Image United #1

The first issue of this ambitious 2009 crossover event brings together a remarkable collection of Image Comics' founding artists — Rob Liefeld and Jim Valentino among them — whose combined cover work sets a fittingly chaotic tone. The cover itself is a dense, kinetic tableau: a massive horned demon with a glowing, fang-filled maw looms over a sprawling battlefield of recognizable Image characters, including a Spawn-like figure being dragged by chains and a red-haired warrior surrounded by clawed creatures. With writer Robert Kirkman steering "Chapter One" and virtually every Image co-founder contributing art to the interior, this six-part series represents a genuine gathering of the publisher's creative architects.