Image United

As much as I came to loathe them back in the early 90s, they now seem a bit nostalgic. If Image never changed or adapted, I would still have the same angst against them. I wouldn't say I love them to any degree, but I've come to look at them for possible purchases more than I ever have. I wouldn't mind having this book, although I'm not too impressed by the cover. Still it seems as though Liefeld continues to ever slowly improve and his style is still eye catching. But I also can't help but notice the flaws. I think that is the style if I remember correctly.

Here is the exchange I had with Eric...


Eric wrote this..


My reply...
Don't get me wrong. I hung out around so many local comic shops, I had plenty of chances to read Image books, and I tried occasionally. I found Spawn to be ungodly boring. Well drawn, but lacking story content. I read maybe a years worth of Gen 13. Six months worth of Witchblade. I prefer a more interactive storylines. By no means am I talking mega-crossovers like Civil War or 52. I do mean a "universe" where you can immerse yourself in it and it has a ripple effect though other characters. I recall as a kid reading an Avengers issue where the Vision walks through a wall and mentioned some battle he had alongside Spiderman. I thought "cool, I just read about that in Marvel Team-up". It was like I was sitting in the room with the Avengers and I knew details they didn't know. To me it adds a little more depth and relevance to the stories I read. Image lets everyone do their own thing, and for me something is lost. I'm not someone who demands self-contained stories. I prefer the opposite. A superhero soap opera.

And while I'm rambling...
I think story arcs intended for TPB's are no different than self-contained stories in the sense that they are stopping points for readers. Life doesn't give people endings to thei life every Saturday night. The stories in people's lives resume Sunday morning. So in a sense it makes the story more realistic for things to continue. I think TPB's kill any reason for collectors--those invested emotionally in the storylines and character-- from having a reason to buy back issues. That means the comic shops have almost no customers for back issues and end up with dead inventory every time they order aggressively and make a mistake. Dead inventory hurts their bottom line and means they have poor cash flow for ordering new comics.

My point is that a lot of changes occurred in the 90's that dramatically changed the experience the reader has been getting. Comic shops are not getting my money for new or old books anymore because they don't have cash flow to buy quality back issues which they could sell to me and make a good mark-up percentage. I'm not buying new books because every story I see is almost a connect the dots logic flow with an ending every six issues. There is no house style, so there is no consistency in the product. A reader can't have a preference in what a character looks like, because three different artist are going to draw three different characters with the same costume. Would you want three different quality detergents being sold under the same brand name? One day your clothes come clean, but tomorrow they won't? Consistency is a good thing.

Again, I know I'm all over the map with this reply, but Image deteriorated a lot of the stabilizing factors that made comics a cohesive product. Applaud for your accomplishments as a founder of Image. You shouldn't be working any job where you aren't happy and you aren't being treated fairly. Today... right now... I think the industry needs to return to a more stable model where people are working towards a common goal. It's a free for all out there with artists refusing to draw storylines because those storylines won't produce art that will sell easily on the secondary market.

I think that if you and John Byrne were both selling a half million copies each of whatever book you were drawing, you would not care nor have time to argue with each other online.

I think readers like me might be pulled back into buying new comics if the philosophy and attitude behind making them was even the least bit open minded about my/our expectations.

Defiant1

I don't really care for Erik's attitude on his response. It's almost like "some people like it, so don't worry about it" and "We was late with product and promises and the kids lost interest, I blame society". Wow! He done put out reasons why they left. That wasn't society's fault.

I like your analogy of the Avengers as well as your points on self contained issues and TPB's. Mini Series has ruined continuity in comics.

Speaking of Avengers, I remember a beach scene where the Scarlet Witch was walking on the beach in normal clothes with the Wasp and she was wondering if she was pregnant and at the same time the Vision was distant. It was that "soap opera" that made it interesting. Comics always have the token fights. It's the drama that makes you care about the characters enough to keep coming back.

Also I love how events in one series affects another or has implications later elsewhere. That kind of cohesiveness is what I find lacking these days.

I'm too old school for my own good, but I do think out loud that the old school method of storytelling was better than today's bite sized nuggets.

If anyone remembers the 60's comics, its what made Marvel totally dominate DC, because Marvel was character development and unending stories. DC was 1 story, 1 issue.....Done! Also they was goofy. Marvel's formula just destroyed what DC was doing and eventually they had to adopt it themselves.

Now this is what I don't understand. Those of you who do not read new comics or at least read up on them should not be saying this. Since Gowaltrip is a Marvel fan I will use them.

So there was a Civil War that led to a Secret Invasion that left them with a Dark Reign to where they are going to have a Siege. It's amazing how all these storylines are running together and are tied into many titles.

It's not hard to find a connecting story with implications if you just read the books.

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The part where Erik says "I blame society" I don't believe should be taken seriously nor was it meant to be.

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I know you don't like the standard comic poses that Image uses on their covers Gowaltrip. Unfortunately many comic companies use them. Even Marvel and DC use them all the time. In fact, I think it's hard not to find covers like this nowadays.