25 years ago a bunch of Marvel artists left the Big Two and decided to form their company, with blackjack and hookers. This company would eventually become the closest to a third competitor for DC and Marvel (lol) and the best known creator-owned comic book company out there.
This week it's time to put the spotlight on the "second wave" series, those books that weren't created by the founders but still managed to be an important part of the company's history.
Next up is the neverending story, Joe Madureira's Battle Chasers
The Maxx:
>>89731107
Pitt:
>>89740451
Hellshock:
>>89758737
Astro City:
>>89784229
Witchblade (thanks to Anon):
>>89809702
Sorry for the wait
This aint jak and daxter
>>89837895
wut
Oops, something urgent just came up. I'll be back ina couple of hours
>>89837233
OP please find some time to do Deathmate and Deathblow during this Image dump.
>>89837233
I feel bad for the people who donated to the Kickstarter actually expecting him to deliver on issues 10-12. We'll probably get the game eventually but those comics aren't happening.
OP pulled a Madureira
>>89839466
Why the fuck would you want that?
Has there ever been an Image series that concluded in a satisfactory way? You've either got never-ending/vanity-project stories like Spawn and Savage Dragon or something that shits the bed sometime in the first few years worth of issues.
I guess my question is...other than the "audacity of striking out on your own," what has Image really contributed to the industry? Which classics of the medium came from Image? It offers total freedom, but has that total freedom really produced anything great?
The Maxx and Astro City are the only ones from these first two waves that even deserve a mention if we're considering things like merit and consistency instead of early sales and wow-factor.
I mean, they've picked up stuff like Madman and Stray Bullets, but none of that started at Image. I'll be *very* curious to see how "the modern era" of Image books start transitioning in to the long game or wrapping their plots up.
I'm back.
>>89843068
Chew, Glory, Prophet, I Kill Giants, King City, for starters.
>>89843281
Good books.
But none of those are from the original or even second wave. They're all from the modern era, and all, relatively speaking, quite short compared to a lot of Images other big series.
Also, dam is that page blatant.
>>89838168
>a couple of hours
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
>>89843246
Oh. Looks like I got here just in time.
>>89843068
I thought Luther Strode was alright. Invincible might. Does anyone remember how Glory ended?
>>89843577
Oh, you were talking about the early years. I guess there's some good Wildstorm stuff before DC bought them, like Moore's WildCATs.
>>89843608Glory accidentally kills her girl friend and she goes to the afterlife to say goodbye. Also, a Prophet plug at the end.
This art is really strange to look at. Like the shapes of everything are weeb as fuck, but the coloring is completely on a different approach.
>>89844105
>im sorry for murder, murderbot
>>89844074
You should give Ultimates 3 a read then, because man was the coloring whack on that one.
>>89843623
I have a soft spot for modern Savage Dragon, but it's first few years were the epitome of 90's excess and edginess. The current stuff if pretty tongue in cheek sic-fi action-comedy, but it's got no way of standing out amongst the crowd.
Spawn has the opposite problem: it's 90's run was *good* because it was edgy and different, but it's modern stuff hasn't progressed in any way.
As for WildCats, it's always struck me as having the problem of being a blatant X-men clone. Like, no matter how much you dress it up, it can't escape the shadow of Jim Lee's more famous work.
>>89844172
>it's always struck me as having the problem of being a blatant X-men clone
I don't see it honestly, like yeah, Cyberforce is definitely X-Men, but WildCATs? With the whole Daemonite war thing?
>>89844300
>Elsewhere: Guns, ass, and tiddies
>>89844272
It's not a ripoff, as it does have it's own elements like you said, but the similarities are definitely there.
Design wise and personality wise, they would be right at home in the 90's Xmen. The whole hiding from humanity and being attacked on all sides? You can see where the influence comes from, which makes sense with Jim lee having previously worked on X-men. The Demonizes themselves are like a cross between the Phallanx and the Brood, but styled to look like the demons from Limbo.
Even the cartoon creators realized this, and tried to play up how similar they were to get some of the X-men animated series fans to watch their show.
>>89844402
That gun is too small for them tiddies.
>>89844606
Fair enough, I've never been that big into X-Men so I see how I'd miss some of the similarities.
>>89843068
Everything by J. Michael Straczynski. That's pretty much his claim to fame.
>>89843845
>nimbus cloud
Was this drawn by the same guy who drew "Jango Fett: Open Seasons", or am I thinking of someone else?
>>89845084
what were those ball and ropes supposed to do? or did i misread it and it somehow shorted out the cannon?
>>89845462
Is that Star Wars? I don't think Joe Mad ever drew a Star Wars comic.
>>89845549
It fires like a chaingun I assume. Barrels spin around a center piece. So the ball and ropes stopped it from spinning by entangling it, thus shorting it out.
>>89845462
If it was drawn it had to be someone else.
>>89845793
lol
>>89845549
>>89845751
>ball and ropes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas
>>89845923
thanks informativeanon
>>89844616
The bullet is moving so slowly that they manage to have a conversation in between the time it is fired and the time it hits?
>>89838061
I remeber this
Had to go take a FAT OGRE SHIT
That's all for Battle Chasers. One last second wave Image tomorrow!
>>89844041
>monsters without eyes
>what we missed?
Probably everything.
>>89847919
>and the series was never heard from again
Fucking Hell why didn't Mad continue this shit I loved this comic so fucking much. Why won't he pick it up holy shit.
>>89844452
>BENGUS
>>89844483
>AKIMAN
Are you fucking kidding me?
God, I loved Battle Chasers. Such a short, but fun ride.
>ending never
It hurts. At least in the game Monika is still a titty monster.
>>89844965
>first panel
>omg, who even cares
>>89845712
>>89845684
>>89845648
>finest warriors, bound by honour and virtue
:^)
>>89845777
I like these guys already.
>>89846224
>>89846192
Ooooh, this guy's Roshi. Transformation scene when?
>>89846313
Wasn't this guy blue?
>>89847919
All according to plan!
>>89848866
There were four more issues after this
I wish he would have done what J. Scott Campbell did when he handed off Danger Girl to other creators.
>>89839840
>those comics aren't happening
It's only three issues, s-surely he can deliver, right? Right?!
>>89844740
This.
Rising Stars
Midnight Nation
Ten Grand
Sidekick
Probably some others
Read these right now anon. JMS has done some of the best Image comics that nobody cares about because of One More Day.
>>89852048
I love Rising Stars #1's cover. It perfectly encapsulates that late 90's/early 2000's widescreen, larger than life aesthetic that The Authority popularized.
>>89850544
Wait, what? When?
>>89845793
underrated kek
>>89855573
A few Danger Girl one shots and stuff at DC, then IDW got it and did a bunch of minis.
>>89858258
No, I meant Battle Chasers, not Danger Girl.
>>89858975
Oh, yeah there were nine issues in all. As it went on the delays got longer and longer though which is probably how it fell off your radar. I think there were like two years in between 8 and 9.
>>89855573
>>89858975
Battle Chasers 000 (1998) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/tml9iq31vwef
Battle Chasers 001 (1998) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/li2pq6ov1fp2
Battle Chasers 002 (1998) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/cs0jhmnfi6ru
Battle Chasers 003 (1998) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/a3uv0jju8wnl
Battle Chasers 004 (1998) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/fhvdviimd2hb
Battle Chasers 005 (1999) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/ibuw2h9f31o2
Battle Chasers 006 (1999) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/hkqtd8izvdup
Battle Chasers 007 (2001) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/1olh9p390bsf
Battle Chasers 008 (2001) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/qmo8et6y1xfk
Battle Chasers 009 (2001) (digital-SD) (Minutemen-Excelsior)
http://userscloud.com/533me4vgml0j
>>89859788
>I think there were like two years in between 8 and 9.
Fuck. Does Joe Mad ever finish ANY project he starts?
>>89860807
listen man, Joe Mad had a massive backlog of video games to get through.
the real question is how Marvel was able to get him to pump out X-Men for 3 years monthly.
>>89860924
Probably had Stan Lee threaten to consume his soul.
Battle Chasers revival when?
>>89860954
funny you should mention that about 2 years ago Joe Mad said he was working on new material to go along with a Battle Chasers Kickstarter game
>>89844300
I don't fucking care if it's a Trope, I fucking love FemFatale
>>89844677
fucking really? A monk losing concentration because of dirt falling on him? He's a monk to contain a big bad. I mean make large chunks of rubble fall on him or something!
>>89861411
He lost his concentration because the guy on the previous page got flattened by a boulder. That's what he means by "we lost an appendage."
>>89863423
jesus sorry, I was reading backwards.
Fucking japanese maynguhs
>>89860924
>listen man, Joe Mad had a massive backlog of video games to get through.
I just realized he's the Togashi of comics. Except much worse.