Yes my comic book loving friends, Image Comics was launched 25 years ago today and that makes Feburary 1st, 2017 “Image Comics Day”. I’m sharing a press release that I received the other day that discusses some of the offerings to be found today and some of the company’s origin story so please read on below. After that I’ll toss in some of my own recollections about that point in history since I was a regular collector of numerous titles. Here we go.

The Press Release:
On February 1, 1992 seven comics superstars Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino came together to form their own company that would changed the landscape of comics forever. Current partners McFarlane, Valentino, Kirkman, Larsen, and Silvestri collectively have brought creator-owned comics to the forefront of industry change and, after 25 years of amazing storytelling freedom, Image is pleased to celebrate the milestone anniversary with Image Day—Feb. 1, 2017.

Image Comics wouldn’t have succeeded without the tremendous creativity and passion of its creators, the unwavering support of retailers, bookstores, and libraries, or the unbridled and unrelenting enthusiasm of the fans who show up each and every Wednesday to purchase Image titles. On Image Comics Day we celebrate together, nationwide, the exciting legacy that Image’s creator-owned publishing model has cultivated as we prepare for the next 25 years of amazing creator-owned comics to come.

There will be Image Comics promotions, giveaways, creator signings, social media events, and more—don’t miss out on all the festivities and check back to the events pages on imagecomics.com for more information and announcements about Image Comics Day celebrations near you. Join us for the single most anticipated day of the year, as we come together and celebrate the 25th anniversary of Image Comics—but more importantly, the 25 years of true creative freedom and history-making storytelling from the best writers and artists in the world. Find an Image Day event near you in the complete list below! – See more at: https://imagecomics.com/content/view/image-comics-day-at-local-comic-shops#sthash.TGeOGysl.dpuf

NEW YORK, New York – Forbidden Planet | 8:00 AM | 832 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
Cliff Chiang, Joe Harris, Brenden Fletcher, W. Maxwell Prince, Alex de Campi, Brandon Montclare, Cameron Stewart, Jason Katzenstein, Amy Reeder, Ivan Brandon, Karen Berger – See more at: https://imagecomics.com/content/view/image-comics-day-at-local-comic-shops#sthash.TGeOGysl.dpuf

PiercingMetal Thoughts: Back in the days when Image Comics was first announced, I was very heavy into the collecting of the weekly titles. It was shattering information because SO MANY of the Marvel Comics creative teams that my friends and I loved would be leaving titles that we looked forward to seeing their craft on each and every month. These were the long bygone days of the collectors purchasing a second, third and even fourth copy of a particular title. One for reading, one for posterity and the others to sell and make a mint off of at some point in the future. You’re laughing at my saying this but it was 100% truth. Somewhere in my storage unit lies a box that is packed from front to back with those earliest Image Comics issues from Spawn to Youngblood to WildC.A.T.S. to Shadowhawk. I pretty much collected them all when they first launched since each was so very unique and different to our eyes. Looking back on them I’d have to say that my very favorites were Spawn, Cyber Force and probably Shadowhawk. Alright Ill toss the fun of Savage Dragon in there as well since I didn’t miss an issue of that either. I’d keep up with Image Comics as a regular customer until the 2000’s when I slowed down completely based on finances being needed for other things as “Adulting” took over. Sigh. So, what were your favorites of the initial Image Comics releases? If you were collecting back in the day let me know your thoughts about this anniversary and what you loved about them. If you are more of a new collector of their stuff you can chime in as well with what you liked about them in the now. The comments section below is where you can add your three cents.

Please bear in mind that today is the anniversary of the company’s launch and the titles wouldn’t start coming out until a few months later. With so many of these reaching a 25th Anniversary along with this founding, you can count on several “Comic Book Milestone” posts right here on the website.

Official Website: http://www.imagecomics.com