Podcast - Episode 73: The Image Revolution

Dave and I have decided to not do a Best of 2016 episode this year because those things are BORING.

Instead, we have taken a trip back to a simpler time by watching the 2014 documentary, THE IMAGE REVOLUTION, about the creation of Image Comics in the 1990s.

The documentary features clips from the 1991 series, The Comic Book Greats, which was hosted by Stan Lee. You can see full episodes of Stan the Man talking to "greats" like Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld on YouTube:

I didn't really read superhero comics that much in the 90s because they were so ugly and confusing and just didn't appeal to me at all. Besides the occasional Jim Lee X-Man comic, I mostly ignored them. Most of my 90s superhero intake was in animated form.

As a result, comic books in the 90s have always just baffled me. It's a bizarre island where no attention was paid to storytelling or art or character development. And yet it was the most successful the comic book industry has ever been.

But, like all things that are all flash and no substance, the bottom fell out hard. Fortunately, Image was able to continue on, and even flourish, and today is a place where some of the top talent in the industry have the ability to tell their stories the way they want to tell them. As much as we roll our eyes at the comics Image was putting out in the 90s, the idea of Image as a publishing house for creator-owned properties was important and is responsible for some of the best comics on the stands today.

Enjoy! We'll be back next week to talk about Rogue One!