Nov
30
“Image United” #1 Review
Filed Under Comics
It’s been a little over six months since I quit reading monthly comics. I still visit comic book stores every so often because I miss the smell. Occasionally I’ll pick up a trade paperback. It’s very rare that I’ll buy an individual issue. It does happen, though, like it did a few weeks ago with “Haunt.” If anything, buying a random issue will remind me why I finally gave up the hobby to begin with. I never cultivated any real taste in comics over the 18 years I was an avid reader. As such, I couldn’t resist the temptation to pick up “Image United” #1 yesterday at a comic book shop in Ventura.
Let’s see if I can do this without consulting Wikipedia. The seven founders of Image Comics were Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Mark Silvestri, Jim Valentino and Whilce Portacio. Hot dog, I did it! Formerly artists for Marvel Comics, these gentlemen grew tired of not enjoying any creative control over the books they penciled, so they formed their own company and published titles that proved none of them really were all that creative to begin with.
Image came into being about six months after I started collecting comics. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t buy every issue with the Image logo for the first year or two they put out books. It didn’t get as expensive as it sounds. Since every Image artist was also his own editor, deadlines were frequently missed, and the issues shipped hella-late. “Wetworks” #1 came out like a year after it had been originally scheduled to. But, these were all new superheroes — who looked like Spider-Man or Wolverine for the most part — by the hottest working artists in the industry. It was a dream come true for an undiscriminating 13-year-old.
And as an undiscriminating 30-year-old, I couldn’t resist “Image United” #1, a new mini-series that re-teams the original Image artists in the ultimate collaborative effort. Each artist draws his own character(s) in the book. Youngblood is drawn by Rob Liefeld, Spawn is drawn by Todd McFarlane, the Savage Dragon is drawn by Erik Larsen and so on and so forth. Witchblade is in there too, although her book wasn’t one of Image’s inaugural titles. Mark Silvestri’s first Image comic was “Cyberforce” — basically X-Men with bionics — but he enjoyed much more success with his top-heavy Witchblade character. So there she is. Jim Valentino’s Shadowhawk is also sadly part of the series. I don’t think there’s a bigger mort in all of the Image Universe than that also-ran.
The experience of reading “Image United” #1 is not unlike revisiting an old cartoon show from your childhood that’s clearly not as flawless as you remember. Unfortunately, the book came out last Wednesday. That it reads just as shittily as Image titles from over a decade and a half ago is nothing short of remarkable. Series writer Robert Kirkman is no better at breathing life into these characters than their creators.
The plot, such as it is, should satisfy anyone who endlessly obsesses over the outcomes of superhero fisticuffs. The super-team Youngblood joins forces with the Savage Dragon to beat up on a Spawn villain, Overt-Kill; I’m embarrassed that I just typed that sentence. Because each artist handled the penciling chores on his own characters, the fight scenes look like Colorforms. Punches don’t connect. Characters may exist on the same page, but the stylistic flourishes of each artist work against any sense of cohesiveness.
Each artist only seems to know about three different character poses, too. The characters can run, jump or punch. Regardless of their body type or gender, they perform these actions all pretty much the same. Facial expressions are also about as varied. Everyone’s screaming, clenching their teeth or being all closed-mouthed and stoic. In almost two decades, these artists haven’t matured at all. They’re still sloppy and cutting corners.
In all, “Image United” #1 didn’t really compel me to get back into buying monthly comics again. It’s a gimmick, not a comic. Knowing these artists, I can’t imagine the mini-series will reach its conclusion before the year 3000. That said, instead of buying the individual issues, I think I’ll wait for the trade.
-Brad Lohan
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