Happy Birthday Image!
Image Comics turns 30 this year…
…which is sort of cool because I witnessed its birth. No really. I remember when a few of my comic idols all got together and told the Big Two to kiss it and went and created their own comic book company. Hopefully in a scenario that involved a lot of middle fingers and chair tossing like some middle manager gone mad. I’m not sure how it all really went down. I was in middle school at the time, but that’s how I like to imagine it.
Yep, it’s been thirty years since original founders: Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio and Jim Valentino walked away from their roles in various comic projects to start their “creator owned” brand of comics. Even though titles like Spider-man and X-men had been around for years, talent like McFarlane and Lee were-in the 90’s-the reason why these titles were booming, and the artists felt they weren’t getting their fair share. After all, they didn’t create these characters, they merely drew them. And man did they! I remember seeing such epic comic covers as the aforementioned Spider-man #1 by McFarlane and X-Men #1 by Jim Lee. The art alone would sell that comic. Which was the thing. The artwork alone was selling the comic, but the artists weren’t seeing any of that money, Marvel was. So, early in 1992, they felt it was time to shake things up.
Now and Then
What followed was the founding of the first comic publisher to rival DC and Marvel’s rule over the industry. Image’s first comic book, Spawn #1, burst onto the comic scene selling an estimated 1.7 billion copies, and cementing Image as a force to be reckoned with. Soon to follow was Lee’s WildC.A.T.S, Silvestri’s Shadow Hawk and Larsen’s Savage Dragon among others. Comic fans like me were eating it up. We still are. Image continues to bring unique stories to life that can’t be told anywhere else. One of its most popular titles, The Walking Dead was adapted into a ground breaking television show on AMC that’s been on the air for over 10 years. Another crowd pleaser is a comic series I blogged about just a few days ago, Saga; who’s recent comeback proves that Image is still “the best of the rest.”
Image’s success is due to its original premise of being “creator owned.” Image, and its founders, were intent on creating a comic book company where the creators kept the rights to their creations. Gone were the days of working insanely long hours on comics for standard page rates. Image touted complete ownership. The creators retained all rights, and its current president, Todd McFarlane promised all who partnered with him that he’d treat them better than Marvel or DC ever would.
Image wasn’t without its own set of growing pains, though. Like all newly formed companies, and keeping in mind that these were artists we’re talking about-not businessmen, there were some…complications. Without going too far down the rabbit hole, tensions would rise. Liefeld would be blamed for stealing talent. Silvestri would resign, followed by Liefeld. Silvestri would return to Image soon after, but the company would lose Jim Lee to DC in 1999-where he remains as the Creative Director. The early 2000’s were challenging for Image, as they struggled to stay competitive.
The Rise of “Creator Owned”
They would soon find their footing once more. In the early years, it was unusual for a publisher (Image) to work with freelance artists. Today, it’s hard to think of it as ever being an issue. Image would recommit to its original purpose: to create a space for diverse storytelling. Image would partner with independent creators and begin bringing new and unique stories to life once again.
Today, this is a business model that’s copied by several smaller publishers nation wide if not internationally. Smaller companies offer creators complete control over their intellectual property as well as all copyrights. In fact, one can point to Kickstarter’s own business model as a hybrid of what Image began back in 1992. “We’ll help you raise the awareness and funds to make the thing, you own the rest.” Today Image remains true to that concept. They’ll make sure your comic makes it onto the shelves via distribution and being a creator underneath Image’s umbrella, but creators ultimately own and control their creations. I think I just heard someone say “Substack” there in the back…but moving on.
People seem to muddle through their teens and twenties, but once you hit thirty, it often feels like you’re starting to get the hang of things. You’ve moved out of your parents’ home, you’re working, you may be dating, you may be married, but you start getting a good grasp of who you are–what you like and what you don’t. Image’s early years wasn’t without its hiccups, but now that it’s turning 30 I must say, 30 is looking pretty good.
So, here’s to you! Happy Birthday Image! To the next 30 years and to chapters of new stories we didn’t know we loved.