Ranking the Best Image Comics According To Reddit

It’s crazy to think that Image Comics has been trailblazing the comic book industry for over 30 years now. Known as the staple publisher for creator-owned comics in North America, Image Comics has consistently produced some of the best comics throughout the industry in recent years. With so many great titles to choose from, we wanted to know which comics readers consider to be the best of the best. To find out, we created a bracket that pits comics against comics and asked Redditos on r/ImageComics which ones are their favorite titles. 

The bracket included 16 of the most popular titles throughout the history of Image Comics. With classics from its early days to titles that put the publisher on the map for modern audiences, we wanted to see which one of these comics stands tall above the rest. You can check out the lineup below: 

• Invincible by Robert Kirkman, Corey Walker, and Ryan Ottley 
• Chew by Rob Guillory and John Layman
• East of West by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta
• Seven to Eternity by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena
• Black Science by Rick Remender and Matteo Scalera
• Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra
• Prophet by Rob Liefeld
• The Wicked + The Divine by Keiron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie
• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
• Spawn by Todd McFarlane 
• Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips 
• Stray Bullets by David Lapham
• Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig
• The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard
• Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
• Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

After choosing the titles, we set up a bracket that we believed would generate the most interesting matchups. 

Image: GONKBONK

Round 1

While the early rounds had plenty of decisive winners, some matchups had readers torn by the results. It was tough to see Chew get eliminated already in the first round. But those are the tough breaks that happen when a comic gets matched up with Invincible right off the jump. 

Image: GONKBONK

Saga was also another clear favorite from the start with its massive win over Spawn. Based on the discussion between Redditors on that thread, it’s clear how much tastes for comics have changed over the years. It’s always a reminder of how beloved of a series Saga has been since its debut in 2012.  

Image: GONKBONK

Round 2

The later rounds had much closer match-ups across the board. Even though Invincible and Saga were the obvious favorites to take the whole series, both series met strong competition in their journeys through the bracket. East of West got very close to taking Invincible out of its spot in the semi-finals. Not surprising for readers who would put EoW within their personal top 5 lists.

Image: GONKBONK

Round 3

Something worth noting as well is Rick Remender's strong presence throughout the entire bracket. With Black Science, Seven to Eternity, and Deadly Class, he was the only creator with three entries in the list. But more than having the most appearances, Black Science and Deadly Class both made it to the semis on opposite sides of the bracket. While neither comic took home the gold, the impressive showing is a testament to how much Remender’s work has resonated with readers since he shifted his focus fully on creator-owned work.

Image: GONKBONK

Finals

The finals turned out to be the matchup that many readers expected: Saga vs. Invincible. While these two comics started in very different eras of Image’s history, both are easily some of the most popular creator-owned comics in history. When it came down to voting, readers argued Invincible is more deserving of the top spot because it’s a completed story. As great as Saga is, it’s still in the middle of its run and has a long way to go until its story wraps up. 

Image: GONKBONK

When it was all said and done, Saga was voted on by the Redditors as the best Image Comics series of all time. But with a voting result of 103 for Invincible and 118 for Saga, you can’t get any closer than that. Even with Saga taking home the crown of the bracket fight, Invincible easily stands shoulder-to-shoulder with it as one of the all-time Image Comics greats.

Image: GONKBONK