The History of Image Comics (So Much Damage) | Part 2: The Beginning | SYFY WIRE

[@deadprecedents1]

I distinctly get the sense that, even back then, Jim Lee was the most ADULT, adult in the room.

[@docsavage8640]

Seems like the smartest guy there.

[@ethanabraham6830]

He went to med school to be a doctor before comics, so yea he’s smart

[@aztektheultimatewoman]

“All the founders were pretty different in terms of world experience and what they were doing.” Jim Lee’s extremely nice way of saying that he had to run a business with six immature man-children.

[@MaulSlasher]

Liefeld NAILS everybody's voice. I died when I heard Todd.

[@TheLYagAmi]

I swear he needs to do voice acting.

[@velhorenan]

Spot on!

[@sidearmsalpha]

Wish there was a follow up to this series with more artists from Image being interviewed like J. Scott Campbell, Brandon Peterson, Brett Booth, Matt Broome, and others. I'm glad I got to meet Michael Turner. That guy was so nice and humble. It's a shame he died so young.

[@PaceFilmsProductions]

anyone think Tom Cruise would be the best person to play Rob Liefeld in a movie? They seem to have very similar levels of enthusiasm when talking.

[@Chalor.]

All I see is Matt Damon.

[@puertoriconnect4611]

@PaceFilmsProduction Didn’t notice it before but you’re so right!

[@1sttobylopez]

maat daamon🤕

[@reanetsemoleleki8219]

Yeah but who would play Tom Cruise in the scene where he meets Tom Cruise?

[@puertoriconnect4611]

@Reanetse Moleleki Rob Liefeld

[@nickangelo116]

I loved comics back then. I bought Spawn and Shadowhawk. Actually my dad did. I was about nine so I didn't have my own money. Thanks, Dad

[@johnathanclark79]

Here's a positive review of Rob Liefeld. He got Alan Moore to do Supreme and now a throwaway comic like New Mutants#98 just made a lot of comic geeks $200 more rich. It was his idea to start Image Comics. When I was in the army and went to Afghanistan, they gave us a Kevlar helmet, a bulletproof vest, and pouches to wear.

[@crumbs7826]

The pouches were Rob's idea.

[@sidearmsalpha]

@@crumbs7826 LMAO! XD

[@pvrhye]

Liefeld does a pretty good Cruise impression.

[@xlrouge]

Hahaha! Rob’s recreation of his meeting with Tom Cruise is soo funny!!!!👏👏👏😃

[@robertt9342]

xlrouge it seems believable too.

[@davidrogersgames]

That was awesome!

[@madshader]

Rob's pretty damned good at impersonations. Nailed it!

[@JorgeGonzalez-mr8vu]

@@madshader dude I love Rob's impressions lol

[@mattdavis8573]

Rob makes me sick

[@NyxaGrayheart]

What a cool doc. This needs more exposure.

[@jeffnettleton3858]

It needs more depth and outside voices to lend scope. There are a lot of misconceptions at play here, in terms of the industry. It is fine as a series of interviews; but rather one dimensional as a history of the company.

[@jamesa.fitzpatrick1566]

I remember all this. The 1980s was about comics writers. The 1990s was about comics artists. That's when I started to get out of it. But hey - more power to em.

[@RockoJerome]

I'm uncomfortable with how much I'm starting to like Liefeld.

[@kylehill6636]

Rocko Jerome Why?

[@RockoJerome]

Kyle Hill You’re asking why I’m starting to like him or why I’m uncomfortable with it?

[@kylehill6636]

Rocko Jerome I'm asking why you are uncomfortable with starting to like Rob Liefeld.

[@RockoJerome]

Kyle Hill Oh. Because I hate his work.

[@jonmar4683]

ironic isnt it?

[@monyetguru]

Lets take a moment to appreciate Robs impression skill. That Todd was excellent

[@UncleJessy]

Loving this series!

[@iamsheep]

Does Marc Silvestri have a podcast? Love hearing that dude talk

[@TobeyStarburst]

Rob is so good with voices lol.

[@MrVienna79]

Image Comics was a revolution at that time and continuous to be a revolutionary house publishing, more and more!! I really like most of their titles a lot today!!

[@coreyshelp6463]

its amazing how the trends in comics evolved. Most early issues accept for DRAGON and Spawn were almost unreadable. that's the testament of how hype can make something is better than it is....

[@alienkatdaddycgs5904]

Corey Shelp they were not gooooooood.

[@31leoceara]

Who cares about reading? I only bought them to look at the art.

[@Optimus-Prime-Rib]

The first 18-20 issues of spawn were fantastic to read.

[@georgelochinski8144]

That was only issues 8-11 lol. I feel like the dudes who cut their teeth on Spidey (McFarlane, Larsen) focussed mostly on a single character (tho SD had spinoffs) and had somewhat better stories and were largely better at meeting their deadlines, whereas the dudes coming off X-books felt compelled to bog their schedules down with endless thinly-plotted spinoffs & miniseries, and had a very hard time staying afloat Valentino was an anomaly then, and he still is now...GOTG was not a hot book really back then, more like Marvel's version of Futurama...but Shadowhawk was pretty much on time and had a genuinely fresh approach

[@WOHBuckeye]

The artists were hot. They forgot the stories kinda mattered. I can't remember, the feud they had with the one Marvel guy, he was a great writer, but was pretty outspoken.

[@CJazzed]

I think The Maxx, Savage Dragon, Pitt, Spawn, and ShadowHawk were the best of their first couple of years. Such great comics. ShadowHawk was probably the worst of those, but it's still a decent read.

[@MaulSlasher]

Rob's impression of Todd is spotless. Lol

[@Tylerbremner]

I loved these comics as a kid. It felt like you were getting in on something as it was just starting which you were and it was very exciting for a 10 year old

[@trademark310]

If you guys understood how comics looked before Liefeld, you might forgive his weaknesses in artistry and understand that his strengths were enough to power him to the top. His pages just looked more dynamic than most of the industry at the time.

[@robertt9342]

blah I agree. I find his quality to be poor, but the characters seemed to leap off the page. I think that’s how people bought into it.

[@kylehill6636]

blah What about George Perez?

[@bkozitzki]

I loved W.I.L.D.C.A.T.S. back in the day. Remember this as a kid being so huge

[@JorgeGonzalez-mr8vu]

I loved wildcats but I hated the name

[@tblewis419]

and spawn is the only one standing

[@allnamesaretakenful]

I'm convinced that Liefeld is a 12 year old boy that got his wish granted by ZOLTAR.

[@pedra12]

@3:25, you all couldn't find a Cyberforce #1 to go with all the others?

[@robertt9342]

pedra12 it’s not like it’s hard to find

[@sisyphushappyxvx]

Or not have an issue of Lady Death, which wasn't even an Image book...

[@FanboyFilms]

That's not the debut issue of Savage Dragon either. The debut was #1 of a mini-series which was followed by the ongoing series, #1 of which is shown here.

[@Ellis_Hugh]

The Maxx... wow. Had forgotten all about that. What a great book.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

Who would have thought that fans would be waiting overnight just to buy a comic and the issue got sold far more than what was expected? I never heard that happened to DC and Marvel.

[@jeffnettleton3858]

Superman 75, X-Men #1. Everything that happened at Image had a precedent at either the Big Two or at independent companies. Creative ownership had been around since the Undergrounds, Star*Reach and Heavy Metal, not to mention the early 80s independents of Pacific, Eclipse, First, Comico and Dark Horse. Speculating was rampant in the industry, not just at Image. Even companies like Cry For Dawn were reaping benefits from it.

[@GNK-jv8nx]

Good points. People also forget that Eastman and Laird (Mirage), by the early 90's, were well on their way to being filthy rich off TMNT merch. Every artist and writer imagined they could be the next to strike gold. All you needed were comic characters not owned by the either Marvel and DC, a cartoon and a toy deal - the money would just roll in. Obviously, that never really happened. We missed out on a Saturday morning Re-Gex cartoon...;)

[@olblueyes7670]

Well Todd McFarlane had all those things, (comic, toys and cartoon) and I'd say he's done pretty well. The best of the Image bunch by far.

[@illwill1991]

@@olblueyes7670 well definitely "most successful" but "best"? Uhh I don't really know about that but here what all of us deep down do know the worst was rob liefeld

[@olblueyes7670]

@@illwill1991 by "best of the bunch" I was referring to those early artists who either formed Image or come on board the first 5 years. I stopped collecting Image in the 90s so I have no idea of their collective quality now.

[@mosj9876]

this is so awesome. im glad you guys did this. help bring these guys back to the top.

[@siskavard]

can I just give a shoutout to the camera operator on this? Zooming in on faces right at the perfect precise moment? Cheers to the cameraperson!!

[@schizogony]

Good audio recording on these interviews.

[@OriginalOrigins]

Hate him or love him Liefield is like the Michelangelo of the group lol

[@RubbinRobbin]

Michealangelo's David was out of proportion..

[@marcomartinez856]

@@RubbinRobbin Still art

[@revoltpuppy]

Oh, you meant Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle, not Michelangelo the artist. In that case, yes.

[@bepinkfloyd814]

@@RubbinRobbin it was on purpose, because you were supposed to watch it from below. The Real Michelangelo knew proportion xD

[@Gescelio]

@@revoltpuppy if u mean the ninja turtle

[@mikesetzer9379]

Todd McFarland is a businessman that's for sure! Spawn 300 is coming 🙃

[@constantdoodle32]

Oh the 90's, where comic book artist get asked to come on late night TV. What a time.... wish it was still like this.

[@Bl00dwerK]

Too bad they had no writers.

[@llongone2]

Indeed. There was a reason the company was called "Image" (and not "Substance").

[@bluespaceman7937]

Yup. It was a shame that Image books looked great but read like nonsense for many years. Now they're good though!

[@jeffnettleton3858]

Not entirely. McFarlane had Gaiman, Moore and Dave Sim contributing in the first year. Sam Kieth worked with William Messner-Loebs on the Maxx (the y had done Epicurus the Sage, at DC's Piranha Press). Valentino had written his own material at Aardvark-Vanaheim and Renegade, as well as Marvel. Larsen was writing his own material. Their initial books didn't have the same level of writing; but, there were a few pockets, here and there. When Valentino took over as president of the company, they started to branch out more to other creators and others turned to seasoned writers to take over their books (Warren Ellis, James Robinson, Alan Moore, etc...).

[@SAVikingSA]

Larsen's stuff was great but it was all a throwback, so a lot of it felt stale if you didn't know what he was going for.

[@KTF0]

Spawn was super fresh when it came out. The Maxx was awesome too. But yeah, giant mistake not getting any writers at first. Plus, the quality of paper was a giant upgrade.

[@enrkm85]

Still have my first copy of Shadow Hawk. LOVE the cover

[@TheOchoZ]

Statistically their books sold well. The majority of the books shipped so sporadically that it was difficult to keep tabs on story-lines. The stories were also largely terrible. Jim Lee was lucky to have been Wildstorm where the decent writers gravitated. So too the artists that arrived.

[@robertt9342]

TheOchoZ is it luck or better planning

[@alexjones57]

I absolutely love those guys . IMAGE forever !

[@Novaargh]

People in the 90's thinking that a book with a few million printed copies could get them through collage was even back then for me a laughable notion, no matter how popular comics were back then xD they didn't realise the books then that had a high price tag, were from the 30's, 40's through 70's because back then people treated comics like toilet paper so only a few stayed in good condition, heck , the 30's 40's books had warbonds, those got ripped up in a second after it was read. That frakkin' Jim Lee, he didn't even age xD

[@vivianthom4801]

Roland, yeah Asian genes.

[@jamesweikel2594]

Sometimes i wonder what would have happened when Todd, Jim and Rob went to DC to tell them that they won't be working for them. But got 7 of dc top artists to join them as well

[@fokker1138]

@4:15 I think you're confused, Spawn and Wild C.A.T.S. had great writing.

[@trence5]

@7:48 is the only argument one needs when defending 90's Image comics, they were the first and only ones to challenge the big 2 - DC and Marvel.

[@robertt9342]

trence5 it’s a pretty terrible argument though. Hype over quality doesn’t mean much.

[@louie7449]

Eventually old image issues will be worth something

[@raulzavala9061]

That Tom Cruise anecdote by Rob is so hysterical, I can already picture Tom calling him "glib". The comics put out by Image were all junk but this was an exciting period as comics were becoming more accepted and many more comic TV/movies were getting made.

[@treygreene4298]

i still have those comics to this day! one of the tent poles to my childhood! i read them more than marvel and dc

[@helium73]

You keep showing clips from "Comic book Greats" I wonder how did that play into it? I would have thought Stan Lee would be upset with them. What's the relationship between those videos and Image and Marvel.

[@Wez633]

can you guys show Rob Liefeld try to draw legs?

[@duckypuckluck]

wes rulz 😂😂😂

[@TheBestComicKing]

More like can you show him how to draw in general

[@YouAreDistracted]

lol or a head that is proportional to a body

[@BlackJackLopez]

I'll settle for ankles that don't look like they're gonna crack and eyeballs in the people that are supposed to have them... XD XD XD

[@79EasyE]

Guy deserves respect if only for cable.

[@Changetheling]

That outro song is DAMN AMAZING. Instant ringtone.

[@vinceleretrogameur6298]

I loved the comics from Image it was really good the drawings were well done and the characters were badass short it was the beautiful time ^^

[@laurencea9932]

LOL. I remember this time. I used to call it "Bullets, Blades, Biceps and Babes".

[@akumagouki8668]

image comics & mortal kombat both came out in 1992, coincidence?

[@bobnelson9480]

What would have been the story of comics had these gentlemen stayed at Marvel. What would the comic industry look like today. What would Marvel's catalog look like today. Can't help but wonder.

[@tothelastman6]

Now if we could only have another Image-esque company rise up and pull the rug out from under the industry once more . . . .

[@ShinKamaitachi]

I wonder why they didn’t think about doing a bio pic about image comics. I think it would be so awesome, if done right.

[@thelittlepasty8360]

Rob has the best Todd McFarlane impression

[@agonyuncle879]

This blows my mind even after all these years. Marvel had all this talent and they squandered it. Fast forward 25 years and they don't have a single artist that can come close in talent. It's what happens when you have people like maggs vissagio and Mark Waid as your creatives

[@DaRealKINGKLIPS]

i wonder why no mention of Dale Keown????? I mean , he's just the best guy ever to draw the Hulk and helped find image with the rest of the guys. Pitt ???

[@bambam5000]

Fantastic series. Psst! Is there a Police Squad homage going on with the episode titles?

[@MGSBigBoss77]

Why say that?, is there a Hollywood guest star who dies in the opening of these onscreen credits (lol).

[@peterborak3256]

Rob’s impressions 😂 I can’t

[@jamalwashingtonfilms]

I know people have saying this and that about Liefeld over the years, but he comes off very likable here. I don't want to base it all on what I see here, but maybe he's been a tad misunderstood? I can understand if he got a little too big for his britches, but he seems to be a genuine fanboy.

[@artzerial]

my question: How does Jim Lee draw for DC when Todd Mcfarlane literally said they weren’t gonna draw for DC? Can anyone please answer, I'm curious. Thx

[@christianwarren4584]

He sold his company to DC, was absorbed into their bullpen and eventually rose to the ranks, he is one of the top dogs at DC

[@SkotNealey]

I was on the IMAGE Train from the beginning. It was EYE CANDY! BRING BACK THE WILDCATS!

[@JoeJoe-lq6bd]

Youngblood might be the absolute worst superhero comic ever produced. McFarlane's writing was not great but at least he tried. Larsen seemed to be the only guy who really treated his fans with respect and cared about his characters. What's really remarkable about them overtaking DC in four months was that they might have put out like 12 total issues in that time, certainly fewer than 20. Spawn, Savage maybe Silverhawk I were the only comics that were even remotely timely.

[@gregoryl.levitre9759]

I can't agree with the comments claiming that the writing was lacking in early Image titles. That could certainly be the case for one or two titles, but some were very well written considering how they delivered what we wanted from them. These are super hero stories, not Christopher Nolan movies. We had backstories that worked for the characters, we understood the personalities of the characters, the villains were well-established, there were plenty of cool super-powered battles that pushed the characters beyond their limits and basically everything superhero fans at that time wanted in a series was covered by one of these guys, and part of what we loved about the characters were the stories. These guys developed a rich combined universe and made full use of cross-overs almost immediately. I don't think I'm being a fanboy or exaggerating when I say they gave us what we wanted and still managed to surprise us sometimes. That's a sign of some good writing. It's great that we're getting a Spawn reboot movie, but what I find ridiculous is that there's never been a live-action/CGI movie adaptation of WildC.A.T.S., Pitt, The Maxx, Cyberforce or any of those other fun titles. Could you imagine an Image Cinematic Universe? I would love to see Maul and Ripclaw battling it out with Daemonites on the big screen.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I really hate it when people think comics were in trouble in the 90s when Image was doing just fine. Spawn, for example, literally saved the comic industry Witchblade & The Darkness had great successes as well as anything with Scott Campbell & Tony Daniels name on it.

[@MrYouarethecancer]

Lowell Lucas Jr. Comics were in trouble dude. DC had been floundering for a decade and Marvel almost killed the industry. Image saved it all.

[@totalswabby4217]

yes Marvel declared bankruptcy and sent over some of their titles to Image to work on. Remember Heroes Reborn? I sure do. i worked on that steaming pile of crap...

[@greglott4977]

The title of the video "Part 2: The Beginning" cracked me up.

[@MrDudoma]

Someone make this a movie, Wolf of Wall Street style. Now.

[@TheJ1s]

My first comic book was a youngblood issue and it disappeared.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

Kirkman saved the company.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Lost Age Comics Spawn made the company famous

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

Lowell Lucas Jr. Agreed. And the founders' personalities made them badass to this day.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Lost Age Comics u rock dude

[@YouAreDistracted]

Wheres Erik Larsen??

[@customsongmaker]

Complete Randomness - He's busy shipping 4,000 copies per month of Savage Dragon

[@jackstraw732]

Probably acting like a asshole on Twitter or practicing drawing alien dicks

[@damonmcmurray8669]

Complete Randomness Collected some titles . Liked the art work and I agree storylines and writers were terrible.

[@paullavoie5542]

Image is the company that made me want to be a comic artist. I wish i would of went through with it.

[@YOURFAVORITEDOOMGUY]

You still go to conventions and contest especially fan film festival I lost my ability to draw but i.m not giving up

[@paulprice6330]

What was the movie Rob was talking with Tom Cruise?

[@r.hewlin8328]

Omg can somebody please tell me what book that is @4:27??? I had that as a kid I would love to pick it up again.

[@vivianthom4801]

R. Hewlin, I think that is Ripclaw. The character is almost like Mister Sinister’s long lost twin brother.

[@boogeyman7777]

I remember the cover of rob liefield's Brigade (first issue ), all the characters had similar facial features...lol

[@PowerRedBullTypology]

that was the case with almost all of tem .Jim Lee drew all men the same too..Liefeld jus had a more typical style, which made it more apparent

[@billykranberry6077]

The darkness is gold

[@TheTribalgame]

Spielberg ain't gonna meet you in a dark alley at 2am. James Cameron maybe. Not Spielberg

[@bokerecords3047]

When he said "looking back in 20/20.." i thought he said "looking back in 2020.." (when the video is 3yrs old) had me quite puzzled for a solid 2 minutes lol

[@Shrieking_In_the_Void]

unless Jeff Lemire or Tom King, and maybe Jason Aaron, is writing a Marvel or DC title I never bother; I always go for Image or the other highly reliable publishers who don't exist just to sell Baby Groot to kids.

[@mohammadmajlisi1265]

Jonathan Hauakas how are you finding King's Batman run?

[@Shrieking_In_the_Void]

Mo Maj ha, I actually haven't read it, not a Batman fan. My friend loves it though.

[@mohammadmajlisi1265]

Jonathan Hauakas really? I preferred Snyder's run

[@StaySqueezy12]

DC has tons of great books right now. Skyward is currently the only enjoyable Image title imo

[@Robintat2]

Wetworks was my favorite.

[@ernstergarcia]

the first rule was that no comic would come out on time.

[@joshuahumes5548]

The Maxx was great

[@NoName-ym5zj]

I didn't know Matt Damon was making comics

[@apexcomix3200]

Continue reworking FemBat week #2. Pencils, inks, and lettering. Watching KZbin

[@dinoclimaco3780]

I use to read Gen 13 in the bathroom 😂 And I have a huge poster of Voodoo and Zealot and the Coda girls too in my room 😂

[@RetroTV3]

uh oh, that was too much information, my friend...

[@gacomics5951]

I started reading comic just at the time image came to be. It was amazing. What a time to be a comic fan.

[@stephennoynay6570]

Liked & Subscribed

[@Dehslash9]

Is anybody else asking themselves which of Leifelds comics was Tom Cruise auditioning for

[@JFLY78]

Whenever Liefeld spoke I had to check my speed wasn't set to 1.5...

[@starhustler1453]

Just going by that title, sounds like y’all need some flex tape

[@rockaustin5130]

Wow, I was reading Archie comics back in the day.

[@brianjong8945]

10:56 wonder who Rob’s talking about here

[@AirKangLocker]

rob liefeld is what donald duck would be in real life lol

[@GrantLairdJr88]

Closed captions please.....

[@alexgarza675]

I wonder if Robert Kirkman is related to Tyler kirkman

[@mikepretty7768]

What the initially forgot was bringing some good writers with them

[@nicksteve5392]

They have about 71% of the market right now, so what has changed other than authors are treated better? I think IC could use better marketing though lol

[@Pkemen1]

Bring back the original Strykeforce!

[@TheRealBatCave]

Jim lee is like, na ill take that DC money

[@svp2010]

I think image still has an issue with consistency with alot of their books.

[@joejustjoe6015]

Too bad comics are dieing because of video games and internet.

[@StaySqueezy12]

At least doing better now than they did during the comic crash

[@humanspider37]

Why isn’t there a movie about this??????