I agree on the Big Two, though that has changed over the years. There was the period of the late 70s to the late 80s where they (DC) were willing to takes risks and shake up the industry. They kind of took on the mindset of the independent publisher, with the resources of a big publisher. It manifested more on the fringes; but, even the main books benefitted from it. When they had reclaimed territory in the marketplace, they started to be more about preserving the status quo and cycling through events.

Dark Horse started out as a mix of a place for stuff the big guys didn't want to do and some really personal expression, with things as diverse as Boris the Bear and Concrete. Dark Horse Presents was a nice sampler to give you a taste of some different material. They have swung around a bit, over the decades. They became very much about media properties and trying to jump on the Big Two bandwagon; but, pulled back a bit as fortunes changed.

Fantagraphics is all about alternative expressions, grabbing from the Undergrounds, with a somewhat elitist attitude to the whole thing (well, Gary Groth), while still showing they were as nostalgic as everyone else.

Tundra had the philosophy of creating true art, by throwing money around. Unfortunately, they threw more money than got people to produce art.

Image seemed more about control, than artistic expression, when it started. As the core group became rich enough they didn't have to work, they turned more of the line over to people who did want to express themselves. i think a lot of that was the influence of Larry Marder and Jim Valentino's background in the indies, compared to the rest of the group.

Eclipse was very much about comics being a medium and exploring all kinds of stories within that. They truly set out to be a literary publisher of comics, in all genres; but, ambitions outstripped economics.

First was about upping the level of professionalism in the indie world and providing a place for seasoned pros to do better work, that they would own. Again, the idea got lost in greed and commercialism, especially after Mike Gold departed.

Valiant has mutated several times. At first, it was an upstart trying to exploit other media properties (mostly video game). Then, it became Jim Shooter's personal vehicle for showing he was right about the New Universe, by creating a tightly connected world, filled with diverse characters. Then, battles began and it became more about catering to speculators and chasing the fast buck. Acclaim saw it as intellectual property and the revived Valiant seems to be a mixture of intellectual property and trying to be the Big Two, though I haven't read any of it since the days before Acclaim took over.

IDW has some of the Eclipse spirit (aided by Dean Mullaney being there), while also aiming at more mainstream media properties. Dynamite is all about exploiting pre-sold media properties; sometimes well, sometimes not, though I have trouble understanding how they make any money at it, since they have to part with revenue for the license holder and their books don't sell massive numbers. Maybe they make up enough of it in bookstores to cover the monthlies; I don't know.

Avatar Press: Bad girls type of comic books. But also since the mid 2000's had various creators with no content restrictions, therefore there were a lot of ultra-violent comic books published around that time by Avatar Press.

Boom! Studios

Having fun with various licenses - and not taking yourself too seriously.