The New Image
By Francis Lord.

The year 2000 will prove to be an eventful one for comics publisher IMAGE COMICS. With new publisher Jim Valentino replacing the departed Larry Marder, IMAGE has taken a proactive stance in publishing and has been keen on revitalizing itself with a wealth of new books. Previously known for his line of IMAGE books, Shawdowline, and the unofficial "Non-Line" from IMAGE CENTRAL, Valentino, one of the original founders of IMAGE in 1993, came to the job quite simply.

"Obviously suffering from a temporary(?) loss of sanity-I volunteered!", says Valentino. "Realizing that it would keep me off the streets for a little while at least and thus preserve civilization as we know it--the partners (that's Erik, Marc and Toddy to you) decided this would be a good thing and locked me in the main office before I could come to my senses (if such a thing is even possible)."

Describing his approach to publishing, Valentino says his is a proactive one. "I go right for the jugular". As IMAGE's publishing slate can attest, Valentino has big plans for the future. He is quite pleased with the books IMAGE is offering. "To single any out would be unfair to all the others but we are particularly proud of the new Warren Ellis book CITY OF SILENCE, the entire GORILLA line, a new Jerry Ordway title ,THE MESSENGER, Dan Fraga's GEAR STATION, Chris Gossett's THE RED STAR and bringing Kia Aamiya's DARK ANGEL from Japan. But, really, these guys are just scratching the surface of what's coming."

"The IMAGE "I" is a very strong roof to be sheltered under."

Valentino is continuing Image Central's dedication to offer quality independent titles to a wider audience, from Michael T. Gilbert's MR. MONSTER'S GAL FRIDAY, KELLY to Craig A. Taillefer's WAHOO MORRIS, to Trina Robbin's and Anne Timmons' GOGIRL! and Gary Shipman's all-ages title, PAKKINS' LAND.

One is quick to note the diversity among these books, which is something Valentino looks for in a comic, along with, as he says, superior craftsmanship, and an ability to meet deadlines in the titles. "IMAGE is and has for the last few years published a wide range of books in virtually every genre, sub-genre or non-genre…". IMAGE CENTRAL has continued to attract acclaimed independent creators to the IMAGE "i". The first half of 2000 will see books from the likes of Steve Conley, Micheal Marayat and Jay Juch. Why publish through IMAGE? The reasoning is simple.

"After running into repeated problems with comics' primary distributor, which caused very costly problems with the self-published series, I realized that publishing under those conditions is simply intolerable (In no way do I fault the individual employees of the distributor, every person I've had the chance to work with has been terrific. The problems are systemic). The latest distributor screw-up prompted me to approach Larry Marder. Larry explained IMAGE'S incredibly fair system and indicated that if I'd be interested in bringing the series to Image that they'd be happy to publish it. It was a no-brainer.", says Steve Conley, creator of ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS: THE COMIC BOOK, which he describes as fun, fast-paced sci-fi with a soul. "A few years from now, the Milky Way will be swept into a new region of space where the laws of physics are different. Immediately Earth is in contact with alien races and is now part of a gigantic interstellar community. The series follows the adventures of Argosy Smith as he tries to prove the existence of an afterlife, along the way solving ancient mysteries, discovering new worlds and trying NOT to get killed by space monkeys bent on conquering our small blue world." Conley says that by publishing through IMAGE, ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS: THE COMIC BOOK, which makes its full-color IMAGE debut in April, will be able to find its way into the hands of more readers.

Beau Smith, creator of PARTS UNKNOWN, agrees. His book , produced by Sacred Studios, and published by IMAGE, "…is every low grade, lurid, action-packed B-movie that you have ever seen or never admitted to seeing. It's Mars Needs Women meets Predator and having an affair with Mars Attack while married to The X-Files. You've got these very nasty, sex crazed aliens that have come to Earth to breed with our females, enslave or kill our males, and they also want Bill Gates' job. Pretty simple, Pretty black and White, and slathered with very dark humor." Bringing his book to Image was an obvious choice. "By bringing it under the IMAGE banner I hope to get the series a wider range of attention from not only the direct market, but the mass market as well. The IMAGE "I" is a very strong roof to be sheltered under."

Trina Robbins' GOGIRL!, arrived at IMAGE thanks to her fellow creator Anne Timmons, and then-IMAGE publisher Larry Marder. "Anne Timmons and I were working on our comic,GOGIRL!, and I didn't have clue as to what we'd do with it or where we'd put it once it was finished. It was Anne who suggested IMAGE, and at the time I thought, "Yeah, right. The Big Boob publishers will really want our comic, in which nobody ever has a bra size bigger than 36B." But I figured wotthehey, what do we have to lose, and Anne queried Larry Marder, who -- lo and behold! -- actually accepted it as an IMAGE publication!

"they're actually the first major publisher besides Archie to have a girl's line, since about 1964."

GOGIRL! is another example of the variety of books that will be published by Image. GOGIRL! is unabashedly for girls, but if guys like it, well, we like them, too! GOGIRL! is a teenage superheroine whose mom was superheroine in the 70s, but is now retired. She inherited the ability to fly from her mom, but she soon learns that it takes more than the ability to fly to make superhero. As each issue progresses, she learns more about being a superheroine, until she really *is* one. But that sounds pretty boring, like school or something, -- and I promise you fun, action, and maybe even a tiny touch of romance. Oh yeah, and paperdolls!"

IMAGE has done much to shed its, well, former image, in recent years of being a publisher of "cheescake" books. Robbins, it seems, is pleased with IMAGE'S evolution. "A lot of people still think of the old "big boob" IMAGE and wonder what I'm doing there, but they're actually the first major publisher besides Archie to have a girl's line, since about 1964."

Robbins also sees the benefits of being associated with IMAGE. "IMAGE has great name recognition, and it's fun to tell people I'm writing an IMAGE comic and watch their eyes grow big. I also have complete freedom - I am the editor as well as the writer - and IMAGE trusts that I know what I'm doing. This is quite a contrast to the last comic I wrote for a major publisher, where the editor was so afraid that I was "male bashing" that he made me rewrite some stuff!".

"Before IMAGE, I had been self-publishing my book IRON WINGS knowing that it would be a working portfolio. And that I would also send it to Image as a proposal for a series. So I've always wanted to join Image from the start of IRON WINGS, says Jay Juch, who's book IRON WINGS will be on stands courtesy of IMAGE this month.

IRON WINGS is an East meets West Fantasy Epic revolving around three main characters Wing Chan, Ryder, and Pike. The world will be full of Magic, Monsters, Gods, Heroes and Villains. But it won't be your typical swords and sorcery type of comic, I promise, you don't have be a hard-core fantasy lover to enjoy IRON WINGS. I have a lot of original mixtures of characters and storylines. I also like to play with different types of mythology and make up my own as well. I have a lot of fun stuff in store for the readers which I wish not to give away. I think people of all ages will enjoy IRON WINGS. I put a lot of thought behind the story so the adults are in for a treat and plenty of action for the younger readers as well."

"I think it will definitely give me the exposure that I've wanted, because you can have a great book, but if the stores don't order it, the fans will never get the chance to decide for themselves if they liked it or not." Juch adds " And I think at least with IMAGE there is some sort of filtering system that retailers can trust. Because with an Image book there must be a certain level of quality to be an "IMAGE book"."

With the comics industry still coping with the contracting of the direct market, the future of comics is a difficult one to foresee. Valentino however, remains optimistic about IMAGE'S ability to reach new readers. "On one level, it occurs to me that part of the problem with attracting new audiences is that comics are perceived as being a single genre, super-heroes (even though those of us in the know understand this is not the case), they are extremely self-referential and as difficult for a novice to get into as a 30 year-old soap opera. So, by producing material that is not self-referential and off-genre, we can, hopefully, appeal to the audience we're missing."

IMAGE has also been proving its commitment to readers and the future of comics in other ways. Material is continually being collected in trade paperback form, and original graphic novels will continue to be published when, according to Valentino, material of exceptional quality is presented to them. One other method in which IMAGE is reaffirming its commitment to readers is its new policy on book lateness. It's been no secret that late books have plagued the company since its inception. Valentino means to change that. "We will no longer solicit a new title until the first issue is completed. We have "bumped" solicitation for those who are habitually late and seem unable or unwilling to solicit in a responsible manner and, yes, we will cancel books by individuals who abuse the freedom IMAGE offers them, including habitually late shipping titles."

IMAGE COMICS has no doubt been a boon to the comics industry. While IMAGE may be best known for championing creator rights, IMAGE has been an invaluable outlet for new voices. IMAGE CENTRAL, under Larry Marder and Jim Valentino has continued to provide the means for new forms of storytelling. And IMAGE CENTRAL has something for everyone. If the books already mentioned haven't convinced you, consider the following:

Brian Michael Bendis POWERS, Lea Hernandez RUMBLE GIRLS, J. Torres SIRENS: MASKS, Larry Young THE BOD, Marat Mychael DEMONSLAYER, Mat Broome YOUNG OLYMPIANS, SKINNERS.

Thanks in part to IMAGE, 2000 is already shaping up to be a banner year for comics.

Francis Lord is a regular contributor to PopImage.

Back

Attitude | ProFile | Industrial
Interviews | Reviews | Pi Comics
Talkback | Archives | Gallery