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Brigade (comics)
Encyclopedia
Brigade is a comic book
published by Image Comics
and later by Awesome Entertainment
, created, plotted, and originally written by Rob Liefeld
and first illustrated by Marat Mychaels (creator of Demonslayer and artist on X-Force
: Shatterstar
, Glory
, Calavera
, Vampiress Hella, Djustine
, and many other comics) as a spin-off
to the then-popular series Youngblood
.
. Having been expelled from Youngblood following the deaths of several Youngblood members who at the time were under his command, he later went on to form Brigade alongside Kayo, Boone and Lethal, but when one of their missions went awry, he disbanded the team, leaving Boone and Lethal out in the cold. Some time later, at Kayo's urging, Battlestone recruited brothers Seahawk and Coldsnap, using their newly inherited vast wealth to finance the team. Later on Thermal and Atlas joined the group, and their final member Stasis was introduced as well. The team's first major enemy was the evil Prince Genocide, who wreaked havoc in their city before both he and Brigade were teleported back to Genocide's homeworld and were stranded there for a time. After being aided by a group of alien freedom fighters called the Birds of Prey, the team managed to escape back to Earth, but not before a climactic battle with Genocide resulted in the death of Atlas.
The second incarnation of the team came together after Brigade returned to Earth. Stasis, who blamed Battlestone for Atlas' death immediately resigned from the team, only to be shot dead by Cabbot, leader of the government strike team, Bloodstrike, who had orders to take Brigade into custody. During the battle, Kayo and Seahawk were captured and Coldsnap's powers went out of control, turning him into a humanoid ice creature. Battlestone sought out Boone, who was still somewhat bitter about being shut out after the original team folded, but decided to rejoin the new team regardless. Lethal had also resurfaced by now and managed to rescue Seahawk from captivity. Another battle took place between the teams and Kayo was also rescued from captivity by Hacker, Boone's partner. Brigade were the victors and Bloodstrike was defeated. Another new member named Crucible was introduced into the group sometime later. Boone was later revealed to be a traitor to the team working for Project Born Again and stole an exposé on the team written by Thermal, who was an undercover reporter and was given her powers through technology as a means of planting her into the group and exposing it from within. Thermal, however, during her time with Brigade saw that they were not the menace that they were being portrayed as and decided to destroy all the information she had been gathering. Battlestone, incensed by Boone's betrayal, pursued him and both appeared to die in an explosion. However they both survived and Battlestone was subsequently subjected to brainwashing to make him subservient to the U.S. Government again.
Before the team could address the matter of Thermal's expose, the majority of them were killed off during the Extreme Sacrifice storyline, one of Extreme Studios' company-wide events by the assassin called Crypt, with the exceptions of Seahawk and Lethal, who was propelled into the future. They were replaced by more recognizable characters from the Image Comics universe, including Jim Valentino
's Shadowhawk
and Erik Larsen
and Gary Carlson
's Vanguard
. Seahawk acted as the team's commander, although he had effectively retired from superheroing after the deaths of his brother and fellow teammates.
A new incarnation was brought forward in a one-shot published by Liefeld's then-new company Awesome Entertainment. This new version featured such characters as Jeff Matsuda's Kaboom and Youngblood's Badrock
.
In 2010, a new volume of Brigade was released through Image Comics, which saw the original team updated and the original miniseries reimagined. The team was now formed in response to advance warning of an alien invasion. The history of the main characters has now been changed and the source of their powers stems from genetic advancements. The first issue of the new mini series was released on 7/8/2010 with Rob Liefeld
writing the story, Mark Poulton scripting, and Marat Mychaels returning on art duties.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
published by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
and later by Awesome Entertainment
Awesome Comics
Awesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment was an American comic book studio formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
, created, plotted, and originally written by Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
and first illustrated by Marat Mychaels (creator of Demonslayer and artist on X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
: Shatterstar
Shatterstar
Shatterstar is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the .-Publication history:Shatterstar first appeared in The New Mutants vol. 1 #99 , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld. Since his debut Shatterstar has mainly appeared in the original X-Force title, with some issues...
, Glory
Glory (comics)
Glory is a fictional character originally from Image Comics, and later on from the Awesome Comics comic book series created by Rob Liefeld. The character's full name is Gloriana Demeter, a half-Amazonian, half-Demon warrior.- Rob Liefeld's Glory :...
, Calavera
Calavera (comics)
Calavera is an Italian adult comic book featuring a female character with razor claws named Francisca Calavera. It was created by writer Enrico Teodorani and artist Joe Vigil, published in Italy by E.F. edizioni, and in the U.S. by Carnal Comics as Calavera: Beautiful, Bloody & Bare.Calavera is a...
, Vampiress Hella, Djustine
Djustine
Djustine is an Italian comic book series written by Enrico Teodorani.The Djustine character was created from a fusion of Sergio Corbucci's film character Django, and the Marquis de Sade's titular "Justine".- Publication history :...
, and many other comics) as a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
to the then-popular series Youngblood
Youngblood (comics)
Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics...
.
Series history
The original team was led by Battlestone, who had been a former member of Youngblood, as well as a member of Image Comics' "Golden Age" team the Allied Supermen of AmericaAllied Supermen of America
The Allied Supermen of America was created as an homage to the Golden Age Justice Society of America and the Silver Age Justice League .-History:...
. Having been expelled from Youngblood following the deaths of several Youngblood members who at the time were under his command, he later went on to form Brigade alongside Kayo, Boone and Lethal, but when one of their missions went awry, he disbanded the team, leaving Boone and Lethal out in the cold. Some time later, at Kayo's urging, Battlestone recruited brothers Seahawk and Coldsnap, using their newly inherited vast wealth to finance the team. Later on Thermal and Atlas joined the group, and their final member Stasis was introduced as well. The team's first major enemy was the evil Prince Genocide, who wreaked havoc in their city before both he and Brigade were teleported back to Genocide's homeworld and were stranded there for a time. After being aided by a group of alien freedom fighters called the Birds of Prey, the team managed to escape back to Earth, but not before a climactic battle with Genocide resulted in the death of Atlas.
The second incarnation of the team came together after Brigade returned to Earth. Stasis, who blamed Battlestone for Atlas' death immediately resigned from the team, only to be shot dead by Cabbot, leader of the government strike team, Bloodstrike, who had orders to take Brigade into custody. During the battle, Kayo and Seahawk were captured and Coldsnap's powers went out of control, turning him into a humanoid ice creature. Battlestone sought out Boone, who was still somewhat bitter about being shut out after the original team folded, but decided to rejoin the new team regardless. Lethal had also resurfaced by now and managed to rescue Seahawk from captivity. Another battle took place between the teams and Kayo was also rescued from captivity by Hacker, Boone's partner. Brigade were the victors and Bloodstrike was defeated. Another new member named Crucible was introduced into the group sometime later. Boone was later revealed to be a traitor to the team working for Project Born Again and stole an exposé on the team written by Thermal, who was an undercover reporter and was given her powers through technology as a means of planting her into the group and exposing it from within. Thermal, however, during her time with Brigade saw that they were not the menace that they were being portrayed as and decided to destroy all the information she had been gathering. Battlestone, incensed by Boone's betrayal, pursued him and both appeared to die in an explosion. However they both survived and Battlestone was subsequently subjected to brainwashing to make him subservient to the U.S. Government again.
Before the team could address the matter of Thermal's expose, the majority of them were killed off during the Extreme Sacrifice storyline, one of Extreme Studios' company-wide events by the assassin called Crypt, with the exceptions of Seahawk and Lethal, who was propelled into the future. They were replaced by more recognizable characters from the Image Comics universe, including Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books.-1970s - 1992:Valentino began his career in the late 1970s creating small press and mostly autobiographical comics. The early-mid 1980s saw normalman which first appeared as a back-up story in Aardvark-Vanaheim's...
's Shadowhawk
Shadowhawk
ShadowHawk is a fictional comic book vigilante anti-hero created by Jim Valentino.He was first introduced in the Malibu Sun free promotional magazine in May of 1992...
and Erik Larsen
Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
and Gary Carlson
Gary Carlson
Gary Carlson is an American comic book writer, editor and publisher.-Biography:Gary self-published and created the black and white superhero anthology Megaton back in the early '80s, which introduced many new comic book talents including artists Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld and Angel Medina as well...
's Vanguard
Vanguard (Image Comics)
Vanguard is a fictional alien hero created by Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen for Carlson's self-published anthology Megaton. Vanguard is a white alien with small antennae who has been given the unenviable job of guarding Earth, which is viewed by the aliens as boring with little chance of anything...
. Seahawk acted as the team's commander, although he had effectively retired from superheroing after the deaths of his brother and fellow teammates.
A new incarnation was brought forward in a one-shot published by Liefeld's then-new company Awesome Entertainment. This new version featured such characters as Jeff Matsuda's Kaboom and Youngblood's Badrock
Badrock
Badrock is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in books published by Image Comics. Created by Rob Liefeld, he first appeared in Youngblood #1 .-Fictional character biography:...
.
In 2010, a new volume of Brigade was released through Image Comics, which saw the original team updated and the original miniseries reimagined. The team was now formed in response to advance warning of an alien invasion. The history of the main characters has now been changed and the source of their powers stems from genetic advancements. The first issue of the new mini series was released on 7/8/2010 with Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
writing the story, Mark Poulton scripting, and Marat Mychaels returning on art duties.