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Who is the rightful owner of historical artifacts: the people of the country that made them, or the people who came and took them and put them in museums? That very real-world debate going on right now around the world has inspired a forward-thinking art heist drama Bronze Faces coming to comics in 2025.

Bronze Faces by writers Shobo and Shof (New Masters) and artist Alexandre Tefenkgi (The Good Asian) follows a trio of childhood friends - Timi, Sango, and Gbonka - who get invigorated when one of their father's prized art creations is appropriated and put on display in the British Museum. But after a night of drinking and outrage pass, cooler heads prevail into a plan to steal back the artwork themselves - but that turns into something bigger than them or their families.

"But when the trio find themselves in possession of a mysterious document called 'The Register,' outlining dozens of colonial-era stolen artifacts, their sights turn even higher to the Benin Bronzes–the British Museum’s cache of nearly 1,500 works of stolen art from the Kingdom of Benin…," reads BOOM! Studios' description of Bronze Faces.

The Benin Bronzes and the Kingdom of Benin aren't some made-up analogy to a real-world country or a real-world artifacts. The Kingdom of Benin was a West African civilization living in what is now southern Nigeria, lasting from the late 1100s until the late 1800s when the country was ransacked, pillaged, and eventually annexed by the British Empire. Bronze Faces' creators, Shobo and Shof, both hail from Nigeria.

"Bronze Faces is our bold answer to the question, ‘What if we took our heritage back by any means necessary?’" Shobo tells Popverse. "We’ve crafted a story that’s part heist, part homecoming, and part myth. I can't wait for readers to dive into the action with us."

"Bronze Faces is an idea we all may have had at some point standing in some of the world's most prominent museums. ‘What happens if I just took that priceless sculpture home with me back to Nigeria?'" adds Shof. "While jamming to afrobeat, preferably Fela, wearing a bronze leopard mask, flipping the bird, and wearing a stylish getaway outfit that you can see from space’... Right!?"

"The creation process for Bronze Faces is completely different than what I’ve ever done so far. The creative team is composed as if we were crafting an animated feature, which is new and thrilling for me," says Tefenkgi.

Here is concept art from Tefekgi for the series:

"So much care, research, and attention to detail are being put into this work, it’s just mad. I couldn’t NOT be a part of this, even if the challenge of drawing these issues is definitely going to make me sweat this winter!"

The first issue will feature a main cover (and variants) by Shof, along with variants from Tefenkgi, and others. Here are Shof and Tefenkgi's covers for Bronze Faces #1:

Bronze Faces #1 (of 6) is scheduled to debut on February 5, 2025 from BOOM! Studios.

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.