Mike Butterworth is primarily known in comic circles as the writer of The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire, but had previously written Battler Britton and Buffalo Bill strips for Comet, for Sun he wrote Max Bravo, The Happy Hussar and Billy the Kid (which was drawn by, amongst others, Don Lawrence). The Trigan Empire began in 1965 in Ranger, and continued when Ranger was absorbed into Look and Learn where it continued to be published through to 1982. From 1967 he also wrote crime novels under his full name, John Michael Butterworth, and gothic romances under the pseudonyms of Carola Salisbury and Sarah Kemp.

Oliver Frey was born in Switzerland in 1948, and by the 60s he was studying at the London Film school, supporting himself by painting covers for War Picture Library. In the 1970s he replaced Don Lawrence as the main artist on The Rise and Fall of The Trigan Empire, and in the 1980s he worked on several Dan Dare stories for the revival of Eagle. Under the pen-name of Zack he drew many gay erotic comics including Desert Studs, Hot for Boys, and Raw Recruits. He also produced covers and serialised The Terminal Man for the computer games magazine CRASH, and created the art for the opening pre-title sequence of the 1978 Superman film.