I tend to like a lot of Image’s recent output. Grim Leaper, Planetoid, Prophet, Dancer, Saga, Secret, Hell Yeah, Hoax Hunters, Fatale… plus there’s stuff that while I’m not crazy about it, our commenters love, such as The Manhattan Projects.
Point is, Image has a lot of good stuff out right now.
Wondering where to start with it?
Comixology wants to save you some time: All recent Image #1′s are free.
OK, so they’re not all hits. Included up in that link is the first issue of Alpha Girl, which reads like a parody of every annoying indie zombie comic ever written except it’s not funny. But there’s a lot of good stuff.
So why is Image doing this? Well, I’ve got a guess.
The Walking Dead has been huge for Image. While they probably don’t see Kirkman’s fat stacks of cash since the series is creator owned, Walking Dead books push thousands of copies and the graphic novels are consistent best sellers every month.
Otherwise, though, Image has largely been left in the cold when it comes to Hollywood. As far as I’m aware none of the books they’ve published are close to seeing celluloid.
Presumably they’d like to see that happen, and also to sell more comic books, but first people have to start reading the books in large enough quantities. Hence, the issue #1 sales.
I will say that among these twenty books, there are very few genuine stinkers. Alpha Girl is awful, and Danger Club and No Place Like Home are kinda meh. But a good chunk of these I stuck with them for at least issue #2 and a few of them are truly great.
In short, check ‘em out. Hey, they’re free, and what else do you have to do at work?
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what Image doesn’t make from Kirkman’s probable huge percentage, they make up for in gross quantities they sell of The Walking Dead. they’re still banking from it, I’m sure. not to mention the crossover effect; the thousands, probable hundreds of thousands of new readers that TWD has brought to the comics industry are only benefiting Image – and every other publisher.
This is an incredibly smart move on Kirkman/Image’s part. if it’s free, consumers will be much more open to reading each issue #1. and if the book is good, all they need is to snag the reader with the first issue for them to become fans and start reading the series. It’s the same reason why the first volume of most trades are $9.99 (or cheaper!) and every subsequent volume is usually more expensive, $14.99 or more. They want it to be that much easier for you to start reading the series and get hooked.
True. I just find it interesting that Image is doing this with digital copies and with titles that have gotten some great reviews.
Not that I’m complaining, just want to see how it plays out.
It makes sense that they didn’t go the physical copy route (like on Free Comic Book Day) because physical copies cost money, whereas digital copies cost nothing.
another thing; the owner of my LCBS informed me the other day that on that Free Comic Book Day, the stores actually have to PAY for all of the free comics they give out. Is this true? If it is, it smells like some bullshit to me. He says it ultimately pays off because if they choose to take part, they usually see an uptick in business due to the event. However, really..?! These publishers can’t do anything for the owners of these brick & mortar stores, who are going away at an alarming rate? I remember when there were 4 or 5 comic book stores in my surrounding area – now there’s 1 or 2. Diamond is a monopoly that apparently can’t even get their simple jobs right, and they’re making the business owners pay for something supposed to be given out for free?