Image Comics
 |
|
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder |
Todd McFarlane Jim Lee Whilce Portacio Marc Silvestri Erik Larsen Jim Valentino Rob Liefeld |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Portland, Oregon |
| Key people | Todd McFarlane (President) Jim Valentino (Vice President) Marc Silvestri (CEO) Robert Kirkman (COO) Erik Larsen (CFO) Eric Stephenson (Publisher) |
| Publication types | Comic books, graphic novels |
| Imprints |
Highbrow Entertainment ShadowLine Skybound Todd McFarlane Productions Top Cow Productions Joe's Comics MVCreations |
| Official website | http://www.imagecomics.com |
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue where comics creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains one of the largest comic book publishers in North America. Its output was originally dominated by superhero and fantasy series from the studios of the Image partners, but now includes comics in many genres by numerous independent creators. Its best-known series include Spawn, Savage Dragon, Witchblade, The Darkness, Invincible, The Walking Dead, Saga, and Chew.
In the early 1990s, comics creators Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, and Jim Valentino had dinner with Malibu Comics editor-in-chief Dave Olbrich. Malibu was a small but established publishing company sympathetic to creator-ownership, and Olbrich expressed interest in publishing comics created by them. These and several other freelance illustrators doing popular work for Marvel Comics were growing frustrated with the company's work for hire policies and practices. Their primary complaint was that the artwork and new characters they created were being merchandised heavily, with the artists receiving only standard page rates for their illustration work, and modest royalties on sales of the comics. In December 1991, a group of these illustrators approached Marvel president Terry Stewart and demanded that the company give them ownership and creative control over their work. Accounts vary as to whom this group included, but it is generally accepted that Todd McFarlane and Liefeld were among its leaders. Marvel did not meet their demands.
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