Part 5/12:
The Core of the Dispute
At the heart of the controversy lies a critical distinction: the union is composed of non-creative office staff, not the comic book creators themselves. Some industry veterans and fans point out that the original spirit of Image—founded in 1992 by creators like Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, and Rob Liefeld—was rooted in independence, control, and ownership. The founders wanted to escape the perceived corporate overreach of Marvel, advocating for creatives to own their work and have control over their IPs.
Today, however, the union's demands include the right for office employees to influence content and editorial decisions. Many see this as an attempt to micromanage creative outputs and potentially stifle the very independence the company was built on.