Image Comics/DC Comics
Mark Waid, writer
Barry Kitson, artist
***mature content warning***
I don't know the entire history of this title, but it debuted from Image Comics in 2000 and saw two issues published before disappearing. I first heard of the series in 2003 when DC Comics agreed to publish the limited series by the popular writer/artist team. DC released a special 0 issue which reprinted the earlier Image books, and then completed the series as a six-issue mini. I bought the six new DC issues, but preferred to hunt down the original two from Image for the beginning of the story and recently reread this series while in the process of trying to winnow down my enormous collection to a more manageable size.
This series holds up to multiple readings and will continue to take up space in my collection; it's just that good.
The basic concept of a major villain winning the day and taking control of the planet is not a new concept. Many writers and artists both in and out of comics have tackled the premise before to varying degrees of success. Even series co-creator and writer Mark Waid has mined this popular concept in his current BOOM! title Irredeemable, which I also enjoy.
I just find Empire to be a step above in originality and surprise factor. Because the core concept has been done so many times, it is easy to fall into cliche and that much harder to surprise readers with story developments. But Waid is operating on all cylinders with Golgoth and crew and produces some truly great twists. There are several developments which were perfectly foreshadowed in retrospect but which nevertheless caught me off-guard on first reading. I won't reveal them here to preserve the shock value, but seek out this series, if you've never read it before. Waid's writing and Kitson's gorgeous art make it well worth a look!
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