I saw Augie twitter about this but it’s not showing up anywhere else as far as I can see. The New York Times reports that Image will announce Robert Kirkman as a new partner this weekend.
Mr. Kirkman, who began by self-publishing his comics, is a star on the rise. His books are favorites of fans and critics alike. MTV has announced plans to adapt Invincible, his superhero series. And this week at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Image Comics will announce that Mr. Kirkman is becoming its newest partner. Under the company’s structure, partners profit mainly from their own work but also have a say in what will be published.
“This is kind of a big deal for me,” Mr. Kirkman, 29, said by phone from his base in Richmond, Ky. “Image Comics as a company was founded by comic book creators for comic book creators.”
With the addition of Eric Stephenson as publisher and now Kirkman as a full partner, could this be the beginning of a new age at Image? Well, I kind of doubt that too but both moves show the organization’s (we can’t really call it a company, can we?) growth beyond the original 7 partners who’ve controlled Image for almost 15 years now.
Stephenson is quoted as saying “…Robert has a pretty strong vision of what he wants to do and what comes he wants to make.” Could Kirkman be starting his own imprint similar to McFarlane’s, Top Cow and Shadowline? His books and a number of others are tied together so I could see a “Kirkman-verse” starting up.
