Image Comics turns thirty years old this year. The beginnings of the publisher saw a number of massive successes and just as many failures as the seven founders, all former Marvel artists, worked together and clashed in equal measure. While many of the worst excesses of '90s comics can be laid at the company's feet as others tried to copy their style, they've become a completely different publisher in the 21st century, becoming more writer-oriented than before.

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Image has gone through a lot in its lifetime. They're the number one indie publisher in the land and some of the biggest creators of all time have and still do work there. Image has changed the comic industry in undeniable ways, becoming a force to be reckoned with.

10 The Founders Struck A Blow For Creators' Rights At A Perfect Time

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Image was founded by seven of Marvel's biggest artists- Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Erik Larson, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Potracio, and Jim Valentino- who left the company after their best-selling comics didn't net them the profits they believed they were entitled to. While indie companies had existed before Image, they never had the star power the nascent company boasted.

An entire generation of readers and creators watched the biggest artists walk away from the industry's biggest books, a move that changed comics forever. Future stars learned from the example of the Image founders and realized the power of working for themselves.

9 Image Pioneered New Coloring Techniques And Better Paper Quality

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Early Image was a company of artists, so the presentation of their books was key. The art was the draw for early books like Spawn, Youngblood, and Savage Dragon, so the Image founders hired the best colorists around, including ones from Malibu Comics,  a company who Image worked with in the beginning. These colorists were doing something completely new, and their work on Image's books changed comic coloring forever.

On top of that, Image comics were printed on high-quality, glossy paper, which made the books look much better than Marvel and DC's comics, which still used lower quality newsprint paper. In order to compete with Image, the Big Two had to step up their presentation quality as well, heralding a change in the industry.

8 Image Showed How Powerful Creators Could Be

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For years, Marvel and DC held all the cards. One either kowtowed completely and towed the company line, like Stan Lee did, or end up working in the trenches for the rest of their life, like Jack Kirby. Creators were looked at as disposable and easily replaced, as the brand names were perceived to be more important than the creators.

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The Image founders proved otherwise. Their names sold books as much as anything else, and fans followed them over to Image when they started the company. It showed Marvel and DC just how powerful superstar writers and artists could be, a lesson both publishers still remember.

7 The Biggest Writers Of The 21st Century Got Their Start At Image

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Image started to subtly change as the years went on, going from an artist-focused company to one that was more writer-driven. Writers like Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen, Rick Remender, and so many others got their big breaks at Image. These writers did amazing work at the publisher that got their foot in the door.

Ironically, many of them would leave Marvel in 2015-2016 and return to Image, going on to create more best-of-all-time work. Image was responsible for an artistic renaissance in the early-'90s and then a writer renaissance in the '00s.

6 Image Put Out Some Of The Biggest Trendsetting Books Ever

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'90s Image was the hottest ticket in the land and set trends that completely defined that decade of comics. DC and Marvel both, but especially Marvel, chased the trends set by Image. This led to some of the excesses that would make '90s comics infamous among fans. Image would lose its power over the industry in the early 21st century but come roaring back thanks to books like The Walking Dead.

In the 21st century, Image has produced some of the biggest comics in the industry, setting new trends. Image's market share may have lessened but their power in the industry has stayed firm, keeping them on the cutting edge.

5 They Brought Back Horror Books In A Big Way

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Horror books have gone through cycles of popularity in the comic industry. When Image started in the '90s, Vertigo was the big name in horror comics but they shifted their focus. Spawn was a superhero title tinged with horror but it wouldn't be until The Walking Dead dropped that horror books came back again in a big way.

From there, Image started putting out more and more horror books and the independent comic scene followed their lead. Horror books are a big deal again in the comic industry and that is mostly due to Image bringing them back.

4 Image Proved That New Names Could Be Multimedia Franchises

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Nowadays, superheroes are big business, with Marvel and DC both being run by massive media companies. Image doesn't have nearly the same corporate backup, but that doesn't mean they're unable to reach beyond the comic market. In fact, Spawn had a big-budget movie on the silver screen before Marvel did and in the 21st century, many Image titles have been optioned for TV and movies.

Shows like The Walking Dead and Invincible have proven extremely popular and writer Mark Millar has an exclusive deal with Netflix for all of his comics, as well as the successful Kingsman series of movies. Image has proven that comics don't need an established name to make a big splash outside of comics.

3 The Publisher Led To A Renaissance Of Indie Companies

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Before Image, the indies were the feeder system for the Big Two. They were an important part of the comic landscape, with many long-running companies, but they were looked at as below Marvel and DC. Image changed the perception of indie companies forever, transforming from places that careers started to almost prestige labels where the biggest names in the industry go to create whatever they want.

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This had led to renaissance of indie companies. They put out stories that the Big Two won't or can't and give creators options to own their work. The indies are varied than ever, with the best talent creating amazing stories.

2 Jim Lee Parlayed His Success Of Running Wildstorm Studios To Become DC's Publisher

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Jim Lee was one of the biggest artists in the industry and his role in the founding of Image helped things immensely, as he was the artist of the biggest selling comic ever, X-Men #1. At Image, he'd form Wildstorm Studios, launching multiple titles and nurturing the talent of many creators. Eventually, Lee would sell Wildstorm to DC and join that company in 1998.

He'd soon become one of the publisher's most influential artists and rise through the ranks to become publisher of the company. He's used what he learned at Wildstorm to help DC over the years, nurturing even more talent while putting out amazing interior and cover work.

1 Todd McFarlane Created An Indie Comic Empire Like Few Others

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Todd McFarlane has always felt like the de facto leader of  Image from the beginning. While artists like Lee and Liefeld broke his records at Marvel, he was still the most prestigious artist in the industry at the time, and Spawn became one of the publisher's most iconic books, still running to this day, the only OG book besides The Savage Dragon to run continuously at Image.

Even from the beginning, McFarlane diversified his corner of Image, creating a successful toy company that produced collector figures of Spawn and many other characters from across the entertainment spectrum and now has the license for DC Comics action figures. McFarlane created a multimedia empire rarely seen outside the Big Two, showing what was possible for indie creators willing to do the work.

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