"So this is, like, an Image comic, which is, like, a satirical look at the comic book world, viewed through the eyes of two testosterone-inflated superguys."
"So does it, like, say much about Image?"
"Image?"
"Yeah, you know, Image. The newest kid on the block, apart from the last three. The great white hope for everyone who's sick of the way the comic industry is. The place of salvation for all comic-book creators who'd like to own the characters they work on (unless, of course, they feel like ripping you off). You know, Image."
"Oh. Nope."
"Oh."
And that's one of the faults of this satire. Another is the fact that most of the caricatures aren't immediately obvious to the general comic reader. Another is the fact that, apart from a very funny Scott McCloud parody, it's all been said before, and funnier. It doesn't take a genius to work out that DC does Grim'n'Gritty, that Vertigo does pretentious, or that the Ultraverse is just another collection of superheroes that couldn't get published elsewhere (It does, however, take considerable guts to point out the last with a straight face in an Image comic.) The last, and most blaring mis-try is the straw-man attacks on Peter David for criticising Image. This isn't even a parody; they just put words in his mouth, having him attack "non-corporate-owned super-hero companies" because he doesn't have the originality to work for them (hint: It's because the Image stories are no fucking good, the Image gimmickery is no fucking good, the Image promise of creator control is no fucking good, and Image, in general, is no fucking good.)
Art: 4
Writing: 3
Andrew These reviews are copyright the authors