When Rob Edwards started telling people he was writing comic books about South Carolina Civil War hero Robert Smalls, he’d have to accompany it with an explanation of Smalls’ life.
Now, when he mentions his graphic novel, many people already know Smalls’ story, he said.
“It’s really fantastic to see,” said Edwards, a writer and producer who lives in Los Angeles. “And no one is more deserving than Capt. Smalls himself.”
Edwards’ upcoming graphic novel “DEFIANT,” which he hopes to turn into a feature-length film, is part of a broader effort to educate the public about a story that had been largely forgotten, including Smalls’ escape from slavery on a commandeered Confederate ship and his time as a state legislator and five-term congressman.
South Carolina legislators are planning to commemorate Smalls’ life with a statue across from the Statehouse visitors’ entrance, the first on the grounds recognizing an individual Black person.
A joint committee of senators and representatives approved plans for the statue May 8, on the last day of the 2025 session. The vote by the State House Committee affirmed the design and location chosen by the commission created by a bill the Legislature approved unanimously last year.
“He’s probably one of the greatest South Carolinians of all time, as is well documented,” former Sen. Gerald Malloy, who is in charge of fundraising to build the statue, said during a recent trip to scout out the Statehouse grounds with the statue’s artist.
Edwards, who has written movies for titans such as Disney and Marvel, didn’t know Smalls’ story either when a friend first brought him the idea.
The friend had seen a post on X, formerly Twitter, asking why of all the movies being made none had featured the action-packed story of Smalls’ escape on the U.S.S. Planter in Charleston and ensuing life in politics.
That intrigued Edwards, who started researching Smalls’ life.
He got in touch with Michael B. Moore, Smalls’ great-great-grandson, as well as a Harvard historian who studied Smalls, trying to learn as much as possible.
It was crucial to get the details of Smalls’ incredible feats correct, Edwards said.
“Because it’s true and because it’s phenomenal, (the story) has to reflect reality or else somebody’s going to say, ‘Oh, come on, that didn’t happen,’” Edwards said.
The part of Smalls’ story people tend to know is what Edwards calls “the heist:” Under cover of night, Smalls stole the Confederate ship he piloted and, using Confederate disguises and hand signals, delivered himself, his family and other enslaved workers to freedom in Union waters.
Exciting as that story is, Edwards was drawn to Smalls’ life as a free man. He became the first Black man to pilot ships for the U.S. Navy, used his prize money for capturing the steamship he hijacked to buy the same mansion where he was born and enslaved, and became a renowned politician.
During Reconstruction, Smalls was part of the majority-Black convention of delegates who wrote the state’s 1868 constitution, which promised free education to all children and voting rights to all men. He served in the state House and Senate before winning a seat in Congress in 1874.
In 1895, Smalls was again a delegate for a convention — this time majority white — to rewrite the state constitution. He pleaded for a constitution guaranteeing “free and honest” elections while recognizing the convention was meant to disenfranchise Black voters.
“That was the stuff that was really amazing to me,” Edwards said.
Edwards, whose writing credits include Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” and Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” wanted to turn the story into a movie, but he knew selling the script might prove difficult.
He wanted proof that this was a story people cared about.
So, he and a team launched a fundraising campaign through Legion M, a company that lets people back projects they want to see happen. The plan was to start with the comic book to drum up more interest, then set sights on a movie.
Almost as soon as the campaign was posted, donations started flooding in, Edwards said. As of Friday, the project had raised about $160,000.
That was enough to get the comic book started, Edwards said. Once that’s out in the world, his hope is that it will be compelling enough to prove people want to see a live-action movie about Smalls’ life.
In the meantime, comic books appeal to teenagers, which is the audience Edwards most wants to reach.
“The thing that I would most want to tell a 16-year-old is, ‘Hey, there was this guy, he was born a slave, and look what he did,’” Edwards said. “If he can do that, then think of the things you can do.”
Edwards partnered with illustrators Nikolas Draper-Ivey, who created the art that accompanies the soundtrack for Marvel’s “Black Panther,” and Ray-Anthony Height, a longtime comic book artist who has created illustrations for Marvel and Star Wars comics.
The comic book, titled “DEFIANT: The Story of Robert Smalls,” is set for release June 19, which is also Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrating the day slaves in Texas learned they were free in 1865.
The release date has become especially significant after the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered a pause in events related to Juneteenth, alongside other holidays, following an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs earlier this year, Edwards said.
“We’re in this really interesting time when I think inspirational stories like ‘DEFIANT’ are really, really important,” Edwards said. “I’m thrilled that we’re able to be part of the Juneteenth celebration with this book.”
