Well, ever since the formation of Image, comic book creators have looked towards merchandising and licensing rights.  That's not to say that it started with Image, but they were definitely upfront about it and it definitely affected the titles they put out.  Millar (although you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt) has said he's made more from Kick Ass than he has from all his Marvel stuff.  Given his success with Y the Last Man, BKV has moved towards doing mostly creator-owned stuff.  Probably one of the biggest successes in recent years has been Men of Action (Casey, Seagle, Kelley & Rouleau) with Ben10 and their upcoming Generator Rex.