Image Comics

Image Comics is the third larger editor of Comic S with the the United States (after Marvel Comics and cd. Comics). The company was founded in 1992 by seven authors of talent with an aim of leaving the copyright of the characters to their own creators, not to slow down the creativity. The success of Image significantly changed the role of the authors in the industry of the comics, but of the internal tensions and the lack of commercial vision of its founders gave to this publisher a tumultuous existence.

Moreover, many critics protested against the drawings excessively blazing, the abundance of violence and female characters equipped sexy in the exits with the company. But these characteristics were worth especially for its first years of existence.

The founders of the company are Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio and Jim Valentino.

The series carrying the history of the publisher are Gen13, The Savage Dragon, Spawn, WildC.A.T.s, Witchblade and Youngblood.

History

Foundation

It is difficult to know in an exact way the history of the foundation of Image Comics, the interested parties having often contradictory versions. It is however notorious that in the years 1990s, several draftsmen of Marvel Comics protested against the excessive marketing of derivative products which the company made on the basis of their creation (drawings and characters), by transferring only tiny royalties to them.

In December 1991, a group of these draftsmen is essential in the office of the president de Marvel Terry Stewart to take advantage of their rights of creators. The composition of this group is not completely known, but it is almost sure that it was carried out by Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld. A priori, this meeting overheated the spirits and when the artists threatened to leave Marvel, Stewart answered that the company could “always find someone else to collect cotton”, an analogy comparing them with slaves.

A few months later, seven former Marvel draftsmen announced the creation of Image Comics. The founders were McFarlane (made famous with Spiderman), Liefeld (the New Mutants and X-Force), Jim Lee (X-Men), Marc Silvestri (Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine), Erik Larsen (The Amazing Spider-Man), Jim Valentino (Guardians off the Galaxy) and Whilce Portacio (Uncanny X-Men). This creation is sometimes called “the X-odus” (what decides in English like the exodus , the exodus), because 4 of these founders were famous for their work on the frankness X-Men. Even if each artist were rather famous, Lee, Liefeld and McFarlane were by far three more popular.

Image was essential two principles founders:

  • Image does not hold the work of a creator, it is the creator who holds it.
  • an Image creator intervenes never, créativement or financially, on the work of another.

In the spirit of the second principle, each partner founded his own studio, which was affiliated in Image but was autonomous, without central leading control. Portacio not wishing to become a partner with whole share in the company, Image was in the beginning made up of 6 studios:

  • Extreme Studios, directed by Liefeld
  • Highbrow Entertainment, directed by Larsen
  • ShadowLine, directed by Valentino
  • Todd McFarlane Productions, directed by McFarlane
  • Signal Cow Productions, directed by Silvestri
  • Aegis Entertainment, directed by Lee (become Wildstorm Productions)

Development

The first comics Image to arrive in bookstore were Youngblood of Liefeld, WildC.A.T.s of Lee and Spawn of McFarlane. Thanks to their stars, these series were sold more than any other series non-Marvel and not-cd. The following series, The Savage Dragon of Larsen, Cyberforce of Silvestri, Shadowhawk of Valentino and Wetworks of Portacio, were less success.

With the prospect to keep the intellectual property and creative control on their work, Image quickly attracted other artists in the company. Arrived thus Sam Keith, which carried out The Maxx for Image, and the duet Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, which carried out Astro City.

Image competed soon with Marvel and cd. Comics in term of popularity. But the seven founders had little experiment as scenario writers, and the critics baited themselves on the poverty of the scenarios and the banality of the heroes, dissimulated by a graphics slap-with-the eye. Only some rare exceptions were acclaimed ( Astro City ), others accepted a neutral reception of criticisms ( The Savage Dragon , Spawn ), while the majority were severely judged ( WildC.A.T.s , Cyberforce and especially Youngblood ).

The founders had also little experiment of commercial management and they were found quickly exceeded by the responsibilities which their respective studios implied. Soon the delays accumulated. The booksellers ordered comics which had not been drawn yet, to note when they received them that the fans had lost their interest. When they started to lose money on the Image series, they slowed down their orders, which had a large impact on the studio.

In reaction to these problems, the tests engaged Larry Marder to deal with the commercial side, and it succeeds in developing a realistic planning and disciplining the artists on the deadlines to be respected.

In the middle of the Years 1990, the series like Spawn and The Savage Dragon showed an incredible stability, while new series like Gen13, The Authority, Witchblade and The Darkness were great successes. Image was then established on the market of the comics as an important competitor, even if criticisms were still not enthusiastic.

Conflicts between the partners then start to affect the company. Several complained that Liefeld made use of a title of President d' Image to promote his own independent studio, Maximum Close, causing the separation of the studio Top Cow directed by Silvestri in 1996. One year later, Liefeld was thorough out of the company by the other partners, who engaged of the legal actions. After which Silvestri brought back Top Cow in Image. The same year, Lee sold Wildstorm with cd. Comics, wishing to release itself from its responsibilities for editor to devote itself to his Article.

To compensate for these departures, several labels joined Image, like Dreamwave or Gorilla, in 2001, with various fortunes.

In February 2004, Erik Larsen replaced Jim Valentino as editor of Image. Currently, the company continues to publish various successful series and to attract new artists, but lost market shares compared to the last years.

Series

0-F

  • 10th MUSE
  • 1963 Old
  • off Bronze
  • Altered Image
  • Amazing Joy Buzzards
  • The Amory Wars
  • Angela
  • Ant
  • Arcanum
  • Area 52
  • Aria
  • Rise
  • Astro City
  • The Atheist
  • Athena Inc.
  • The Astounding Wolf-Man
  • Avengelyne
  • Backlash
  • Badger
  • Badrock
  • Badrock and Company
  • Battle Chasers
  • Battle Hymn
  • Battle off the Planets
  • Big Bang Comics
  • Bloodmaster Scarlet
  • Bloodpool
  • Bloodstrike
  • Bloodwulf
  • Boof
  • Bomb Queen
  • Bone
  • Casanova
  • Box Files: Sam & Twitch
  • Chanel Zero
  • City off Silence
  • The Clock Maker
  • Codename: Stryke Forces off
  • Common Grounds
  • Crimson
  • The Curse Spawn
  • Cyberforce
  • Cybernary
  • Danger Girl
  • Darkchylde
  • Darker Image
  • Darkminds
  • The Darkness
  • Dart
  • Dawn
  • The Deadly Duo
  • Death, Jr.
  • Deathblow
  • Deity: Revelations
  • Desperate Times
  • Divine Right
  • Doom' S IV
  • DV8
  • Dynamo 5
  • Faction Paradox
  • Fathom
  • Fell
  • Firebreather
  • Fire From Heaven
  • First Man
  • Frankenstein Mobster
  • Freak Forces
  • Freshmen

G-O

  • G.I Joe
  • GEAR Station
  • Geeksville
  • Gen 13
  • Ghost Spy
  • Girls
  • Glory
  • Gødland
  • Go Girl!
  • The Gray Area
  • Grease Monkey
  • Grifter
  • Groo the Wanderer
  • Grounded
  • Grrl Scouts: Work Sucks
  • Hawaiian Dick
  • Heirs off Eternity
  • Hellcop
  • Hellshock
  • Hellspawn
  • Humankind
  • Hunter-Killer
  • The Imaginaries
  • Invincible Immortal II
  • Intimidators
  • Iron Wings
  • Jack Staff
  • Jade Warriors
  • Jinx
  • J.U.D.G.E
  • Supreme Kabuki
  • Kid
  • KIS: Psycho Circus
  • Lady Pendragon
  • Lady Rawhide
  • Last Shot
  • Leave It to Chance
  • Legend off Supreme
  • Liberty Meadows
  • Lions, Tigers and Bears
  • Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker
  • Madman Atomic Comics
  • Magdalena '
  • Magus
  • Mask off Zorro
  • Masters off the Universe
  • Maximage
  • The Maxx
  • Mech Destroyer
  • Megaton Man
  • MELTDOWN
  • Micronauts
  • Midnight Nation
  • Misplaced
  • More Than Mortal: Otherworlds
  • Mr. Rex
  • Mutant Earth
  • Mythstalkers
  • Newmen
  • Noble Night Club
  • Causes
  • NYC Mech
  • Obergeist
  • Occult Crimes Taskforce
  • The Others

P-Z

External bonds

  • Official site Image Comics
  • Spawn.com
  • history of Image by Michael Dean

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