A good idea isn’t always a noble one; a noble idea is always a sustainable one; a sustainable one isn’t always an appealing one; an appealing one isn’t always affordable; an affordable one isn’t always original. And if the worst comment I can muster about Rob Liefeld’s “Brigade” Kickstarter is that it is a bit of a retread, well that seems like a win in my book.
Liefeld is borrowing his pal Marc Silvestri’s idea from last summer, and is using Kickstarter to raise funds to produce a free issue of his revamped “Brigade.” Once a very successful first-gen Image comic, “Brigade” has been on the shelf for quite some time. Since he has free time on his hands not writing and drawing some of DC’s more ridiculous comics, Liefeld has decided to bring back “Brigade,” while giving away as many copies of its new #1 issue as he can.
In the Kickstarter video, Liefeld compares this to Free Comic Book Day, in so much as it is an excuse to get into their local shop and get something, cost-free. And while that might be flawed thinking (How will non-comics fans find out? Does the Liefeld name carry enough weight to get into the mainstream press? Will stores support the book?), it is a generous and, frankly, ballsy idea.
As mentioned earlier, Top Cow Comics relaunched “Cyber Force” as a 5-issue free series last summer, intended to get fans used to going into a store monthly to pick something up for free. “Brigade” isn’t going to have more than one free or two issues (the language is ambiguous on the site), but the idea is the same: Liefeld wants people to go into stores and walk out with something totally gratis, and hopefully that will get them to spend some money next time they are there.
Now, for those of you who don’t remember the good ol’ days of “Brigade,” let me fill you in. “Brigade” was one of the many early Image team comics (the aforementioned “Cyber Force,” “Youngblood,” “Bloodstrike,” “WildC.A.T.S.,” etc), and was heavily tied to the other Extreme Studios (Liefeld’s company within Image) books, especially “Youngblood,” where team leader Battlestone originally debuted.
In the interest of honesty and full disclosure here, “Brigade” was never a great comic – it was a fun, very much of the time book. After its initial miniseries, it became an ongoing in 1993, and lasted for a couple of years before two short-lived attempts to bring it back in the ’00s. However, the nostalgia around early Image work has never been higher than right now, and Liefeld is doing his part to try to grow the number of comics buyers, and there isn’t anything wrong with doing so.
And, since kids are the missing demographic from comic stores these days, “Brigade” makes a lot of sense to bring back in this fashion. Kids will see the crazy muscles and giant guns that Liefeld is known for, and since its free, will (hopefully) take a chance on it. The rewards set up are fun as well, from signed comics to pouches (a favorite item for Liefeld to draw into a character’s design) to opportunities to talk to/meet Liefeld himself.
The initial goal of $17,500 has been acheived, and the first stretch goal of $20,000 (an extra 5 page “History of Brigade” prologue) has been unlocked; future stretch goals are all about reward levels of $50 or higher getting more stuff, which is fine, but is pretty unnecessary. Right now, people will be getting free comics, and that is a good thing. Perhaps if you pledge a little scratch, they can get even more. This isn’t the greatest project in Kickstarter history, but it is one with its heart in the right place. Getting more people reading comics is always a good thing.
