The Image Revolution

A light yet engaging documentary of that brief period when an industry was rocked on its heels. It can't be denied that Image Comics had Marvel and DC sweating bullets, and it all came down to seven rebellious creators.

What I liked about this movie is that it's predominantly from their own mouths, and they're entertaining voices. Looking back, their product was adolescent to its core, but adult-me was taken by the behind-the-scenes saga: how an upstart could dominate, nearly implode, and somehow still endure beyond the '90s.

If ever there was an all style over substance documentary, this is it. The film follows the rise and fall of Image comics publication company, told from the people who started it. Mainly a talking heads feature, interviews are mixed with low quality scans of various comic book art that is stressful and tedious to read through.

Obviously not meant to be seen by anyone else than hardcore comic book fans who recognizes everyone on screen and associate them with their work, the film fails to properly establish who any of them are, and those who do not know are forced to believe that everyone are as great as they say they are. It runs through long lists of publications, as egos and built, bruised and broken, but ultimately the whole ordeal has the flavor of an internal business struggle that didn't deserve a whole feature documentary.

The other reviewer is saying that this documentary is for hard core Image fans only, and he might be right, because I am so massively pumped and inspired right now. This film for me was a shot of adrenaline and screaming pep talk. As a big fan of Image this is the comic book documentary that I've been waiting for. This documentary shows the original seven founders McFarlane, Liefeld, Larson, Lee, Silvestri, Valentino, and Portacio as rock stars making history. Starting with their skyrocketing launch in the early nineties to their downfall in the late nineties. Then back up with the early Twenty first century. There are many honest interviews with all of the founders as well as newer Image writers. If you love Todd McFarlane then watch this it's got plenty of his interviews in it as longer as all of the other founders. If you can't get enough of big spikes, big guns, bloody violence, backbreaking beautiful women, intense splash pages,and shoulder pads. Then this is your drug.

This was well done, but could have been so much better. The image story is fascinating and important and this kind of glossed it over. Needed a bit more of everything to really sell it but instead, chose brevity. Still worth seeing!