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Bronze Faces
Celebrated authors Shobo & Shof (New Masters) draw from their Nigerian heritage for the heist of a lifetime in this timely, thrilling tale weaving together mythology, history, and the horrors of colonialism.
Soho, London. Childhood friends Timi, Sango, and Gbonka reunite on the eve of the British Museum's historic purchase of the works of Timi's father, the seminal Nigerian artist Adewale Balogun.
Timi has been invited as a "guest of honor," but what the Museum is heralding as a triumphant acquisition, the trio see as nothing short of brazen cultural theft. Emboldened by a night of drinking and shared outrage, they concoct a bold scheme... to steal back the artwork themselves!
Celebrated authors Shobo & Shof (New Masters) draw from their Nigerian heritage for the heist of a lifetime, joined by acclaimed artist Alexandre Tefenkgi (Once Upon a Time at the End of the World, The Good Asian).
Collects Bronze Faces #1-6.
Soho, London. Childhood friends Timi, Sango, and Gbonka reunite on the eve of the British Museum's historic purchase of the works of Timi's father, the seminal Nigerian artist Adewale Balogun.
Timi has been invited as a "guest of honor," but what the Museum is heralding as a triumphant acquisition, the trio see as nothing short of brazen cultural theft. Emboldened by a night of drinking and shared outrage, they concoct a bold scheme... to steal back the artwork themselves!
Celebrated authors Shobo & Shof (New Masters) draw from their Nigerian heritage for the heist of a lifetime, joined by acclaimed artist Alexandre Tefenkgi (Once Upon a Time at the End of the World, The Good Asian).
Collects Bronze Faces #1-6.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
160 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I requested "Bronze Faces" to celebrate the Louvre Heist and ended up, very appropriately, reading it in February, so Happy Black History Month to all who celebrate.
I knew this was going to be absolutely amazing from the start, with how multifaceted all these characters were, and how their identities as Nigerians and Africans in the diaspora are treated. The politics are present in the world they live in, in the people they become, how they interact with each other, and the micro and macro aggressions on every page, in the subtext and upfront.
The book starts with the death of the great Nigerian artist Adewale, who was cognisant of his country's history under colonisation, but didn't bat an eye at having girls from poor families sent to stay with him so they could get an education, do all the housework for him and his son.
The girls went out to have great careers, but the only biological son followed in his father's footsteps and went into the arts. And got as much money out of it as his father. They all meet again when the British Museum (which is always at the scene of the crime) acquires all of his father's art and refuses to sell it back to Nigeria, so they decide to steal it. Once that is done, they decide that one museum isn't enough, and continue getting back their country's stolen artefacts.
The only unbelievable part in this book is that those three would, out of nowhere, be able to get away with multiple heists to some of the biggest museums in the world, with the law after them.
While Nigeria and African identity occupy a central theme in this book, I really appreciated that one of the main antagonists was Chinese, a country that has also had a lot of its art stolen, and how she was treated by the organisations she worked for and the world at large, in the midst of such a public investigation.
This is a book that does not hold your hand. The story is told through time jumps going back and forward, with characters that are never introduced, but that the story does a great job of characterising.
If you are not familiar with Nigerian slang, languages and folklore, you will struggle, because very little is explained and nothing is translated. Although that did harm my full understanding of the story, I really respect that artistic choice, which fit perfectly with the themes of the book, and helped make it as great as it was.
The art was absolutely gorgeous, and the ending? You are not prepared for the ending. You won't see that ending coming.
This was a book that I finished, and immediately wanted to start all over again. This deserves to be adapted. We deserve to see this story come to life and reach more people.
Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for this DRC.
I knew this was going to be absolutely amazing from the start, with how multifaceted all these characters were, and how their identities as Nigerians and Africans in the diaspora are treated. The politics are present in the world they live in, in the people they become, how they interact with each other, and the micro and macro aggressions on every page, in the subtext and upfront.
The book starts with the death of the great Nigerian artist Adewale, who was cognisant of his country's history under colonisation, but didn't bat an eye at having girls from poor families sent to stay with him so they could get an education, do all the housework for him and his son.
The girls went out to have great careers, but the only biological son followed in his father's footsteps and went into the arts. And got as much money out of it as his father. They all meet again when the British Museum (which is always at the scene of the crime) acquires all of his father's art and refuses to sell it back to Nigeria, so they decide to steal it. Once that is done, they decide that one museum isn't enough, and continue getting back their country's stolen artefacts.
The only unbelievable part in this book is that those three would, out of nowhere, be able to get away with multiple heists to some of the biggest museums in the world, with the law after them.
While Nigeria and African identity occupy a central theme in this book, I really appreciated that one of the main antagonists was Chinese, a country that has also had a lot of its art stolen, and how she was treated by the organisations she worked for and the world at large, in the midst of such a public investigation.
This is a book that does not hold your hand. The story is told through time jumps going back and forward, with characters that are never introduced, but that the story does a great job of characterising.
If you are not familiar with Nigerian slang, languages and folklore, you will struggle, because very little is explained and nothing is translated. Although that did harm my full understanding of the story, I really respect that artistic choice, which fit perfectly with the themes of the book, and helped make it as great as it was.
The art was absolutely gorgeous, and the ending? You are not prepared for the ending. You won't see that ending coming.
This was a book that I finished, and immediately wanted to start all over again. This deserves to be adapted. We deserve to see this story come to life and reach more people.
Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for this DRC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Bronze Faces sweeps you from the hum of Soho, London into the heart of a cultural reckoning that feels both intimate and global. Childhood friends Timi, Sango, and Gbonka reunite on the eve of the British Museum’s “historic” acquisition of works by Timi’s father, the iconic Nigerian artist Adewale Balogun. Timi is invited as a guest of honor, but I know a performance when we see one because what the Museum calls celebration, these three immediately recognize as theft dressed up in prestige.
One night of drinking, memory, and shared outrage becomes the spark for a bold, beautifully chaotic plan:
steal the artwork back.
And in true heist fashion, one semi‑great idea tumbles into an even bigger calling—one rooted in legacy, loyalty, and the refusal to let history be rewritten by the wrong hands.
The narrative blends family history, communal responsibility, and current conversations about appropriation, ownership, and stolen art with a clarity that feels both timely and timeless. It’s a story that knows exactly what it’s saying and who it’s speaking to.
The illustrations are lush, intentional, and deeply rooted in Nigerian artistry. Every panel carries texture, symbolism, and cultural resonance. There’s so much happening visually that I often found myself flipping back—letting the images steep a little longer, catching details I missed the first time. It’s dense in the best way, rewarding readers who linger.
If your spirit stirred when Erik Killmonger asked in Black Panther: “You think they paid a fair price? Or did they take it, like they took everything else?” —then Bronze Faces belongs on your shelf.
One night of drinking, memory, and shared outrage becomes the spark for a bold, beautifully chaotic plan:
steal the artwork back.
And in true heist fashion, one semi‑great idea tumbles into an even bigger calling—one rooted in legacy, loyalty, and the refusal to let history be rewritten by the wrong hands.
The narrative blends family history, communal responsibility, and current conversations about appropriation, ownership, and stolen art with a clarity that feels both timely and timeless. It’s a story that knows exactly what it’s saying and who it’s speaking to.
The illustrations are lush, intentional, and deeply rooted in Nigerian artistry. Every panel carries texture, symbolism, and cultural resonance. There’s so much happening visually that I often found myself flipping back—letting the images steep a little longer, catching details I missed the first time. It’s dense in the best way, rewarding readers who linger.
If your spirit stirred when Erik Killmonger asked in Black Panther: “You think they paid a fair price? Or did they take it, like they took everything else?” —then Bronze Faces belongs on your shelf.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Three childhood friends, who were raised in Nigeria together, reunite on the eve of their "father's" death and hatch a plan. Their father's art has been sold to the British Museum, and it feels like a slap in the face of themselves and Nigeria. Together, they scheme to get both their fathers' art back and more culturally significant art via an international heist. The pacing jumps around a bit, with a lot of flashbacks to the past and a handful of time skips. The flashbacks are fine, as they usually tie into the current plot, but the time skips interrupt the flow of the plot a bit. At one point, they're working with a 3-person team, then a time skip happens, and bam, the crew has jumped to 7 people. You also don't get to learn much about the other teammates who join later on, just the bare bones of their personalities. I wish this graphic novel had a bit more space to breathe, so you could learn about all of the characters a bit more deeply. The entire premise of a heist is to take cultural artifacts to be very interesting. I think it would translate very well into a movie, something akin to Ocean's 11 or Inception. I also enjoyed that the characters are written as keeping their regional dialects! It made it more interesting when you could tell they were code-switching depending on who they were speaking to. I also really enjoyed the art, and the action scenes were great.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I love a heist, and I love mythology. Combining those things should have been an easy win, but this one just didn't work. The major issue is the way it's told. It's out of order and in random flashbacks or time jumps. Because of that, I had no clue what was happening most of the time.
Another major loss is the fact that we don't even see a heist! They end up doing multiple heists, but not once do we see it happen. I understand that the story is more about colonialism than anything else, but it's also about heists so let me see a damn heist.
There were also just too many characters. I could not remember who was who and got to a point where I didn't care. This holds the entire collection (I think?) at just 164 pages, and in order for this to be remotely good it needed to be twice as long so we actually got to see the heists and know the characters.
Thank you to BOOM!Studios and Netgalley for an early copy of this collection.
Another major loss is the fact that we don't even see a heist! They end up doing multiple heists, but not once do we see it happen. I understand that the story is more about colonialism than anything else, but it's also about heists so let me see a damn heist.
There were also just too many characters. I could not remember who was who and got to a point where I didn't care. This holds the entire collection (I think?) at just 164 pages, and in order for this to be remotely good it needed to be twice as long so we actually got to see the heists and know the characters.
Thank you to BOOM!Studios and Netgalley for an early copy of this collection.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
While the premises were promising, the story wasn't delivered well enough I am afraid.
The storyline was confusing. I usually don't mind with back-forward timeline, but in this book, those back-forward left many plot holes and made me so confused with the story. Worst of all, for me at least, was the ending. The ending was there but there was no explanations on how the ending ended like that.
I also found it difficult to like the characters. They were just there without any significant arc. Even Sango/Eben, the main character, had no redeeming qualities.
The illustrations were so good though. Full of details and helped the story a lot. The illustrations also gave the perfect vibe for the theme of this book.
Thank you to Shobo, Shof, BOOM! Studios, and NetGalley for the ARC.
P.S. Shout-out to Ms. Alya Kronsberg, the Marketing Manager of BOOM! Studios who so helpful to me getting another copy of this book even though it was my fault not to download the e-ARC on-time on NetGalley.
The storyline was confusing. I usually don't mind with back-forward timeline, but in this book, those back-forward left many plot holes and made me so confused with the story. Worst of all, for me at least, was the ending. The ending was there but there was no explanations on how the ending ended like that.
I also found it difficult to like the characters. They were just there without any significant arc. Even Sango/Eben, the main character, had no redeeming qualities.
The illustrations were so good though. Full of details and helped the story a lot. The illustrations also gave the perfect vibe for the theme of this book.
Thank you to Shobo, Shof, BOOM! Studios, and NetGalley for the ARC.
P.S. Shout-out to Ms. Alya Kronsberg, the Marketing Manager of BOOM! Studios who so helpful to me getting another copy of this book even though it was my fault not to download the e-ARC on-time on NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
"Bronze Faces" combines captivating artwork and Nigerian folklore with a suspenseful and engaging heist story. At the core of this book is an examination of the ongoing injustice behind Western institutions' possession of art that was seized from previously colonized parts of the world. Although the book digs deep into the topic as it revels in Nigerian cultural and history topics it should be accessible to readers who enjoy heist stories with relatable protagonists.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A beautifully drawn, well written, multilingual and multicultural heist adventure that explores the ethics of museums in a world shaped by colonialism. The cultural ties to Yoruba mythology were so informative and beautifully presented. I hope these creators plan to continue the series, because they’ve got a returning reader in me!
June 7, 2026
Part "Ocean's Eleven", part essay on the theft of cultural artifacts by the western world. I have a hard time following Nigerian slang, so there were parts that were confusing for me. And the artwork sometimes added to that confusion. But I enjoyed the message and the various relationships among the characters.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews