As an American living in France, I'm doubly thrilled that my graphic novel Liberty! is being published in English by Magnetic Press.

From the moment I learned about this incredible real-life 'black op' to save the American revolution in 1776 by shipping illicit arms from France across the ocean to a desperately outgunned rebel army, I knew I had to write it.

The unlikely odd-couple partnership of two men who changed history, yet have few statues in their honor — Parisian playwright Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais (The Marriage of Figaro) and Connecticut secret agent Silas Deane — grabbed my imagination. Without their courage, ingenuity, and the huge personal risks they took for a good cause, we might not be celebrating July 4th as a holiday today.

Liberty! — a 216-page, color, hardcover graphic novel, written by me and illustrated by the brilliant French team Étienne Le Roux, Loïc Chevallier, and Elvire De Cock — is available from Magnetic via their Kickstarter, launching today. Backers can choose between regular, deluxe, and limited collector's 250th Anniversary editions, with additional bonus swag (including an art card for early pledges in the first 24 hours).

In honor of America's semiquincentennial, Liberty! has also just been republished by Delcourt in an integral French hardcover graphic novel edition. French readers can find it in their local bookstore or from booksellers online.

Echoes of the past

History doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes. Étienne and Loïc were in the midst of drawing Book Two when Russia's army invaded Ukraine in 2022. Our 18th-century heroes' fight for survival and freedom resonated painfully with current world events as we saw their struggles echoed in daily news headlines.

We embarked on this graphic novel to recount an entertaining adventure of fascinating personalities in tumultuous times, and because the story of Beaumarchais and Silas Deane holds inspiration and experience that the world needs as much as ever — maybe more than ever. I hope readers of all ages, on both sides of the Atlantic, will enjoy and identify with Liberty! today.