Defiant is a graphic novelization of Robert Smalls’ biography, told from the perspective of an elder Smalls, nearing the end of his life in 1915 and passing down his story to his grandson. It is cleverly written, beautifully illustrated, and exceptionally well-produced. What is most interesting, however, is the story behind this graphic novel, which traces Smalls’ meteoric rise in the national consciousness and popular memory.
Robert Smalls was an enslaved South Carolinian who in 1862, with the help of some accomplices, stole the CSS Planter and piloted it out of Charleston harbor. In doing so, he piloted himself out of slavery and into an uncertain freedom. Smalls went on to serve in the Union army during the Civil War and then returned to his native Beaufort, South Carolina, where he became a businessman, a property owner, and a politician. Smalls represented Beaufort County in the South Carolina State Senate from 1870 to 1875 and then in the United States House of Representatives from 1875 to 1887. He was later appointed as the port authority of Beaufort by Benjamin Harrison in 1890 and served as such until 1913.
Until remarkably recently, Smalls and his story remained largely obscure. His family history was first published in The Crisis in 1910, but only rarely did he attract the notice of white historians until after the advent of the new social history in the 1960s. Historical questions about contraband camps, war-time runaways, and decision making within the Union army bureaucracy brought figures like Smalls closer to center stage, though still far from the general public’s attention. This reviewer is unashamed to admit that he had never heard of Robert Smalls until a graduate school seminar on Reconstruction.
Smalls finally emerged from obscurity in the 2010s due to a multiplicity of factors. The election and re-election of the United States’ first Black president fueled interest in the stories of other prominent African Americans from the past. The tragic deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York brought the civil rights organization Black Lives Matter into national political and cultural prominence. These events invited even more interest in African American history. Journalist Mo Rocca profiled the former South Carolina congressman and his daring escape from slavery in 1862 across CBS media in 2019, producing a headline piece for CBS Sunday Morning. By 2020, Smalls had become as close to a household name as any historical figure could ever hope to be.
The same cultural forces that pushed Smalls to broader public recognition also brought together the writers, illustrators, and publishers of this graphic novel. The story was written and produced by Legion M Entertainment, a crowd-funded production company founded in 2016. The publisher, Stranger Comics, was founded in 2009 by Sebastian A. Jones, the author of fantasy comics featuring Black main characters. If nothing else, Defiant is a profound cultural artifact of our moment—a microstudy of how a previously obscure figure from Civil War and Reconstruction historiography can hit escape velocity and break into the popular memory and popular culture.
It makes sense that Smalls’ life has been rendered as a graphic novel by publishers and producers who usually work in the realm of fiction, fantasy, and superheroes. If you have never heard of Smalls or his exploits before, indeed they do almost sound like fiction. It sounds almost incredulous to think that a man born into slavery could commandeer a ship to freedom, meet President Lincoln, return to South Carolina as a solider of liberation and carve out for himself a life as a political and cultural leader. But that is exactly what Smalls accomplished. Now, one is only left to wonder when Robert Smalls will get his biopic or streaming miniseries. He most certainly deserves one.
Aaron David Hyams is Senior Lecturer of History in the Department of History at Sam Houston State University.
