Discover the first steps of the publisher Image.
In 1992, Todd MacFarlane, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, While the door y Jim Leeof which we have already spoken at the time, tired of being subject to the guidelines of the publishers, even if they were with heroes and bad ones made alone, they decided to leave The house of ideas To demonstrate luck in a publishing house, which was based on the principle according to which all the characters were owned by their authors and not of the company, which allowed them a completely creative and economic freedom.
This is how the editorial saw the light Image Comicscradle of characters like SpawnLike any follower of the company, he must know. However, although, at the moment, the fact of having a great cattle of success, when their journey started, the truth is that they were not too clear where they had to direct their steps, so they decided that the best thing they could have done was to contact other independent publishers, such as Comic y Tundra. In the end, after weighing it, they decided Malibu Comics.
But not for a long time, since then Image He soon achieved such a resounding success to start operating for his account in a short time, which is not surprising if we take this into consideration Rob Liefeldwho was responsible for the baptism of the publisher with that name, was invited, on one occasion, to a signature of copies in Golden Apple Comicsa Los Angeles library belonging to Bill LeibowitzEvent attended by three television networks, two radio stations and various newspapers, which were sold up to three thousand comics in just seven hours, although the signatures were limited to a copy per customer.
Of course, this could not be said Todd MacFarlane He had something to envy your partner of ImageSince he was also responsible for the scheduled signature marathon sessions, of a total of seven hours, in the American conventions he went to. Until his completion, he did not stop or eat or go to the bathroom, even if from time to time take a drink of water, so as not to dehydrate, of course. At the end of the day, the figure of two thousand hundreds of signatures could reach without problems.
However, despite the fact that the company did not seem to specify the presence of the most renowned authors, as highlighted Image It was nothing more than the same Jack Kirbywho, before dying, had the opportunity to publish his latest creation in that company, in collaboration with Mike Thibodeaux. We refer to Ghost strengthhead of which we show his first coverage under this paragraph, whose origin came from an idea discarded for a comic on a comic on Bruce Lee that its author had tried to make in 1978.
However, Imagewho collaborated Genesis West In the project, he was responsible for the marketing of the first two numbers of the intervention, while the other editorial mentioned in this same paragraph has finished publishing the latest work of Jack Kirby Alone.
However, this does not mean that the author was not wrapped in a large number of connected artists Image During his short passage through the publisher, since, of course, everyone wanted to collaborate with a legend like Jack Kirby. Whether it’s entering the covers or drawing some internal pages, Rob Liefeld, Todd MacFarlane, Jim Lee, Erik Larsen, Marc Silvestri, Jerry Ordway, Keith Giffen, And Panosian, Art Thibert, Danny Miki, Scott Williams, Tim Townsend And also Steve Rudealthough it hadn’t debuted yet Image.
Of all the artists mentioned in the previous paragraph, Jack Kirby Previously I had worked with Todd MacFarlaneSo it is not surprising that the author gave him the original art of the cover Phantom Force n. 3 since he had been hindered by him, even if Image He had already stopped marketing the header. The gift included a classic dish of Treasury Special Captain America Bicentennial Battles (1976), written and designed by their own Kirbywith Barry Windsor-Smith As Enintador, whose door we reproduce below.
A Todd MacFarlane He hasn’t given him time to thank him for the gesture since then Jack Kirby He died shortly after: February 6, 1994. Taking into account that Image It had been founded in 1992, the truth is that the company and the artist barely coincided over time, but this did not prevent the author from starting his last cartoon in that editorial.