Known for his offbeat approach, Kraft first made a name for himself as a comic book author with his work on Marvel Comics' "The Defenders", particularly the 1977 "Scorpio Saga" story-arc (issues #46, 48–50). In "The Defenders", Kraft wrestled with large philosophical issues: the temptations of power, the Cold War and nuclear power, sibling rivalry, and growing old alone. Kraft also merged his interests in music and comics by inserting multiple references to the band Blue Öyster Cult into his "Defenders" stories specifically the "Xenogenesis: Day of the Demons" storyline, issues #58–60. Kraft combined music and comics in his scripting of the "Marvel Super Special" #4 featuring The Beatles. "Marvel Super Special" #7, an adaptation of the film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", by Kraft and artists George Pérez and Jim Mooney was promoted on the "Bullpen Bulletins" page in Marvel Comics cover-dated January 1979. It was never published in the U.S. "because the book was late and the movie proved to be a commercial failure," according to a contemporaneous news account.