Image report

I sadly didn’t get a response from my contact, but this presented a unique opportunity. Rather than work from what the professional said, I now had to research the chosen person. I felt that with this I could take a more general look at Image comics as a whole. I hope to submit to them in the near future, so this will inadvertently allow for a more informed approach to that process. I aimed to find out about the company as a whole, what work they favour publishing, how and where they sell their work and what are the expectations for their submissions.

Image is a comic’s publisher based in America, founded in 1992. It was created by a group of high profile artists working in the industry, looking for a new approach to comics publishing. With their new label, they would allow comics creators to publish their work without giving up the copyrights to their properties. This was naturally a success, putting out fresh content, and being more appealing to the creative wanting to tell their own story. Their output has undergone quite a change since its conception, starting with mainly superheroes; they now publish a wide variety of genres. The company can boast some of the most popular comics series known, having Spawn, The Darkness, Invincible, The Walking Dead, Saga, and Chew.

I was interested to find what Image may be looking for in a submission, if there were any favored genres right now. I came to find that they were very open about the type and style of comics they publish, with their Q & A stating “Image covers every genre imaginable. You name it, image has it.” Looking at their digital storefront shows this, with their trending section alone having four different series, working with four different genres. This made me wonder who was making the comics then? Its hard to believe that this variety would come from a group under the same roof, and it turns out they aren’t. Again from the sites Q & A, I found this quote “Since the overwhelming majority of Image comics and graphic novels are creator-owned, Image does not operate like a typical comics publisher. We do not assign writers and artists to the titles we publish; the creators determine who will be involved with the production of their individual titles.” I understood that working with image had its freedoms, but not to this extent.

Surely this method has its pitfalls though, how does a company maintain any level of quality like this?

Well, it turns out that they have publisher Eric Stephenson personally reviews every proposal, determining if they reflect their standards, is it well executed, does the overall concept interest him and can a clear audience be seen. If he likes what he sees, the work is passed around the office and is reviewed within a meeting. It’s a very interesting and specific approach, they’ve found a method that works, and a publisher they can truly trust.

I now have a clear understanding as to how the company works, who are the key figures to keep an eye on, and how to find the successful works, and analyse why they achieved their success. Image is the home of independent creative, looking to advance the industry instead of just profiting from it.