Courtesy of Rob Liefeld
Comic book creator Rob Liefeld has spent recent years revisiting old creations such as Deadpool or knocking off bucket list experiences, such as working on G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes. Now, he is ready to launch something new in the form of Hierborne, an original story that will appear in his upcoming Brigade Remastered Edition No. 1.
“It’s the most socially relevant, societal minded comic I’ve ever done. It comes from a terrifying premise: If there were a super-being, that person would oppress us, not serve us,” Liefeld tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Heirborne takes place in a world in which a family of super-powered beings have subjugated the world, and only the select few get to live in luxury and comfort (think of them as the 1 percenters of our world). Most people in the world of Heirborne have to ration water and food. But there is hope in the form of a resistance.
Liefeld is dubbing this tale as taking place in what he calls the Liefeldverse, a storytelling world he’s been building out since the pandemic began.
“I believe the poor in the world are more at risk than ever. It feels like the middle class is indeed being wiped out and the elite among us are reminding us of how elite they are,” says Liefeld of conceiving of the project tamid the pandemic.
The story will be five pages in the 30th anniversary celebration for Brigade No. 1, which is getting a remastered edition with an assortment of artists re-creating pages of the book that debuted in August 1992 as one of Image Comics’ launch titles. It is due out from Image on Sept. 28.
Liefeld acknowledges that creating something new feels like a risk after a few years of playing in worlds with proven fan bases.
“Doing new stuff is scary because it’s untested,” says Liefeld. Still, he’s ready to try. Says the creator: “Heirborne gives me this giant, broad canvas.”