"Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls," is a Fantastic First Volume of an Astonishing True Story

Robert Smalls was a real person. His life story sounds so wild, you would think it had to be dreamed up, but it happened. He was born a slave, but through tenacity, ingenuity, and his remarkable intelligence ended-up doing so much that, "Defiant: the Story of Robert Smalls," will be a trilogy of graphic novels--even though what happens in this debut one is already astounding enough that if Small had only done what this book covers, it would still be insanely impressive. Smalls managed to work a number of jobs, buy his freedom, and eventually helped a number of slaves escape during the Civil War when he stole a Confederate warship and was able to pilot it into Union waters--earning a nice bounty for doing so. These events are the focus of this first volume, and future ones will touch upon how he ended up serving as a Union General on the ship he brought the Union, served in Congress, and helped create the Public School system. As some text instructions within the book note, it is strange that someone who did so much has remained a historical footnote instead of being celebrated in classrooms and discussed in-depth when it comes to American history.

This first graphic novel has been written by the talented Rob Edwards with Ray-Anthony Height providing art. Created in a partnership between Stranger Comics and the production company known as Legion M, the idea is to eventually have the graphic novel series turned into a movie. When I heard this I was a bit leery of receiving a review copy of, "Defiant," as there have been other occasions where subpar comics were created as thinly-veiled pitches for flicks (you might recall, "Cowboys and Aliens," but I barely recall it and I wrote about it once). That said, this was a superb comic that, regardless of any planned future film adaptation, is a great read. The plan for multiple volumes allows Smalls' story to really breathe, with the narrative framing device of him telling his incredible life story to a grandchild adding a nice touch of how we pass stories down through generations to keep them fresh in our mind--with Smalls' life being an epic yarn indeed.

I want to thank Stranger Comics/Legion M for reaching out to offer me an advance review copy of the first volume of, "Defiant: the Story of Robert Smalls." I loved reading it and would encourage you to get a copy now that it has been released to all finer comic shops and bookstores as of today. I look forward to the future volumes and eventual film production as well!

5 out of 5 Stars.