Image Comics made indie comics cool again in the ’90s. Seven of the most popular artists in comics created their own company, and it actually challenged the Big Two of Marvel and DC Comics for sales superiority. However, Image Comics wasn’t exactly critically acclaimed in the ’90s. The name says it all — the company was more about image than substance. However, as the ’90s went on, Image started putting out more writer focused comics, which would lead to huge successes in the ’00s, ’10s, and today. Image Comics gives the best creators in the comic industry the freedom to do any kind of story they want, and has given readers some of the best comics ever in the 21st century.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Image Comics run the gamut of genres. Many of them use the language of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror to give readers some unforgettable stories. These ten Image Comics series are the ones that every fan should own, giving them stories that will astound them.
10) Criminal
Criminal, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, is widely considered the best current crime series. The book follows multiple criminals as they go about their lives, embracing the cliches of the crime genre while telling brutally realistic stories. Brubaker and Phillips are amazing together, a team that is able to create gritty, gripping narratives. Criminal is almost 20 years old now and has never flagged in quality throughout its run. Criminal was optioned for an Amazon Prime adaptation, and is constantly one of the most praised comics on the shelves whenever Brubaker and Phillips put out new issues. It’s one of those books where you can pretty much start anywhere and get an amazing crime story.
9) Royal City
Writer/artist Jeff Lemire is one of the most versatile creators in comics, able to tell any kind of story, his watercolor art giving his work a unique flair. Lemire has done excellent work at Image Comics, but the best book of his for me is Royal City. Royal City is a slice of life comic following the Pike family in the titular city as everything changes around them. The death of youngest Pike Tommy broke all of them, his ghost haunting the family as they do their best to salvage the wreckage their lives had become in the years since. It’s a fantastic, emotional series that will in turns devastate and inspire you. Royal City is one of those books I pull out every time I need a good cry; there’s something cathartic about its story.
8) Paper Girls
’80s nostalgia will always be popular, and it’s honestly surprising how few original ’80s nostalgia comics there are. One of the best of the few we’ve gotten is Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang. The book follows four paper girls — Erin, MacKenzie, KJ, and Tiffany — as they try to navigate being teenagers. However, they get pulled into something they never could have imagined when they’re thrown through time. Paper Girls is a gripping time travel mystery, as the four girls do their best to survive and find their way home, all while dealing with what their lives have become as they’ve gotten older. Paper Girls had a failed live action adaptation, but don’t let that failure fool you. Paper Girls is a triumph and you will devour it quickly just to see how it all plays out.
7) Pax Romana
Jonathan Hickman is one of the most popular writers in comics today, known for his tremendous work at Marvel. However, some of Hickman’s best works came at Image, where he wrote and drew some all-time classics. One of these Pax Romana. Pax Romana begins in the future, as the young Genetic Pope is told the story of how the Roman Empire still exists long past the Dark Ages. After time travel was created, the Catholic Church is able to send an army back in time to help Constantine make the Roman Empire unbeatable after his conversion to Christianity. What follows is a gripping book that follows the leaders of the soldiers as they try to fulfill their mission and clash personally. This is one of my favorite Hickman works; his unique visual style is unforgettable, and the sheer amount of information he stuffs into the book is astonishing. Pax Romana is sci-fi perfection.
6) Prophet
Prophet was one of the old school Image style comics, more known for its art than being a good story. It came and went, and no one ever thought it would come back to produce one of the greatest sci-fi comics ever. Prophet was reimagined in 2021 by Brandon Graham, working with artists Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, and Giannis Milogiannis, picking up the book’s original numbering with issue #21. They create a whole new origin for Prophet, beginning in a far off future. The book drops you into a fully formed universe and tells you the story of the whole thing as it goes on, introducing readers to Old Man Prophet, the Earth Empire, and new versions of Extreme Studios stars like Diehard, Badrock, Glory, Troll, Youngblood, and more. It’s a space opera of the highest possible order, and will enthrall readers who remember the old Prophet series or are brand new to the character.
5) The Nightly News
Here’s another one from Jonathan Hickman, a masterpiece titled The Nightly News. The Nightly News is about the Hand, a terrorist organization that is out to destroy the news media. It follows the Voice of the Hand, leading a group of people whose lives were destroyed by the news industry. However, there are dark secrets in the Hand that will change everything for the Voice when he learns them. The Nightly News isn’t just an exciting story, but an indictment of the increasingly corporate controlled media and how five companies control the flow of information to the public. This book did come out before the current Internet era, so it can seem a little outdated, but it does an amazing job of showing the intersection of news and politics and how it can destroy lives… and our society as a whole.
4) Tokyo Ghost
Tokyo Ghost, by Rick Remender and Sean Murphy, is a dazzling feast for the senses. The book follows Led Ded and his girlfriend Debbie Decay, two bounty hunters in a cyberpunk dystopian future, where the corporations of the world addict everyone to their technology. The two of them are sent to Japan, the only land the corporations haven’t claimed, with Debbie hoping to break Led of his dependency on technology. It’s a brutal yet touching story about the ills of capitalism, young love, and addiction. Murphy’s art is gorgeous. There’s a kinetic feel to the art that makes the action scenes amazing and Murphy is able to bring the emotion of Remender’s script to life. Tokyo Ghost isn’t as popular as other Image books, but it’s fantastic.
3) Saga
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, is one of the most beloved Image Comics of the last 20 years. While Saga‘s popularity has fallen over the years thanks to delays, it’s still extremely popular. Saga follows Marko, Alana, and their daughter Alana, a family created during an intergalactic war with a deserter from each side and their progeny. As their respective races come after them, they do their best to stay ahead of them, all while introducing readers to one of the greatest casts of characters ever. Saga is a combination of magic, sci-fi, and slice of life that will alternately lift your spirits and devastate you. Saga is a phenomenal work, with brilliant writing and gorgeous art. If you heed my advice, you’ll buy it in collected editions rather than single issues, because the book’s publishing schedule can get annoying if you’re buying single issues as they come out.
2) DIE
DIE, by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Han, is one of the coolest things you’ll ever read. In the early ’90s, a group of friends gathered to play an TTRPG game their friend made, with special dice. The next thing they know, they’re in another world. After spending years there, all but the gamemaster comes home. Years later, as unhappy adults they’re pulled back into the world of DIE to find their friend, and discover the origins of the place and what it means to the future of the Earth. DIE creates its own TTRPG world, giving readers some compelling events, while digging into the characters and how important TTRPGs can be to the development of people in their lives. It’s fantastic, its rich character and amazing setting drawing you in like the best TTRPGs (and it is actually one; Gillen made sourcebooks and everything that you can purchase) can. With an upcoming sequel, DIE Loaded, coming, now is the perfect time to discover the world of DIE.
1) Phonogram
Phonogram is an Image classic that everyone can relate to. The series spans three volumes — Rue Britannia, The Singles Club, and The Immaterial Girl — and follows the adventures of a group of “phonomancers”, runic magicians who use music as the source of their power. Rue Britannia follows David Kohl, as he deals with his sins in the days of ’90s Britpop, The Singles Club tells the story of a seven phonomancers all going to the same club on the same night, and The Immaterial Girl tells the story of Emily Aster as she has to deal with the deals she made for power. Writer Kieron Gillen and artist Jamie McKelvie create characters you’ll never forget, partly because you’re them. Every main character is obsessed with music; the book has a lot to say about fandom and how it defines us. On top of that, each volume has a list of music you should listen to in order to get the references (excellent music, by the way). Phonogram is amazing, and you need to experience it to understand why.
What do you think? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
Most Viewed
-
Image via THQ Nordic -
image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
