Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, returns to comics with Leviathan Freedom, a series created alongside Marc Guggenheim and artist Szymon Kudrański. Originally a digital release on comiXology, the work reimagines the true story of Robert Smalls, a slave who escaped by stealing a Confederate ship during the American Civil War, through a science fiction lens. A historic feat that now takes on epic and futuristic dimensions.
Science Fiction as a Tool of Resistance 🚀
The plot moves Smalls' escape to a futuristic context, where the struggle for emancipation is waged with advanced technology. Morello and Guggenheim build a narrative where oppression is fought with ships, weapons, and digital control systems. Kudrański provides a visual design that blends the gritty realism of war with cyberpunk elements. The result is a comic that uses the genre to reflect on freedom without falling into grandiloquent speeches.
Morello Swaps the Guitar for the Pencil (and Nails It) 🎸
It seems Tom Morello wasn't content with just breaking guitar strings and now decides to break narrative chains in space. Because, of course, if you're going to tell a story of slavery and liberation, why not add spaceships and robots? At least this way, when the characters shout freedom, they can do so against a backdrop of laser explosions. A comic that proves that even in the future, resistance remains a good show.