We’re celebrating Image Comics’ 25th anniversary all this week by breaking down the company’s all-time best 25 series! With so much diversity in its catalog, Image truly has comics for everyone. Check them out for yourself! Leave some of your own favorites in the comments, and come back tomorrow for our final part of this series and 5 more titles!
Catch up on the series:
Part One, Part Two, & Part Three.
The Strange Talent of Luther Strode
The Strange Talent of Luther Strode explores the ultimate power fantasy: a scrawny geek becomes a muscular, powerful superhero. However, things don’t go so well for Luther Strode, who finds that with great power comes a whole lot of trouble. Justin Jordan pens this tale, and it’s filled with quick wit and dark humor. Tradd Moore and Felipe Sobreiro create stellar art; Sobreiro’s colors, in particular, pop and create a glorious blood bath. It’s a funny tale that has a gruesome sense of hilarity and creative violence. Think of it sort of like the inverted tale of Peter Parker, if things went just a little different for him.
I Hate Fairyland
Scottie Young has been a staple of the comic community for years now. He’s famous for drawing a lot of the Marvel heroes in a cutesy art style, and adapting some of L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” stories. I Hate Fairyland is definitely a dark, twisted, bloody, disgusting, hilarious parody of the well known Wizard of Oz. Six year old Gertrude is whisked away to the bright and colorful Fairyland, full of all the whimsy a little girl would ever want. The only problem is that she gets stuck there for thirty years. Despite its aesthetic, this is NOT a book for kids, but it is just so enjoyable in its depraved nature. Young draws and writes this book, and if its not on your pull list, it should be soon.
Descender
Descender is simply one of Jeff Lemire’s best works in comics. It’s a dark, fable, space opera that focuses on a small robot child in a harsh, dystopian world that can only exist at Image. Jeff Lemire creates a phenomenal amount of pathos and complexity for all the characters here. He creates this expansive world that is densely layered and beautiful. Dustin Nguyen’s artwork on the book has this pale, monotone look that breathes life into this world. There are a lot of dramatic themes and heavy moments in this book, but it’s a great odyssey to be apart of.
Black Science
This comic is very reminiscent of Lost in Space on meth. If Descender is like taking a boat ride through uncharted waters, then Black Science is like being on a speed boat on a waterfall. This comic moves a mile a minute as its protagonists, The Anarchistic League of Scientists, travel through different parallel dimensions. Writer Rick Remender knows how to constantly up the stakes, and throw curve balls at the readers. Artists Matteo Scalera and Dean White generate beautiful, dynamic panels that are glorious to look at. This is definitely the wild ride that you need in your life.
Chew
Chew is the epitome of darkly funny story telling. John Layman crafts an original concept that lends itself well to complex storytelling, but is also hilarious. Each page is filled with brilliant jokes and scenarios that can only work in a comic book like this. Artist Rob Guillory draws this vibrant world that is somehow both wonderful to look at, and yet kind of disgusting. It works well with the material given, and it’s hard to tear your eyes away from the artwork. However, the core of this story is a mystery, and Chew creates one of the most detailed, intriguing mysteries in any medium. One of the greatest comic books Image has ever put on the stands.
