Image Comics

At the end of 2020, IDW lost the license to publish comic books from the Hasbro Universe. Therefore, series like Transformers and G.I. Joe went elsewhere. More precisely, they went to Image Comics via Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment imprint.

Naturally, the new creative teams didn’t continue with what was done at IDW. Instead, a new comic book universe was launched: The Energon Universe. It uses creative elements from Transformers and G.I. Joe, such as familiar concepts and characters, but also introduces original materials, notably with the all-new Void Rivals.

“I’ve loved these characters for most of my life and to have the opportunity to add to the already rich tapestry Hasbro has built with the all-new Void Rivals is an unbelievable opportunity. If you look at everything done with Transformers and G.I. Joe, you can see the inkling of a vast universe with tremendous potential for crossovers and interaction that will enhance the fan experience while staying true to the individual identities of both concepts. I look forward to exploring that potential for years to come.” – Robert Kirkman.

Juggling between ongoing and limited series, with some one-shots added to the mix, the Energon Universe was officially launched in June 2023. The creative teams are made of top talents with writers like Robert Kirkman, Daniel Warren Johnson, Joshua Williamson, Kelly Thompson, and Dan Watters (and more to come), and artists like DW Johnson, Lorenzo De Felici, Jorge Corona, Tom Reilly, Andrea Milana, Marco Ferrari, and more.

Read More »Energon Universe Reading Order (Skybound’s Transformers, GI Joe, Voir Rivals…)

There is no doubt that The Walking Dead is one of the most popular comic book series, gaining widespread recognition at the start of the 2010s with the television adaptation by AMC. Now a media franchise, it includes seven live-action television series, eight web series, several video games, novels, a role-playing game, and even an indoor roller coaster haunted attraction at Thorpe Park in England. The zombie apocalypse that captured the world’s attention began in 2003 with the original comic series.

Created by Robert Kirkman (Invincibles) and Tony Moore, The Walking Dead almost didn’t see the light of day as the two men struggled to sell their pitch. Their initial proposal, titled Dead Planet, was set in the 27th century, where a mysterious mineral on a newly discovered planet turned people into zombies, intended as a weapon. After Image Comics rejected the idea, Kirkman returned with a reworked concept, this time set on Earth and centered around the Grimes family during a zombie apocalypse in the 1960s. The comic series was initially called Night of the Living Dead, after the 1968 George Romero classic film. However, Image Comics co-founder Jim Valentino pushed for a more original concept, one with no ties to another classic zombie story.

Kirkman then proposed The Walking Dead with a more traditional approach, but the pitch was again rejected for being “too normal.” To secure the green light from Image Comics, Kirkman added a twist: the zombie plague was caused by aliens, turning the story into an alien invasion tale. Although this secured approval, Kirkman never actually intended to include aliens in the comic book.

Drawing inspiration from 28 Days Later (itself a nod to The Day of the Triffids), The Walking Dead begins with Rick Grimes, a Kentucky deputy who is shot in the line of duty and awakens from a coma to find that the world as he knew it is gone. In just a few months, society has crumbled: no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, and no cable TV. An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. With his family missing, Rick travels to a military evacuation zone in Atlanta to find them and joins a small group of survivors along the way, all while trying to adapt to life in this terrifying new world…

Read More »The Walking Dead Comics Reading Order/Timeline, a Zombie post-apocalypse universe by Robert Kirkman

Originally published by Marvel Comics’ Icon imprint before being moved to Image Comics, Criminal is a long-running creator-owned comic book series by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips (the duo behind Reckless). It has become the most prominent independent crime comic of the last twenty years.

Launched in 2006, Criminal started as a ten-issue series before coming back in multiple formats through the years, from graphic novel to one-shot. Every storyline works as a standalone story that takes place in a much larger narrative–mostly articulated around the Lawless Family and the mob boss Sebastian Hyde.

As a crime comic series, Brubaker and Phillips’ creation explores the many forms of the genre. In an interview with Tom Spurgeon at the launch of the series, Brubaker stated “The kinds of stories we’ll be putting all these characters through, though, run the gamut from the heist caper, to the revenge story, to the man on the run story, and even beyond that to the sort of meta-noir innocent man caught in a web of crime story.” That’s exactly what they did.

Eighteen years later, we have a collection of books, stories that were not written or published in chronological order, featuring a group of recurring characters whose lives we discover through dark and violent events. The following guide is here to help you find the stories you may have missed and to offer multiple ways to read them.

Read More »Criminal Reading Order, The Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Celebrated Comics

It all started with Radiant Black. Written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Marcelo Costa, Radiant Black is a comic book series published by Image Comics since 2021. Its success would launch a whole universe, known as the Massive-Verse! Today, we are here to write about this Superhero universe inspired by the Power Rangers!

What is the Massive-Verse?

The Massive-Verse is a shared universe of superhero stories that started with Radiant Black. The story introduced us to Nathan Burnett, a struggling writer who, after drinking with a friend, discovers a miniature black hole that gives him powers and a black-and-white costume! Now, Nathan must learn to use his new powers as the superhero Radiant Black while also learning about the mysteries surrounding the object that gave him his powers.

Black Radiant is the main series of the Massive-Verse that has expanded with several spin-off titles: Rogue Sun by Ryan Parrott, The Dead Lucky by Melissa Flores, Inferno Girl Red by Matt Groom, NO/ONE by Kyle Higgins and Brian Buccellato, Radiant Red by Cherish Chen, Radiant Pink by Meghan Camarena and Melissa Flores.

Read More »Massive-Verse Comics Reading Order (with Radiant Black, Supermassive, Rogue Sun and more!)

Marc Silvestri is one of the co-founders of Image Comics where he set up his own studio, Top Cow Productions. There was launched Witchblade in 1995, a comic book series created by Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina, and the late artist Michael Turner. The success of Witchblade at the time helped Top Cop to expand and add new titles to its line.

And popular Witchblade was: the comic book was adapted into a television series in 2001, as well as an anime, a manga, and a novel in 2006. The comic book series lasted 20 years, coming to an end in 2015. It was relaunched a few years later, and the reboot ran from 2017 to 2020.

But what Witchblade is about? streetwise NY cop Sara Pezzini comes into possession of the mysterious Witchblade, a supernatural gauntlet, a weapon that bonds with a female host and provides her with a variety of power in order to fight supernatural evil. As the artifact’s bearer, Sara goes toe to toe with a Machiavellian industrialist, supernatural serial killers, and far worse, as the supernatural underworld of New York alters the course of her destiny forever.

As part of the Top Cow Universe, Witchblade also crossovers with The Darkness, Tomb Raider, but also Madgaelna, Evo, and more. She has also encountered Vampirella, Red Sonja as well as the JLA.

Read More »Witchblade Reading Order

In 1992, after leaving Marvel, Todd McFarlane and other high-profile illustrators launched Image Comics – you know the story… It was a gamble, to say the least, but it paid big. This success didn’t take long to come as the first issues published were smashing hits. Spawn was no exception. In fact, it was the most consistent one because of McFarlane, and that stayed that way.

In fact, in 2020, Spawn reached issue #300, a rare feat for an independently published comic. Now, there’s even a Spawn Universe with new spin-offs to expand the world of Spawn like never before.

Here is the story: Murdered during a mission in Botswana by fellow mercenary Bruce Stinson (aka Chapel), Al Simmons was sent to Hell because of his life as an assassin. There, he made a deal with the being known as Malebolgia to become a Hellspawn in exchange for being allowed to see his wife Wanda Blake one last time. He is now back in town, but five years have passed, and, off-balance and disoriented, Simmons quickly realizes that he couldn’t pick up things where he left them. As Spawn, he becomes some kind of hero in order to find a new purpose in life.

Read More »Spawn Reading Order (and the Spawn Universe)