3 out of 5

So.  Image Comics and me.  Starting some years back, building up their credibility with Robert Kirkman, and then in more recent years, we’ll say Saga has really boosted Image to the forefront as a go-to publisher for cutting edge indie.  And I’ve been buying a ton of Image books, I’ll admit, and have agreed with the frequently letter-columned notion that they’ve really shaped up their, ahem, image.  The books look good, are bringing in some great talent, and have cool concepts.

Now, as I’m thinning out my collection lately, ditching those books I don’t actually look forward to reading, rather just casually collect, I’m noticing a lot of Image is going into that casual pile.  So I’m here to make a generalization:

That the qualities I’ve highlighted of current Image have actually always been true for the publisher, depending on how you define ‘good,’ and ‘talent,’ and ‘cool.’  Spawn looked good if that was your scene.  Lately, comic hipsters are the creme, so that’s the scene.  And Image has kicked Vertigo’s dick off at usurping that throne, but to be fair, Vgo lost its spot ever since they wanted to make money more than publish good books.  So we’re snapping up these books and oohing and ahhing, but… maybe… as I’m of the “style over substance” school of thought regarding Image’s early output …maybe that’s still the case somewhat.  Ace design man Tom Muller is responsible for the eye-catching look of a huge chunk of their books, and it’s absolutely what made me stop and purchase Zero, initially.  Kot’s abstract tale of a renegade agent – each issue a different artist, a different snippet from Edward Zero’s life – seemed to match Muller’s truly unique work, and I found that first arc compelling.  …Excepting some oddball alien elements that started to come in toward the end.  …Excepting the plot wandering that started to happen in the next arc, where it was less clear what the point of the book was.  …Excepting that that’s why a lot of those Image books ended up in my discard pile, because I realized I wasn’t getting much sense of purpose from them.

Which is the same for these three issues.  No, I won’t be completing the arc.  No, they’re not bad issues.  They follow the trend of giving us isolated bits from Ed’s history (though issues 12 and 13 are a rare instance of fairly linear storytelling), and I’m sure this will one day add up to something valid.  But the rebellious undercurrent that seemingly fueled the first few issues has petered out, and it’s beginning to feel like, y’know, just style.  And unimportant substance.  But it’s not Spawn.  The characters and the world feel established, and I believe that Kot has plans for where things are going, and I still cannot knock the individualized feel of each and every issue being a pretty awesome quirk for a series.  I’m just no longer on board for spending money while perpetually being only moderately interested in the actual content.