Today is Image Comics’ 25th Anniversary! Happy Birthday Image! This statement on their website gives me the warm fuzzies, it really is worth clicking the link and reading the whole statement.
Image Comics wouldn’t have succeeded without the tremendous creativity and passion of its creators, the unwavering support of retailers, bookstores, and libraries, or the unbridled and unrelenting enthusiasm of the fans who show up each and every Wednesday to purchase Image titles. On Image Comics Day we celebrate together, nationwide, the exciting legacy that Image’s creator-owned publishing model has cultivated as we prepare for the next 25 years of amazing creator-owned comics to come.
Most of my favourite comics are published through Image, and if I’m honest, I didn’t realise it had been around for 25 years, it’s an amazing milestone! For this anniversary I wanted to take a photo with my favourite Image comics, but going through my collection of trades I pulled out one after another until I had a massive pile! Here is the result;
After this incredibly fun wander through the Image series I collect, I sat down and thought about which really were my favourites out of this pile. This was a really difficult mental exercise, as I have an incredibly hard time picking favourite comics. Eventually I managed to limit it to just ten, so here is my short list of love for just now;
THE WICKED AND THE DIVINE
Created by: Jamie McKelvie & Kieron Gillen
If for no other reason, this book should be looked at for the pretty pretty art. Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson create stunning pages and beautifully designed characters that seem to be alive on the page in all their spectacular glory. But then there is the story this top-notch creative team weave together. The bones are this; every ninety years twelve gods are incarnated as humans for two years, they are loved and hated, and they influence the world. But in two years they will be dead. This version are pop stars, and they are amazing, just like their book.
INJECTION
Created by: Warren Ellis & Declan Shalvey
This is a book where faerie stories come to life and start causing trouble because a group of people used a combination of magic and technology in an attempt to improve the world that backfired horribly. Of course this is a gross over-simplification, this book is full of nuance. This is a darkly sarcastic book that may have an obsession with sandwiches. It’s a little too early in the run to know fully where this book is going, but I’m very much looking forward to the journey.
BLACK MAGICK
Created by: Greg Rucka & Nicola Scott
Black Magick centers on Rowan Black, a Portsmouth Police Detective and a Witch. She has tried to keep her two lives separate, but there seems to be a mysterious past that is catching up with her and is determined to wreck havoc on every aspect f her life. This is another series that should be picked up for the breathtaking art, particularly the use of colour to show magick. As the series is mostly in black and white, the brief flashes of colour when magick is used draws the eye and makes it seem even more otherworldly.
SHUTTER
Created by: Joe Keatinge & Leila Del Duca
Shutter takes place in a magical world full of talking animals, amazing technology, and inter-dimensional travel. I love the main character, Kate Kristopher, not just because her name is similar to mine, but because she is not interested in anyone’s bullshit and will take her own path. The story looks into her incredibly complex family history and the effect here father’s disappearance has had. This book has a host of side characters that feel real and there isn’t many I wouldn’t love to see explored in more detail, that includes the talking cat clock!
KILL OR BE KILLED
Created by: Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips & Elizabeth Breitweiser
I am now at the stage where I will automatically pick up a new title if it has Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips as a part of the creative team. Their work on Fatal, Criminal and The Fade Out for Image could have easily made this list, and their work on Incognito for the Icon Imprint at Marvel is one of my all time favourite books. Kill or be Killed is their latest project with star colourist Elizabeth Breitweiser about a less than optimal guy who finds himself unwittingly in a deal with a demon only he can see where he is required to kill one bad person a month or he himself will die. This simple premise is the vehicle for what seems to be a complex story full of social commentary and weird tangents. This series only has a few issues out, but I am completely hooked.
BITCH PLANET
Created by: Kelly Sue DeConnick & Valentine De Landro
Witty, cutting and upsettingly relevant, Bitch Planet is an uncomfortable, but engrossing book that sucked me right into the world. I wasn’t able to put this down until I had read it cover to cover then I immediately wanted more. It is set in a dystopian future world where non-compliant women are removed from society onto a prison planet colloquially known as Bitch Planet. What qualifies as “non-compliant” varies greatly. This book should be studied in classrooms, it’s an amazing satirical piece that examines gender and it’s implications in society in a brutal way.
CHEW
Created by: John Layman & Rob Guillory
The last issue of this long running series was only published recently and what an ending! Chew is about a detective with the ability to see the history of the things he eats, with the exception of beets. This ability coupled with his job sees him chowing down on some interesting things. Chew is simultaneously disgusting, intriguing and charming. And as a completed series, this one is a worthy choice for binge reading.
I KILL GIANTS
Created by: Joe Kelly & J.M. Ken Niimura
This limited series is one that I came back to again and again. It follows a little girl who wields a magical hammer to fight giants and keep everyone safe. But things aren’t as simple as that. The writing is clever and sharp, the art tells the story in the gaps where the words can’t quite bring themselves to speak, or are inadequate. This story beautifully examines grief and acceptance (or not) of life’s changes. Usually this book makes me cry, even though I have read it to often. It is an incredibly emotional read.
I HATE FAIRYLAND
Created by: Skottie Young
Scottie Young has an adorable art style that has graced the covers of many comics, cute-ifying heroes from Captain America to The Punisher. Turns out he also has a hilariously dark sense of humor. I Hate Fairyland is about Gert, who was dragged into Fairyland 30 years ago when she was 6 years old and has been looking for a way home ever since. Her personality has aged and become bitter, but her body is still that of an adorable ringleted child. Violent and hilarious shenanigans of course ensue. Gert has a talent for wrecking havoc and destruction wherever she goes, but sadly not one for finding her way home. This is a fluffing good book and has had me in stitches laughing on more than one occasion.
SAGA
Created by: Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
When trying to describe the plot of Saga without spoiling anything I always say “kindof sortof like Romeo and Juliette in space but instead of dying they have a kid and run away together with assassins following them, but better”, which is a completely inadequate description. But how else to convey the sweeping space opera extravaganza that is Saga without giving away the juicy details? Mostly I love that this series is a very character driven story, the characters feel real to me. Plus, Lying Cat is the very best ever!
Such amazing series! I look forward to reading these each and every time I can get my hands on new issues. Of course, I may change my mind for my best of list tomorrow… but this is an excellent snapshot!