of the Man of Steel’s radio series, Superman Smashes the Klan. With stunning art from the team known as Gurihiru, the book feels just as relevant now as the radio show did in the ’30s and ’40s. It's the kind of radical art that can change minds and hearts, and Yang brings that to all of his projects, even the one about a flying Monkey Prince.
 

Rosie Knight is an award-winning journalist and author who loves Swamp Thing, the DC Cosmic and writing the monthly gossip column here at DC.com. You can also listen to her waxing lyrical about comics, movies and more each week as she co-hosts Crooked Media's pop-culture podcast, X-Ray Vision.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Rosie Knight and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.