New Reader Guide: Image Comics

Welcome to the Austin Books & Comics New Reader Guide! We’re here to introduce some of our favorite books that you may not already know about, and maybe even help you find your next favorite comic series!

Founded in 1992 by some of the highest-profile creators in comics at the time, Image Comics was formed with a focus on creator-owned independent comics, allowing creators complete creative freedom to make the comics they want without editorial interference. After being known primarily for 90s EXTREME titles such as Spawn, Youngblood, and others, Image has undergone a resurgence starting in the late 2000s and still going on today, with some of the biggest and best names in comics creating numerous original and highly-acclaimed series across a broad array of genres and styles.

In this guide, you’ll find a sampling of Image’s recent and more popular series.

Bitch Planet

Witness a future with the patriarchy gone mad! Women deemed “non-compliant” (not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not perky enough, not submissive enough, etc…) are shipped to an off-world prison colony where they face abuse and exploitation and the hands of their oppressors. Smart, witty, and viciously satirical, Bitch Planet is a brilliant sci-fi twist on the “women in prison” exploitation genre.

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick

Artist: Valentine De Landro

Genre: Sci-Fi, Satire

Number of volumes: 1

The Black Monday Murders

Melding occult horror with gritty crime noir, this series explores the idea of the world controlled by banking cartels which are secretly schools of magic, and vampire Russian oligarchs, Black popes, enchanted American aristocrats, and hitmen from the International Monetary Fund work behind the scenes to keep everyone in their place.

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Tomm Coker

Genre: Horror, Crime

Number of volumes: 1

Black Science

Anarchist scientist Grant McKay, with the help of the Pillar, has unlocked the Black Science, allowing him to travel between alternate universes. The Pillar sends McKay and his crew flying uncontrollably through infinity, trapping them universes away with no way home. A gritty, pulp sci-fi epic, Black Science is a mind-bending trip through the darkest depths of all realities.

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Matteo Scalera

Genre: Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 5

Chew

Tony Chu is a cop with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he’s a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn’t mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. It’s a dirty job, and Tony has to eat terrible things in the name of justice. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the government has figured out Tony Chu’s secret. They have plans for him, whether he likes it or not.

Writer: John Layman

Artist: Rob Guillory

Genre: Crime, Comedy, Horror

Number of volumes: 11

Deadly Class

In the mid 80s, Marcus Lopez finds himself in the same crappy high school situation we’ve all been in: bullies, desperate crushes, bad grades, the works. The difference is, the jocks are the children of Stalin’s deadliest killers, and the teachers are part of an ancient order of assassins. Welcome to the most brutal high school on earth, where the world’s top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the dagger in your back isn’t always metaphorical.

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Wesley Craig, Lee Loughridge

Genre: Action, Thriller

Number of volumes: 4

Descender

Tim-21 is a boy robot who, after being in stasis for years, is reactivated to find that following an apocalyptic attack by the mechanical Harvesters across the human worlds, all androids have been outlawed. Combining the epic spectacle of the grandest space operas with the journey of a very human robot, Descender is a thrilling, heartfelt sci-fi tale like no other.

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Dustin Nguyen

Genre: Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 2

East of West

A post-apocalyptic alternate history sci-fi Western, East of West is an incredibly original series depicting a world where the American Civil War raged on for half a century, stopped only by a cataclysmic meteor strike. A shattered former United States is ruled by powerful corporations and secret societies, with one group attempting to bring about the end of the world. Our only hope lies with none other than Death himself.

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Nick Dragotta

Genre: Sci-Fi, Western

Number of volumes: 5

The Fade Out

Set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, The Fade Out is Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips doing what they do best: gritty crime noir stories. A noir film stuck in endless reshoots. A writer plagued with nightmares from the war and a dangerous secret. An up-and-coming starlet’s suspicious death. And a maniacal Studio Mogul and his Security Chief who will do anything to keep the cameras rolling before the Post-War boom days come crashing down.

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Sean Phillips

Genre: Crime

Number of volumes: 3

Fatale

Blending gritty noir and dark horror, Fatale centers on a reporter in 2012 stumbles on a secret that leads him down the darkest path imaginable to a seductive woman who’s been on the run since 1935, a mobster who may be an immortal demon monster, and the stories of all the doomed men who’ve been caught in their decades-long struggle.

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Sean Phillips

Genre: Crime, Horror

Number of volumes: 5

The Fix

From the creators of Marvel’s woefully-underrated Superior Foes of Spider-Man comes a thrilling new crime comedy: crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run things – and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Also, the hero of the story is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels.

Writer: Nick Spencer

Artist: Steve Lieber

Genre: Crime, Comedy

Number of volumes: 1

Huck

A young man in a quiet town secretly uses his superpowers to do a good deed daily. However, once his secret leaks out, the whole world comes calling, and the dark origins of his powers come to light. A bright, uplifting story by Mark Millar (best known for cynical, bone-crunching works such as Kick-Ass and the Ultimates), Huck explores the idea of nature vs. nurture, and using one’s powers for good for the sake of good.

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Rafael Albuquerque

Genre: Superhero, Action, Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 1

Injection

Five mad geniuses have poisoned the century, and now they must deal with the fallout of their bleeding-edge weird science actions to save the world. Blending sci-fi, horror, techno-thriller, and noir elements, this series has Warren Ellis at his high-concept, bizarre sci-fi best.

Writer: Warren Ellis

Artist: Declan Shalvey

Genre: Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 2

Invincible

This book boldly claims to be “probably the best superhero comic in the universe!” Mark Grayson is teenage superhero Invincible. He was a normal high school senior with a normal part-time job and otherwise normal life, except his father Nolan is the superhero Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. At the age of 17, Mark begins to display superpowers, which come from his father being a member of the Viltrumite race, who, according to Nolan, pioneer the galaxy on a mission of benevolence and enlightenment. Taking on the heroic persona of Invincible, Mark joins with other young superheroes to become the next generation of global guardians, until the horrifying truth of the Viltrumites and their intentions are revealed.

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Cory Walker

Genre: Superhero, Action

Number of volumes: 22

Jupiter’s Circle/Legacy

Centering around a family of legendary superheroes, Jupiter’s Legacy focuses on the children of two of these most famous heroes. As their family’s secret struggles and infighting come to light, can the world survive the explosive fallout?

Jupiter’s Circle centers around the most celebrated heroes of the mid-20th century, but beneath the glossy surface lie horrible secrets behind their public and private exploits that threaten to destroy everything.

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Wilfredo Torres

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 1 (Legacy), 2 (Circle)

Lazarus

In a dystopian near-future government is a quaint concept, resources are coveted, and possession is 100% of the law. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Each family has their own Lazarus, an enhanced agent specially tasked to protect their family’s assets. Forever Carlyle is one of these agents, executing the orders of her family’s leadership, until she starts to realize the truth behind the ruling families.

Writer: Greg Rucka

Artist: Michael Lark

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 4

The Manhattan Projects

What if the Manhattan Project during World War II was just a front for other, far weirder super science projects? Using actual (if not highly exaggerated) figures and events from the mid-20th century, The Manhattan Projects is an aggressively bizarre series that features such things as a kindly radioactive skeleton, a famous scientist with an infinite number of split personas who also happens to be a killer cannibal, an intelligent talking Soviet space dog, and an AI based on the brainwaves of a dead president. Simultaneously funny, dark, and thought-provoking, this series thoroughly lives up to its tagline of “Science. Bad.”

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Nick Pitarra

Genre: Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 6

Monstress

Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steampunk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both.

Writer: Marjorie Liu

Artist: Sana Takeda

Genre: Fantasy

Number of volumes: 1

Morning Glories

Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country, but something sinister and deadly lurks behind its walls. Six gifted students arrive, when dark and unexplainable occurrences start to happen, the school’s true nature begins to come to light and the students must struggle to survive.

Writer: Nick Spencer

Artist: Joe Eisma

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller

Number of volumes: 9

ODY-C

After a century-long war, Odyssia the Clever and her compatriots begin an even more dangerous journey: the return home. Along the way they encounter amazing and mind-bending threats and challenges in this genderbent, sci-fi take on Homer’s The Odyssey. Written by Matt Fraction and gorgeously illustrated by Christian Ward, this series is a psychedelic sci-fi epic in the grandest fashion.

Writer: Matt Fraction

Artist: Christian Ward

Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Number of volumes: 2

Paper Girls

In this throwback to 80s sci-fi thrillers, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls make a shocking discovery in their small town. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this thrilling series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Cliff Chiang

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller

Number of volumes: 2

Rat Queens

A unique take on the fantasy adventure genre, Rat Queens centers on a band of female adventurers: Hannah the Rockabilly Elven

Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric, and Betty the Hippy Hobbit Thief, as they fight, drink, and generally raise hell across the lands in search of fame and fortune.

Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe

Artist: Roc Upchurch, Stjepan Šejić and Tess Fowler

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Comedy

Number of volumes: 3

Rumble

An ancient scarecrow god walks into a bar… and proceeds to wreak havoc across two worlds! After a long absence, Rathraq, Scarecrow Warrior God, is back-and very unhappy. Bad news for his old enemies, yes, but worse news for everybody else. Featuring everything dive bars, undead kitty cats, psycho skinheads, and giant mummies, this bizarre adventure dials up the crazy action to the max and never stops.

Writer: John Arcudi

Artist: James Harren

Genre: Action, adventure, fantasy, thriller

Number of volumes: 3

Saga

Blending numerous genres including sci-fi, fantasy, action, adventure, drama, romance, and war, this critically-acclaimed fan favorite series focuses on a pair of new parents Marko and Alana, from opposite sides of an epic war as they seek to find their place in the universe. Smart, sexy, funny, and very honest, this wildly original yet very grounded series has consistently been one of Image’s top books since it began.

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Fiona Staples

Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action, Romance

Number of volumes: 6

Sex Criminals

Suzy and Jon discover that whenever they have sex, time stops. Naturally, they use this to freeze time rob banks in order to save Suzy’s library from foreclosure. Along the way they encounter other people with this ability, including the oppressive Sex Police, as well as realize what they need from a relationship. Very funny, very graphic, and VERY honest, this series is a simultaneously hilarious and realistic look at modern romantic relationships.

Writer: Matt Fraction

Artist: Chip Zdarsky

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Number of volumes: 3

Sons of the Devil

Centering around average guy Travis, this series follows him as he discovers his long-held family ties to a deadly cult. Told across 30 years, this series explores themes such as family ties, cults, and the dark side of human nature.

Writer: Brian Buccellato

Artist: Toni Infante

Genre: horror

Number of volumes: 2

Southern Bastards

Welcome to Craw County, Alabama, home of Boss BBQ, the state champion Runnin’ Rebs football team, and more bastards than you’ve ever seen. When you’re an angry old man like Earl Tubb, the only way to survive a place like this, is to carry a really big stick. After coming back to Craw County for his father’s funeral, Earl Tubb wants nothing more than to get out as quick as he came. The problem is, there’s just too much of a mess to not deal with. Southern Bastards is a gritty, country-fried crime series with an all-too-authentic Southern feel.

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Jason Latour

Genre: Crime

Number of volumes: 3

Southern Cross

Alex Braith is on board the cargo ship Southern Cross retracing her sister’s steps to a refinery moon, hoping to collect her remains and find some answers. The questions keep coming though-how did her sister die? Where did her cabin mate disappear to? Who is that creep across the hall? And why does she always feel like she’s being watched?

Writer: Becky Cloonan

Artist: Andy Belanger

Genre: Sci-Fi, horror

Number of volumes: 1

Tokyo Ghost

Los Angeles, 2089. Everyone is hooked on the world’s most addictive drug: technology. Distracted from the ruined outside world, gangsters keep the technology going while the people struggle and trade and fight for their next fix. When the gangs need their rule enforced, they call Constables Led Dent and Debbie Decay. This duo is about to be given a job that will force them out of the familiar squalor of Los Angeles to take down the last tech-less country on Earth: The Garden Nation of Tokyo.

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth

Genre: Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 2

Trees

They landed ten years ago, all over the world. And they did nothing, standing on the surface of the Earth like trees, exerting their silent pressure on the world, as if there were no-one here and nothing under foot. Ten years since we learned that there is intelligent life in the universe, but that they did not recognize us as intelligent or alive. This series looks at a near-future world where life goes on in the shadows of the Trees: in China, where a young painter arrives in the “special cultural zone” of a city under a Tree; in Italy, where a young woman under the menacing protection of a fascist gang meets an old man who wants to teach her terrible skills; and in Svalbard, where a research team is discovering, by accident, that the Trees may not be dormant after all, and the awful threat they truly represent.

Writer: Warren Ellis

Artist: Jason Howard

Genre: Sci-Fi

Number of volumes: 2

Velvet

A gritty spy thriller, this series centers around Velvet Templeton, secretary to director of the CIA. When the world’s greatest secret agent is killed, all signs point to her. Now on the run, Velvet will have to live up to her reputation as the most dangerous woman alive to clear her name and take revenge on those who framed her.

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Steve Epting

Genre: Action, Crime, Spy Thriller

Number of volumes: 3

The Walking Dead

The world as we know it has ended. World governments have fallen and the cities are infested with hordes the living dead. How will the survivors adjust to this new reality while struggling to maintain their own humanity? The long-running survival horror series that spawned the critically-acclaimed AMC series, The Walking Dead asks what happens when we finally have to start living on our own.

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard

Genre: Horror

Number of volumes: 26

The Wicked + The Divine

Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. This time around, the gods have reincarnated has pop stars, fueled by the admiration of their legions of fans. This stylish, critically-acclaimed and fan-favorite series explores themes such as life and death, the power of creativity, and the fleeting nature of fame and power.

Writer: Kieron Gillen

Artist: Jamie McKelvie

Genre: Fantasy

Number of volumes: 4

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