Brigade #1
Brigade #1 (vol. 2, 1993) serves as the opening chapter of the 'Blood Brothers' crossover that defined the early Extreme Studios corner of the Image Universe, dramatically reshaping the Brigade roster by killing Stasis (Katherine Pearson) in its opening pages and forcing Battlestone to rebuild from scratch. It delivers the first full appearances of Boone and Hacker (Michael Talbot), two characters whose antagonistic history with Battlestone drives much of the series' subsequent drama. As the direct continuation of the four-issue 1992 miniseries, this issue represents the transition of Brigade from a limited series to an ongoing title, embedding the team permanently in the interconnected web of Extreme Studios crossovers. It also marks the point where Eric Stephenson took over as the primary scripter, bringing slightly more character-focused writing to Liefeld's kinetic plot framework.
In "A Sort Of Homecoming," the Brigade returns from the ruins of Genocide’s home world only to face a brutal ambush by Bloodstrike—led by Battlestone’s brother, Cabbot. With Stasis dead and Coldsnap frozen in place, the team is pushed to the brink as Battlestone scrambles to find new allies. Written by Rob Liefeld, Marat Mychaels, and Eric Stephenson, with art by Marat Mychaels and inks by Norm Rapmund, this pivotal issue sees the Brigade tested like never before. The cover, by Marat Mychaels and Jeff Matsuda, captures the moment’s intensity with inks by Norm Rapmund and Danny Miki.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Rob Liefeld created and plotted the Brigade property as a Youngblood spin-off, launching the concept in August 1992 through his Extreme Studios imprint at Image Comics. After the four-issue miniseries concluded, Liefeld and Eric Stephenson co-developed the ongoing series, with Stephenson credited as writer and editor on this first issue of the ongoing run. The 'Blood Brothers' event — threading through Bloodstrike #1, Brigade #1 (vol. 2), Bloodstrike #2, and Brigade #2-3 — was conceived as a way to immediately raise the stakes by pitting Brigade against the government's own covert meta-team, Bloodstrike, led by Battlestone's own brother Cabbot. Marat Mychaels returned as penciler with Norm Rapmund inking, maintaining visual continuity with the miniseries.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published May 1993 by Image Comics under Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios imprint; volume 2, issue #1 of the Brigade ongoing series.
- Story titled 'Blood Brothers Part 1: A Sort of Homecoming,' scripted by Eric Stephenson from a plot by Rob Liefeld and Marat Mychaels; art by Marat Mychaels (pencils) and Norm Rapmund (inks); lettered by Kurt Hathaway; colored by Paul Mounts.
- First full appearance of Boone (an original Brigade co-founder who was cut from the team by Battlestone) and his partner Hacker (real name Michael Talbot), both pivotal to the 'Blood Brothers' arc's resolution.
- Death of Stasis (Katherine Pearson): shot by Cabbot Stone immediately after she quits the team, one of the most abrupt and consequential character deaths in the early Image Universe.
- Coldsnap's (Alex Barros) powers are damaged during the Bloodstrike assault, trapping him in a mutated ice-creature form — a transformation that becomes a major subplot across the 'Blood Brothers' crossover.
- Directly continues from Bloodstrike #1 ('Blood Brothers Prelude') and crosses over into Bloodstrike #2; the event is one of the earliest multi-title crossovers within the Extreme Studios line.
- Battlestone (John Annex Stone) and his brother Cabbot Stone (leader of Bloodstrike) face off here for the first time in the ongoing series, making the sibling conflict the emotional spine of the story.
- The series ran through 1995 under Image/Extreme Studios before being cancelled during the 'Extreme Sacrifice' company-wide event, in which most of the Brigade roster introduced in this run was killed.
Cast · 26 characters
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↩ Reprints Youngblood Strikefile #2 (1993)
Key issues in Brigade
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