Jordan Mechner has spent much of his career crafting stories about daring escapes, impossible missions, and history-altering decisions. From creating the Prince of Persia video game franchise to writing acclaimed graphic novels such as Monte Cristo and Replay, Mechner has long been fascinated by the people whose choices reverberate across generations.
Now, Mechner is turning his attention to a real-life story that sounds almost too cinematic to be true.
AIPT can exclusively reveal a preview of Liberty, a new historical graphic novel from Oni Press and Magnetic Press that dramatizes the clandestine operation to smuggle weapons and supplies from France to the struggling American revolutionaries during the Revolutionary War. The graphic novel, now available to support on Kickstarter, features writing by Mechner and artwork by acclaimed French artists Étienne Le Roux (The Cimmerian: The Scarlet Citadel) and Loïc Chevallier (The Brothers Rubenstein).
Set in 1776, Liberty follows two unlikely collaborators whose contributions to American independence have largely been overlooked by history: Connecticut merchant Silas Deane and French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. While Beaumarchais is best remembered today as the author of The Barber of Seville, Liberty explores his secret role in orchestrating an international network of arms smuggling, political maneuvering, and espionage designed to keep the American rebellion alive.
For Mechner, the appeal of the story was immediate.
“From the moment I learned about this 18th-century ‘black op’ to ship illicit arms from France across the ocean to a desperately outgunned and outnumbered American rebel army, I knew I had to write it,” Mechner explained. “The unlikely odd-couple partnership of two men who changed history, yet have few statues in their honor, grabbed my imagination. Their fight for freedom resonates in so many ways with current world events. I hope readers of all ages, on both sides of the Atlantic, will enjoy and identify with Liberty today.”
The preview pages showcase the remarkable detail and historical authenticity brought by Le Roux and Chevallier. Their artwork captures both the grandeur of eighteenth-century Europe and the perilous uncertainty surrounding the American Revolution, balancing large-scale historical spectacle with intimate character moments. The result feels cinematic without losing sight of the human drama at the story’s core.
According to Magnetic Press Director of Publishing Mike Kennedy, that balance was central to the project’s appeal.
“Liberty presents the American Revolution in stark relief: no mythmaking heroics, just a global chess match of empires, merchants, smugglers, and idealists. It’s a story of the struggle for freedom and political subterfuge, told with sweeping historical scope and intimate human drama. The 250th anniversary of American Independence is the perfect moment to bring this acclaimed graphic novel home to America.”
In addition to the standard deluxe hardcover edition, the Kickstarter campaign will offer a Limited Collector’s 250th Anniversary Edition featuring a foil-stamped slipcase adorned with Fleur-de-Lis and Liberty iconography, foil-gilded pages, a ribbon bookmark, and a signed and numbered bookplate from Mechner.
Whether readers know Jordan Mechner through Prince of Persia, The Last Express, or his recent graphic novel work, Liberty represents another ambitious chapter in a career defined by compelling stories about people confronting impossible odds.
Check out our exclusive preview pages from Liberty below.
You must be logged in to post a comment.