SilverPhoenix attended the Image Comics Show panel at New York Comic 2010 and fills us in on the details!
Depending on who you talk to, the mention of Image Comics will give you one of two reactions. The first reaction usually has someone mentioning the company as the definition of everything wrong in the 1990’s, which will include comments on Shoulder Pads, Leather and Extreme. The other reaction will be of complete praise and adulation as they profess their love for the work of their favorite (or favorite group of) creator(s). As someone who has fallen in love with Chew, Morning Glories and Invincible, this panel was of great interest, as I came in questions about who the company was, and what to expect in the future. By the time this panel was over, I definitely came away with an empathic answer.The Panel itself was fast and furious, despite Ron Marz’s late arrival (and my late arrival due to underestimating the crowd) due to being double booked (a MUCH BETTER reason than my own, I assure you) panels wise. From what I can gather the panel began with Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, SuperGirl) revealing his next big work,
"Infinite Vacation", which centers around a world where vacations are taken in different realities The story will focus on a Young Man who becomes addicted to the aspect of this type of vacationing, and the consequences within., which will be beginning in January 2011.
Click Here for a Video TrailerThe next speaker was Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash), who had three projects on display. The first one being the trade collection of
"Hack/Slash: My First Maniac", which takes its fans back to the Hack/Slash World, and will be available in stores either November or December of this year. Also on deck for November 18th is,
"Hack/Slash: The Trailers 2", which will feature 8 short story trailers for concepts that are apparently too silly to be fleshed out further, according to the creator himself. The One-Shot will be 64 Pages in length, and will feature work from fan-favorites in the Industry.
Staying with the same creator, he will also be revisiting another one of his works in
"Lovebunny and Mr. Hell", a story starring a career long sidekick who at long last will step into the Superhero’s spotlight. At the same time this happens, she will also gain a sidekick, who happens to be a Demon from Hell. This book will not be just a simple reprint, as the originally Black and White Comic Book will get a colorization, along with a story expansion in the form of extra pages. We will be able to discover (or rediscover) the world of this budding Superheroine sometime in 2011.
Tomm Coker (Daredevil Noir) was the next creator to get the spotlight, as he talked about his upcoming series
"Undying Love", which promises to offer a different take on the Vampire Lore, by following a man who has a mission to hunt down and kill the Vampire who cursed the woman he loves. This will be an 8-Issue Miniseries, which should be due out sometime next year.
Going down the line, we get to Ben McCool (Choker), who is the creator of the upcoming
"Memoir" comic, where an entire town loses the scope of their lives memories. From the information that was shown at the panel, it seems like the book is almost complete and will be available before 2010 is finished.
The next creator to promote his work was James Zhang (Daomu), who is coming out with a comic book adaption of the book that took China by storm called
"Daomu" (which literally means Tomb Raider). It’ll be a work that will not only look into the rich Chinese folklore, but will explore the missing holes of Chinese History which spans 5,000 years. From the Creator’s words, it is supposed to take heavily from Indiana Jones and National Treasure.
Veering a little bit off the proper time line, it is time to focus on last creator that spoke at the panel, Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Silver Surfer). He gave us a little bit more information on the
Firebreather Vs. Dragon Prince story, which will not only see the two characters team up (and fight) with each other, but will contain reprints of the First Issues of each of the books, which makes the December release a definite value buy.
Another piece of news that was discussed was the release of the
"Who is Jake Ellis" mini-series by Nathan Edmonson and Tonci Zonjic. This book will star a highly sought after spy, whose success is due to a psychic who remains invisible to everyone else. The 5 Issue mini-series will begin on January 5th, 2011.
Last but not least, Ron Marz also gave us a little bit of info about his newest story in
"Shinku", which will deal with Japanese Vampires, and a clan whose purpose is to fight them off. It starts with the last of the clan dealing with the mission that her family has carried for generations. He also noted that this book will have Vampires in a story with Sex and Violence, and not a story about Vampires not having Sex.
From there, we moved on to the question and answer session. There were quite a few questions thrown at the panel itself. Those of special note included.
- Nick Spenser revealing that Morning Glories (at the moment) will last 75 ? 100 Issues.
- The reason why Chew came out with a Hardcover so fast.
- James Zhang giving us a bit of history as to why the book is so controversial in China.
- Betsy Gomez (PR and Marketing Coordinator) giving us a little bit of insight into the relationship between Image and their creators.
- The Image Creators giving us their insights into their favorite Comic Book Writers.
- Ron Marz sharing his feelings of whether Comic Books should be done for the movie rights, or the story, with the latter winning out by a huge margin. He also gave advice to those looking to create stories, which is diversify the different mediums you read.
As a special bonus, I got to ask Betsy Gomez a question about Image’s trade policy, after the panel ended. I learned that the quick releases (compared to the Big 2 who have been slowing down) aren’t solely done to convert Trade Waiters into Floppy Readers, but to keep the momentum of something that’s gotten great word of mouth, as waiting too long may kill said momentum. The second reason it’s done, is to keep the book fresh in the mind of the trade waiter, so the series doesn’t leave their mind, due to nothing else in site. At the same time, it is also a juggling act with the retailers who don’t want their shelves to be flooded too fast. An impressive, comprehensive and honest answer, for which Ms. Gomez is to be commended.
Coming away from that panel, I got a great answer as to how Image defines itself. Through the creative diversity of the creators that was shown at the panel, one can find a myriad of things coming from Image. One week could lead you into a world of insane Superheroes and wondrous events. Another week could lead you into dystopian futures, and mufti-layered conspiracies. And yet another week can lead you into Adventures with Mice Knights and Vampires from the Far East. Those that are looking for a different take on Comic Book stories may find something that they like with Image, and with the enthusiasm of their creators, and the professionalism of their staff, it seems like they’ll continue to gain followers.Contributed by SilverPhoenix
Sources for Pictures: ComicBook Resources, Image Comics, Comic Related, Good Reads
You Tube video was found with the help of Robot 6.
Written or Contributed by: LOLtron
http://173.199.169.70/index.php/news/convention-news/10871-nycc-the-image-comics-show-panel.html/
by SilverPhoenix » Sun Oct 10, 2010 4:41 am 
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