Jonathan Luna pays tribute to ’90s Image Comics in ‘The Phalanx’

Image will publish the crowdfunded comic in June.

Jonathan Luna’s latest one-shot, a tribute to 1990s Image Comics, has found a publisher — Image Comics.

Luna ran a Kickstarter campaign for The Phalanx last fall, raising more than $8,000 in the process. He described it as “my homage to 90s comics and the founding series of Image Comics,” calling out WildCATS, Youngblood and other titles that helped launch the publisher. And you can see even from the comic’s logo what he was going for.

“This era was a magical and formative time for me,” he said on the Kickstarter campaign page. “For many years, I’ve wanted to show my love, and I finally figured out how–this one-shot comic, The Phalanx. I want it to ooze ’90s comics’ in story, art and format, yet still contain my style and sensibilities. There will be tons of references, and I challenge you to find them!”

Here’s the description of The Phalanx from Image’s press release: The Phalanx follows Spur, a mercenary in modern-day Los Angeles, who chases a mysterious villain and finds herself going through a portal and running into a famous superhero team. They realize they have a common goal.

“I’m so honored that Image is publishing The Phalanx, as it’s inspired by the series that launched the company in 1992,” said Luna. “I’ve dreamt of making a comic like this for many years, and to have it in print with the Image logo is amazing. To those who also thought the ’90s was a magical time for comics, I hope this one-shot entertains and brings back memories!”

Luna and his brother Joshua have created numerous titles at Image over the years, including Ultra, Girls and Alex + Ada. His brother had a public split with the publisher back in 2019 when Image told him they wouldn’t publish his graphic novel Americanizasian.

Look for The Phalanx in stores June 1.

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