Image Comics has been around for over 30 years, giving creators a place where they could go and create anything they wanted to. The company only owns the logo; other than that, everything is owned by the creators. It’s a great system and after some growing pains in the ’90s, it’s become one of the greatest comic publishers ever. Image gives writers and artists the kind of freedom that they can’t get elsewhere, and this has paid off. The publisher has put out some of the greatest comics ever, and the best thing about them is that you know the creators are making all of the money off their work. If you buy a t-shirt or action figure, you know that you’re supporting the creators.
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Over the years, we’ve seen numerous Image titles premiere to some acclaim, only to fade away or their stories end. However, fans would much rather these books continue, as there is room for more stories from them. These five Image Comics series would be perfect for a revival, continuing stories that readers love.
5) East of West
East of West is a modern Image classic, and it had a pretty great ending, supplied by the creative team of Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta. The seven-way Civil War of the future was ended, a world-ending war diverted, Death destroyed the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse, losing his life in the proces,s and his wife Xiaolin and their son Babylon were reunited. However, there’s still plenty of story to tell there. For example, we know the Horsemen can come back to life, so maybe they return for vengeance. Maybe the remaining governments decide to break the new treaty. The ending of the story is pregnant with potential and many fans would love to see the book revived.
4) Phonogram
Phonogram doesn’t often get credit for its greatness. The book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie followed “phonomancers”, runic magicians who used music as the basis for their magic, through lives in London. The three volumes of the book introduced readers to characters like David Kohl and Emily Aster, as well as numerous other phonomancers. The ending of the third volume, Phonomancer: The Immaterial Girl, teased that several of the phonomancers introduced in the second volume had formed a coven of sorts and we haven’t seen anything about them in over a decade. Gillen and McKelvie could easily return to London for some new stories, and if it was half as good as the original three volumes, it would be better than 90% of the comics out there.
3) Descender/Ascender
Descender/Ascender were two series from Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. They took place in a future where humanity had went to the stars, joining the rest of the galaxy in a light years spanning civilization. A race of robots from beyond attacked, taking away the remaining mechanical lifeforms and readying them for a final assault, with readers following a group of family and friends through it all, which was dealt with in Descender. Ascender took place after this war, when magical forces had taken over the galaxy and the heroes of the first book had to deal with the situation. The book got a happy ending, but happy endings were made to be ruined by sequels. Lemire and Nguyen are an amazing team (check out their Little Monsters and Robin and Batman books), and seeing them back doing their space opera thing would be awesome.
2) Crossover
Crossover, by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, is one of the coolest comics ever, and I want so much more of it. One day, in what is essentially the real world, a portal opened over Denver and every comic book hero and villain appeared, starting a massive battle that destroyed the city and threatened to engulf the world. Eventually, they were imprisoned in a bubble, and people started to hate comic books and superheroes. The story takes place a few years after the event, as an escaped child makes her way to a comic store and opens a whole can of worms. Various indie characters (and their creators) appeared, making sure the book lived up to its title. Cates and Shaw did a fantastic job of building a compelling plot with characters fans loved. However, a car accident heavily injured Cates, and he had to stop writing comics. Cates is on the mend and Shaw has been working for Marvel, and hopefully, the two of them will return to the book to finish it (I keep it on my pull just in case).
1) The Manhattan Projects
Jonathan Hickman is one of the most popular writers in the comic industry, currently working at Marvel. Hickman has had numerous Image projects, and one of them has become a series that fans have been begging for the writer to finish: The Manhattan Projects, with artist Nick Pitara. The book is a sci-fi yarn following the scientists of the Manhattan Project staying together after creating the nuclear bomb in World War II, creating even more powerful weapons and tech. There’s been no word about it in years, and fans would love a revival.
What Image Comics series do you want to see revived? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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