Image was created as a safe haven for creators who were sick of sweating over work-for-hire contracts at the Big Two publishers, where they didn't get any of the credit or the royalties for the superhero comics they produced. And so the likes of Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld and Erik Larsen set up a utopia where writers and artists would retain all rights over their creations, including the ability to license their properties out to TV shows, video games and films. Which worked out especially well recently for Robert Kirkman, who's started a whole media empire based off of The Walking Dead comics originally published by Image. Right now they and other small, independent publishers are going through something of a renaissance, with critically acclaimed series like Saga and The Wicked + The Divine, and Scott Snyder's new comic Wytches already being picked up for a movie adaptation. How long until the publishers wish they could get a piece of that not-inconsiderable pie, and move to the mainstream behaviour of retaining rights and getting some sweet moolah from selling them to Hollywood? Probably not very long at all, sadly.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
