Image Universe

Last updated
Image Universe
Original workGraphic Fantasy #1 (June 1982) [lower-alpha 1]
Owner Image Comics
Print publications
Novel(s) Witchblade: Ao no Shōjo (2006)
Darkchylde: The Ariel Chylde Saga (2016)
Comics Savage Dragon (1992–present)
Spawn (1992–present)
Witchblade (1995–present)
Aria (1999–present)
Ant (2004–present)
Bomb Queen (2006–present)
I Hate Fairyland (2015–present)
Radiant Black (2021–present)
The Scorched (2021–present)
List of ended series
Films and television
Film(s)
List of films
Television series
List of television series
Miscellaneous
Related Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Massive-Verse

The Image Universe (IU) is a fictional universe in which some of the stories published by Image Comics take place. It was introduced in the early years of the publisher, shared by the various creators who formed the Image partnership. The independent, creator-owned nature of their work led to limited interaction between their characters, and little coordination of the Image Universe as a shared setting, with the primary versions populated by a number of superheroes/villains, including Supreme, Invincible, Omni-Man, Spawn, Angela, Atom Eve, the Dragon, Gert, Bomb Queen, and Witchblade, as well as incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Contents

It has mainly served as the ostensible setting of occasional crossovers between different series, including Deathmate , Image United , The Invincible War , and Crossover , all existing within a "multiverse" consisting of a multitude of different universes; in this context, "Image Universe" refers to the mainstream Image continuity.

Publication history

The Image Universe began with the founding of Image Comics in 1992, launching with series such as The Savage Dragon , Spawn , Youngblood, and WildC.A.T.s .

Image Comics' nature of allowing comic creators to retain the rights to the characters they publish with Image has led to many characters entering or exiting the Image Universe as the creators move from or to other publishers. Image co-founder and Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen generally treats the Image Universe continuity as though each title exists in its own universe, and any crossovers between different creators' characters are events that occur simultaneously in each respective characters' universes. [1] The 1996 crossover comic Shattered Image used a variation this idea, establishing each of the major Image titles as overlapping sub-realities that shift in and out of continuity with the wider Image Universe.

When Jim Lee was an Image partner, his WildStorm properties such as WildC.A.T.s , Stormwatch , Gen13 , Union, Deathblow , Wetworks , and Backlash regularly crossed over with other Image characters, but when he sold his studio to DC Comics, this ceased.

In June 1996, Erik Larsen relaunched the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series by Mirage Studios with a third volume under the Image Comics banner, featuring supporting characters from other series and various crossovers with The Savage Dragon and Spawn. The series ceased publication on a cliffhanger in 1999. After its cancellation, the series remained in publication limbo for nearly two decades, with no reprints or collected volumes. In 2018, IDW Publishing, which publishes their own TMNT comic series, began to reproduce the existing 23 issues in a colored version, as well as officially conclude the Image series with a final three-issue story arc, with Carlson and Fosco again taking part in this project. [2]

There were several Image crossover mini-series in the 1990s, such as Shattered Image, Altered Image, Big Bruisers, Badrock & Company, Deathmate , Darker Image, and Splitting Image, along with the Eclipse Comics satire Spittin' Image. But only Mars Attacks Image had any direct impact on the titles represented, as the Martians' attack was also shown and referenced many times in the Savage Dragon series.

In 2009, the Image Universe had its first major crossover in several years with Image United . However, it was canceled, with Youngblood being sold to Terrific Productions. The Pact, a crossover between Invincible , ShadowHawk , Noble Causes , and Firebreather , was also produced.

In 2021, Todd McFarlane announced the mainline Spawn series to be expanded into its own shared universe, with King Spawn, Gunslinger Spawn and The Scorched. [3] He would also like 12 more titles for Spawn's expanded universe. [4]

Later on in 2021, following the success of Kyle Higgins' Radiant Black , it was announced that it would expand into its own universe of books dubbed "The Massive-Verse". It all started with a one-shot crossover entitled Supermassive, written by Higgins, Ryan Parrott, and Mat Groom with art by Francesco Manna and Simone Ragazzoni. The comic served as a crossover between Radiant Black, Inferno Girl Red, and Rogue Sun, with the comic marking the first appearances of the latter two. Rogue Sun would later launch as an ongoing in March 2022 written by Parrott and drawn by Abel, while Inferno Girl Red would launch as an original graphic novel, with Groom as writer and Erica D'Urso as artist in late 2022. Radiant Black would later get a spin-off of its own with Radiant Red, a 5 issue miniseries written by Cherish Chen and art by David Lafuente. [5] [6] In February 2022, it was announced that another book connected to the Massive-Verse would release in August entitled The Dead Lucky, written by Melissa Flores and art by French Carlomango. [7]

List of universes

Notes

  1. ↑ First appearance of Savage Dragon

Related Research Articles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commonly abbreviated as TMNT, is a media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' sensei, a rat called Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd McFarlane</span> Canadian comic book creator

Todd McFarlane is a Canadian comic book creator, best known for his work as the artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horror-fantasy series Spawn, as well as being the current President and a co-founder of Image Comics.

Image Comics is an American comic-book publisher and is the third-largest direct-market comic-book and graphic-novel publisher in the industry by market share.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krang</span> Fictional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character

Krang is a supervillain appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-related media, most frequently in the 1987 animated series and its associated merchandise, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic book and many TMNT video games. The character has endured as one of the franchise's most prominent antagonists and a major foe of the Ninja Turtles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Eastman</span> American comic book artist and writer

Kevin Brooks Eastman is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine Heavy Metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Larsen</span> Comic creator

Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book artist, writer, and publisher. He currently acts as the chief financial officer of Image Comics. He gained attention in the early 1990s with his art on Spider-Man series for Marvel Comics. In 1992 he was one of several artists who stopped working for Marvel to found Image Comics, where he launched his superhero series Savage Dragon – one of the longest running creator-owned superhero comics series – and served for several years as the company's publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savage Dragon</span> Comic book superhero

The Savage Dragon is a superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared as the Dragon in Graphic Fantasy #1 and first appeared as the "Savage Dragon" in Megaton #3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invincible (character)</span> Comic book superhero

Invincible is a superhero created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, currently drawn by Ryan Ottley. Invincible first appeared in a preview as part of Savage Dragon #102, before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as the premier title in Image Comics' then-new superhero line, a relaunch of the Image Universe. Invincible appears in Invincible, Bomb Queen, Noble Causes, The Pact, Savage Dragon, The Astounding Wolf-Man, Dynamo 5, I Hate Fairyland – I Hate Image, and Battle Beast.

<i>Deathmate</i> Comic book

Deathmate is a six-part comic book crossover between Valiant Comics and Image Comics published in 1993–94. The series is remembered for its negative impact on comic book retailers and the industry as a whole due to its late, over-ordered but poorly-selling books.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (Mirage Studios) American comic book series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is an American comic book series that was published by Mirage Studios between 1984 and 2014. Conceived by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it was initially intended as a one-shot, but due to its popularity it became an ongoing series. The comic created the Turtles franchise of five television series, seven feature films, numerous video games, and a range of toys and merchandise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SuperPatriot</span> Comics character

SuperPatriot is an Image Comics superhero created by Erik Larsen in 1992. He regularly appears in Erik Larsen's titles, whether in his own mini-series or as a supporting character and is currently a member of the Liberty League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Brown (comics)</span>

Ryan Brown is a comic book writer and artist and toy designer best known for his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the animated series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanguard (character)</span> Comics character

Vanguard is an alien superhero created by Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen for Carlson's self-published comics anthology Megaton. Vanguard is a white alien with small antennae who has been given the unenviable job of guarding Earth, which is viewed by the aliens as boring with little chance of anything happening. His sole companion is a sarcastic, hovering cycloptic robot and their morphing androids, though he quickly developed a relationship with a reporter Roxanne Wells.

Gary Scott Carlson is an American comic book writer, editor and publisher, known for his work on his creator-owned comics, such as the 1980s anthology Megaton and Big Bang Comics. He has also worked on books for Image Comics, such as Vanguard, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Supreme, and on titles for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, such as Aquaman and Nova, respectively.

<i>Image United</i>

Image United is an incomplete comic book limited series published by Image Comics. The intent of the series was to re-unite the founders of Image Comics on a joint project, serving as a crossover between various Image Universe titles. However, there were delays in production, and only three of the planned six issues were published in November 2009, with artist Rob Liefeld eventually confirming that no further issues would be forthcoming.

Sophie Campbell is a comic writer and artist known for her indie comics such as Wet Moon and Shadoweyes, and for her art on the Jem and the Holograms comics, as well as IDW Publishing's ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series. She primarily writes and draws characters who are adolescent or young adult women, including various races, body types, sexual orientations, and abilities. In 2019, she became the lead writer of IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for which she designed the character Jennika.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (IDW Publishing) Ongoing American comic book series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an ongoing American comic book series published by IDW Publishing. Debuting in August 2011, the series is part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and was the first new comic incarnation of the Turtles to debut after the franchise's sale to Nickelodeon in October 2009. It is the fifth comic book series in the franchise's publication history and serves as a reboot of the franchise's story and characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massive-Verse</span> Fictional shared universe by Kyle Higgins

The Massive-Verse (M-V) is a fictional shared universe, created by Kyle Higgins as an offshoot/relaunch of the Image Universe (IU), which spans a line of comic books published by Image Comics since February 2021, later retroactively established to have begun with C.O.W.L., first published in May 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennika</span> Comic book character

Jennika, also known as Jenn or Jenny, is a superheroine appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. She was introduced in issue #51 of the first comic book series by IDW Publishing in 2015, and was developed by Tom Waltz and franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman. She was designed by series artist and writer Sophie Campbell. Jennika is the second female mutant turtle character in the franchise's history, after Venus and preceding Lita the year after her mutant form first appeared.

References

  1. ↑ "One Fan's Opinion: Issue #14". Comic Book Resources. 2005-11-10. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  2. ↑ Gehen, Dan (2018-02-21). "IDW to Reprint Image's TMNT Comics, Including Official Ending". Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Site. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  3. 1 2 "Todd McFarlane's SPAWN To Lead a New Shared Universe". Screen Rant . 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  4. ↑ Johnston, Rich (2022-04-18). "The Pressure Of 4 Spawn Comics On Todd McFarlane – So How About 12?". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  5. ↑ "IMAGE SUPERHERO UNIVERSE EXPANDS IN FEBRUARY 2022 WITH SUPERMASSIVE ONE-SHOT CROSSOVER EVENT & ROGUE SUN SERIES LAUNCH". Image Comics. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  6. ↑ "CHERISH CHEN, DAVID LAFUENTE & MIQUEL MUERTO REUNITE FOR FORTHCOMING RADIANT RED SPINOFF MINISERIES THIS MARCH". Image Comics. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  7. ↑ "THE DEAD LUCKY SERIES LAUNCH WILL ELECTRIFY THE MASSIVE-VERSE THIS AUGUST FOR RADIANT BLACK FANS & NEW READERS ALIKE". Image Comics. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  8. ↑ "Image Comics Launches Shared 'Bone Orchard Mythos' Horror Universe". Screen Rant . 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  9. ↑ "Image Comics' Superhero Universe Collides in 'Supermassive' Crossover". Screen Rant . 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  10. ↑ Salmon, Will (2023-06-14). "Skybound roll out a new shared Transformers and G.I. Joe universe – and it starts today!". gamesradar. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.