Twenty years ago five mega-popular comic artists had a big idea: abruptly walk away from the company that had made them stars and start their own publishing house. Today, Image Comics has grown beyond the vanity press of its origins and is still releasing not only books by mega-popular comic creators, but also newbie writers and artists with stars in their eyes. Two new Image series have captured the attention of Ed Katschke, comic controller at Monarch Cards & Comics, which he says have “debuted as instant sell-outs and to critical acclaim.”

“ ‘Thief of Thieves,’ co-created and written by Robert Kirkman of ‘Walking Dead’ fame and Nick Spencer and illustrated by Shawn Martinbrough,” he reports, “is the story of a master thief and his efforts to get out of the business and try to piece his shattered personal life back together. It is by turns exciting and thoughtful and the first two issues set up the situation and introduce the characters beautifully.

“ ‘Saga,’ written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples, is a wonderfully realized science-fiction story concerning two star-crossed lovers on the wrong side of an epic interstellar war trying desperately to find an escape for themselves and their newborn child. Vaughan does a great job at setting up the principles and the world they find themselves in and Staples’ simple and expressive art gets the story across perfectly. Both titles deal with adult situations and, as a result, are not meant for children, but are still great choices for readers looking for good comics that aren’t populated by the long underwear crowd.”

The solicitations on “Saga” refer to the book as “Star Wars-style action collides with Game of Thrones-esque drama” and the cover of No. 1 has already generated a bit of controversy for its image of the title’s female co-star breast-feeding her alien baby.

Tags: "Saga", "Thief of Thieves", Comics Rack, Ed Katschke, Image Comics, Jim Beard, Monarch Cards & Comics

This entry was posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2012 at 7:00 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Comics, Comics Rack.
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