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| Image Universe | |
|---|---|
| Original work | Graphic Fantasy #1 (June 1982)[a] |
| Owner | Image Comics |
| Print publications | |
| Novel(s) | Witchblade: Ao no Shōjo (2006) Darkchylde: The Ariel Chylde Saga (2016) |
| Comics | Savage Dragon (1992–present) Spawn (1992–present) Witchblade (1995–present) The Darkness (1996–present) Aria (1999–present) Ant (2004–present) Bomb Queen (2006–present) I Hate Fairyland (2015–present) ' The Scorched (2021–present) List of ended series
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| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | List of films
|
| Television series | List of television series
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| Miscellaneous | |
| Related | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Massive-Verse WildStorm |
TheImage Universe (IU) is afictional universe in which some of the stories published byImage Comics take place. It was introduced in the early years of the publisher, shared by the various creators who formed the Image partnership. The independent, creator-owned nature of their work led to limited interaction between their characters, and little coordination of the Image Universe as a shared setting, with the primary versions populated by a number ofsuperheroes/villains, includingSupreme,Invincible,Omni-Man,Spawn,Angela,Atom Eve, theSavage Dragon,Gert,Bomb Queen, andWitchblade, as well as incarnations of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
It has mainly served as the ostensible setting of occasionalcrossovers between different series, includingDeathmate,Image United,The Invincible War, andCrossover, all existing within a "multiverse" consisting of a multitude of different universes; in this context, "Image Universe" refers to the mainstream Imagecontinuity.
The Image Universe began with the founding of Image Comics in 1992, launching with series such asThe Savage Dragon,Spawn,Youngblood, andWildC.A.T.s.
Image Comics' nature of allowing comic creators to retain the rights to the characters they publish with Image has led to many characters entering or exiting the Image Universe as the creators move from or to other publishers. Image co-founder andSavage Dragon creator Erik Larsen generally treats the Image Universe continuity as though each title exists in its own universe, and any crossovers between different creators' characters are events that occur simultaneously in each respective characters' universes.[1] The 1996 crossover comicShattered Image used a variation this idea, establishing each of the major Image titles as overlapping sub-realities that shift in and out of continuity with the wider Image Universe.
When Jim Lee was an Image partner, hisWildStorm properties such asWildC.A.T.s,Stormwatch,Gen13,Union,Deathblow,Wetworks, andBacklash regularly crossed over with other Image characters, but when he sold his studio toDC Comics, this ceased.
In June 1996,Erik Larsen relaunched theoriginalTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series byMirage Studios with a third volume under theImage Comics banner, featuring supporting characters from other series and various crossovers withThe Savage Dragon andSpawn. The series ceased publication on a cliffhanger in 1999. After its cancellation, the series remained in publication limbo for nearly two decades, with no reprints or collected volumes. In 2018,IDW Publishing, which publishestheir ownTMNT comic series, began to reproduce the existing 23 issues in a colored version, as well as officially conclude the Image series with a final three-issue story arc, with Carlson and Fosco again taking part in this project.[2]
There were several Image crossover mini-series in the 1990s, such asShattered Image,Altered Image,Big Bruisers,Badrock & Company,Deathmate,Darker Image, andSplitting Image, along with the Eclipse Comics satireSpittin' Image. But onlyMars Attacks Image had any direct impact on the titles represented, as the Martians' attack was also shown and referenced many times in theSavage Dragon series.
In 2009, the Image Universe had its first major crossover in several years withImage United. However, it was canceled, withYoungblood being sold to Terrific Productions.The Pact, a crossover betweenInvincible,ShadowHawk,Noble Causes, andFirebreather, was also produced.
In 2021,Todd McFarlane announced the mainlineSpawn series to be expanded into its own shared universe, withKing Spawn,Gunslinger Spawn andThe Scorched.[3] He would also like 12 more titles for Spawn's expanded universe.[4]
Later on in 2021, following the success ofKyle Higgins'Radiant Black, it was announced that it would expand into its own universe of books dubbed "The Massive-Verse". It all started with a one-shot crossover entitledSupermassive, written by Higgins, Ryan Parrott, and Mat Groom with art by Francesco Manna and Simone Ragazzoni. The comic served as a crossover between Radiant Black, Inferno Girl Red, and Rogue Sun, with the comic marking the first appearances of the latter two.Rogue Sun would later launch as an ongoing in March 2022 written by Parrott and drawn by Abel, whileInferno Girl Red would launch as anoriginal graphic novel, with Groom as writer and Erica D'Urso as artist in late 2022. Radiant Black would later get a spin-off of its own withRadiant Red, a 5 issue miniseries written by Cherish Chen and art byDavid Lafuente.[5][6] In February 2022, it was announced that another book connected to the Massive-Verse would release in August entitledThe Dead Lucky, written by Melissa Flores and art by French Carlomango.[7]
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