Today is Robert Smalls’ birthday.
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Born April 5, 1839, in Beaufort, South Carolina. He commandeered a warship, piloted his family to freedom past five armed checkpoints, served in the Union Navy, helped write a state constitution, created the first free public school system in the country, and served five terms in office – all before the age of 50.
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This meme started a movement. The graphic novel continues it, written by @iamrobedwards
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To celebrate his birthday, we’re throwing in a free limited edition Shaft Homage pin – illustrated by @raheightcomics – with every paperback purchase. This pin is extremely limited. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. April 5-8 only.
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Two ways to claim yours:
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Add the paperback and the pin to your cart and enter code BIRTHDAY at checkout. Pin is free.
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Or go straight to defiantproject.com – the link in bio takes you directly to the bundle.
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Published by @strangercomics and @legionmofficial
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#RobertSmalls #Defiant #DefiantGraphicNovel #WWRSD #BlackHistory GraphicNovel NaacpImageAward
Join the Defiant team today at 5pm PST / 8pm EST!
@iamrobedwards , @krondon and Legion M’s @mr.chriscooper are all special guests on StrangerCon, hosted by Defiant producer and Stranger Comics founder Sebastian Jones. Congrats to Sebastian and the Stranger Comics team on the Untamed announcement with Viola Davis. Big things happening over there.
Tune in for updates on the project, exclusive giveaways, and a chance to connect with the team.
Head over to @strangercomics to watch or follow the link: /watch?v=T3mFqVTvMV4
See you at 5pm!
Congratulations to our executive producer @realbillduke on receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today — on his 83rd birthday.
From @drdre to longtime friends and fellow Walk of Fame star holders and friends @_garrettmorris and @glynnturman1 , the love in the room said everything about the legacy this man has built over five decades in Hollywood.
Bill has been championing the story of Robert Smalls since 2020, when he first took DEFIANT out into Hollywood. These photos tell that story — from those early days working together to today’s celebration on the Boulevard.
We are proud to call Bill a member of the @strangercomics and @legionm family, and even prouder to stand beside him as this journey continues.
Happy birthday, Bill. You earned every inch of that star.
#BillDuke #HollywoodWalkOfFame #DEFIANT #RobertSmalls #LegionM BlackHistoryMonth
Tonight’s the night! The NAACP Image Awards Virtual Ceremony is LIVE, and DEFIANT is nominated for Outstanding Literary Work – Graphic Novel.
Tune in at 5pm PT / 8pm ET on the NAACP Image Awards YouTube channel to watch the winner announcements.
We couldn’t be more proud of writer Rob Edwards and the entire DEFIANT team for this incredible recognition. No matter what happens tonight, this story — Robert Smalls’ story — reaching this stage is a win.
Link in bio to grab your copy before they’re gone again.
DAY 2 — Black Comix Day San Diego!
Yesterday was INCREDIBLE. The @legionmofficial and @strangercomics communities showed up, we met a ton of amazing new friends, and it turned into one of the highest-grossing sales days for our award-winning DEFIANT graphic novel.
Over 150 people entered the Funko giveaway and there’s still time to get in!
HOW TO ENTER:
Like + Follow @defiantproject + Comment or Share this post
If you’re in San Diego today, come through. I’m giving away lots of cool things to lots of cool people. Let’s make Day 2 even bigger.
Link in bio to grab your copy.
Published and co-produced by @strangercomics and @legionmofficial . @blackcomixday
Awards season looks good on Team Defiant.
Our team pulled up to the NAACP Image Awards nominees luncheon this past weekend and we couldn’t be more proud of this group. Huge congratulations to @iamrobedwards and this entire creative team. Rob, you took Robert Smalls’ story and gave it the voice it deserved. This recognition is earned.
From @strangercomics and @legionmofficial comes Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls. Now nominated for Outstanding Literary Work, Graphic Novel at the 57th #NAACPImageAwards. During Black History Month. Let that sink in.
A story that started as a meme is now sitting at the NAACP Image Awards table. Amazon Best Seller. NPR Books We Love 2025. Sold out first printing. And now this.
Robert Smalls commandeered a Confederate warship at 23. Sailed his family to freedom. Went on to serve five terms in Congress. He created the first free public school system in this country. And somehow most people have never heard his name.
That’s changing.
We get asked all the time when this becomes a movie. All I’ll say is the screenplay is by an Academy Award nominated writer who also wrote The Princess and the Frog, Treasure Planet, and Captain America Brave New World. When it happens, you’ll understand why we took our time.
The 57th NAACP Image Awards air live February 28 on BET and CBS.
Get the book at defiantproject.com
Be Defiant.
#Defiant #RobertSmalls #NAACPImageAwards #blackhistorymonth
Today was such a great honor! Thank you to the @naacpimageawards for hosting such an incredible event where our book DEFIANT was nominated! And congratulations to all the nominees! Much love and gratitude to our partners @legionmofficial and to @iamrobedwards for writing such an important graphic novel about Robert Smalls. A true hero the world needs know! It was a blast to team up with fellow producer @krondon and see a lot of old friends and make new ones👐🏾And thank you @wallmanpr for everything today 👐🏾
Much love to the entire creative team on this book: @seandamienhill@mauroilustra@fly_ban_joe@blondthecolorist and especially @darrellmayart for laying out such a cinematic masterpiece. Also big love to cover artists @nikolasdraperivey@caananwhiteart@studioskyetigercomics@greenisagoodboy and to @joshuacozine for keeping it all together!
And to producers: @pmscanlan@ltlcosplay@mr.chriscooper and the legend @realbillduke thank you for trusting us to make this book! We need these stories to preserve the truth!
Lastly to the Legion M community and Stranger Family. Thank you for believing in what we do and for your true support.
Much love Seb
#strangercomics #legionm #defiant #naacp #naacpimageawards
Every year this meme goes viral.
"We have 3 Pitch Perfect movies, eleventy billion Fast and Furious films, 14 remakes of Spider-Man, and not one Robert Smalls movie. Hollywood won’t tell this story!”
Here’s what we’ve been doing while y’all been complaining:
✅ Robert Smalls meme goes viral in Legion M community—fans demand the story
✅ Legion M announces Robert Smalls feature film in development
✅ Project backed by 150,000+ Legion M community members and investors
✅ Executive Producers Bill Duke & Marvin “Krondon” Jones III join the project
✅ Assemble all-star creative team led by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Rob Edwards
✅ DEFIANT graphic novel Kickstarter FULLY FUNDED in under 30 minutes—raised $154K from 1,812 backers
✅ Legion M partners with Stranger Comics for editing and publishing
✅ Award-winning graphic novel published—SOLD OUT first print run
✅ NPR Books We Love 2025
✅ Amazon Bestseller
✅ NAACP Image Award nominee
✅ Feature film adaptation IN DEVELOPMENT NOW
Stop complaining. Buy the book. Support the project. Join the @LegionM community.
Get in on the movement.
The story is HERE: defiantproject.com 🔥
#Defiant #RobertSmalls #DefiantGraphicNovel #SupportBlackCreatives #MLKDay #WeAreDoingTheWork #FanPowered
On this day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we remember the unbroken line of courage connecting American heroes across generations.
Robert Smalls didn’t wait for freedom—he seized it. In 1862, he commandeered a Confederate warship and sailed a group of enslaved people to liberty. Then he fought to make that freedom real: serving five terms in Congress and creating South Carolina’s first free public school system.
Dr. King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Robert Smalls was one of the people who bent it with his own hands, in the dead of night, risking everything.
Their legacies remind us: audacity plus courage changes history.
#MLKDay #RobertSmalls #Defiant #BlackHistory #DefiantGraphicNovel CivilRights
This started as a meme. The graphic novel did its job helping to establish Robert Smalls as a household name. We’re planning on announcing the next steps on its pathway to becoming a movie in the coming months.
But first, let’s celebrate.
Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls just became a 2026 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work – Graphic Novel.
Amazon Best Seller. NPR Books We Love 2025. Sold out first printing. And now this.
Robert Smalls was born into slavery. At 23, he stole a Confederate warship in the dead of night, bluffed his way past five checkpoints, and sailed his family to freedom. He went on to become a war hero, entrepreneur, and five-term U.S. Congressman and helped establish the public school system in the United States.
This is the greatest heist story never told. Until now.
Defiant, the Story of Robert Smalls is written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter @iamrobedwards (The Princess and the Frog, Treasure Planet, Captain America: Brave New World).
Hollywood, are you paying attention?
This story deserves the big screen. And we’re going to put it there.
Get the graphic novel at defiantproject.com
Be Defiant.
Executive produced by @realbillduke , @krondon , @pmscanlan , @jeffannison , @ltlcosplay , and @sebastian.a.jones .
Associate produced by @michaelbmoore (Robert Smalls’ great-great-grandson), @mr.chriscooper , @terrilubaroff@robertblakewhitehill , @joshuacozine , and @darrellmayart .
Cover art by @nikolasdrapperivey , @raheightcomics , and @caananwhiteart . Interior art by @seandamienhill and @fly_ban_joe . Layouts by @darrellmayart . Colors by @mauroilustra and @blondthecolorist . Edited by @joshuacozine and @sebastian.a.jones .
Published by @strangercomics . Produced by @legionmofficial , the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company.
#Defiant #RobertSmalls #NAACPImageAwards #BlackHistory #TrueStory #HeistMovie #RepresentationMatters #BlackExcellence #LegionM #StrangerComics #BasedOnATrueStory #robertsmalls
