Defiant Comics was a comic book publishing imprint of
Enlightened Entertainment Partners
Enlightened may refer to:
* ''Enlightened'' (TV series), an American comedy-drama
* ''Enlightened'' (album), 2007, by Dynamic Duo
* The Enlightened, a faction in ''Ingress'' (video game)
See also
* Enlightened self-interest
Enlightened self- ...
, LP. Defiant was established in 1993 by former
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
and
Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim E ...
editor-in-chief
Jim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
.
Publication history
Defiant was founded in the wake of Jim Shooter's departure from Valiant. After attempting unsuccessfully to retain his partial ownership of
Voyager Communications
Valiant Comics is an American comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim Entertainment ...
(Valiant's parent company) Shooter founded a new company that included some Valiant artists and writers on its staff. He formed a business venture with
The River Group
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...
to help finance Defiant.
In early 1993, Defiant announced that its first title, ''Plasm'', would be released as a series of trading cards that could be put together in an album to form "issue #0". Upon hearing the news,
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
threatened a lawsuit against Defiant, claiming the new title violated a
Marvel UK trademark for their book/character
Plasmer. Though Defiant changed the title to ''
Warriors of Plasm'', Marvel continued its lawsuit. While the court eventually ruled in favor of Defiant,
["Legal News: Defiant Wins Judgement on Plasm," ''The Comics Journal'' #163 (November 1993), p. 14.] the legal process depleted the company's
capital, having cost over $300,000 in
legal fees.
[Jim Shooter Interview: Part 2]
Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom ...
, October 10, 2000 Defiant ceased publication in Summer 1995.
Announced plans
Shooter had originally planned to publish an intracompany "crossover" featuring all the characters and titles in the self-contained Defiant universe, similar to the ''
Secret Wars'' crossover
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...
he had done at Marvel and the
Unity crossover
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...
he had also completed before his dismissal at
Valiant
Valiant may refer to:
People
* James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer
* The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers
** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010)
** Jimmy ...
. To have been titled "Schism", the crossover was intended to take place in a four-issue miniseries, with the regular ongoing titles retelling the parts relevant to the respective characters of each. Only two crossover-related issues (''Dogs of War'' No. 5 and ''Warriors of Plasm'' #13) were published before the company went out of business. The plots for the miniseries were eventually posted online.
[Defiant Timeline]
ShooterWorks
Titles
Initial
* ''
Dark Dominion''
* ''
The Good Guys''
* ''
Warriors of Plasm'' (originally ''Plasm'')
Second wave
* ''
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
''
* ''
Dogs of War''
* ''
Prudence & Caution''
* ''
War Dancer''
One-shots
* ''The Birth of The Defiant Universe''
* ''Glory''
* ''Great Grimmax''
* ''The Origin of The Defiant Universe'' aka ''Defiant Genesis''
* ''Splatterball''
Graphic novels
* ''Warriors of Plasm – Home For the Holidays'' (officially titled as ''Warriors of Plasm Graphic Novel'' # 1 in the comic's legal indicia)
Trade paperback
* ''Warriors of Plasm: The Collected Edition'' (Feb. 1994) (reprints ''Warriors of Plasm'' #0–4 and ''Splatterball'')
Notes
References
*
Defiant Comicsat the
Grand Comics Database
The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...
World Talk Radio: Interview with Jim Shooter
{{Authority control
Defunct comics and manga publishing companies
Comic book publishing companies of the United States
1993 establishments in New York City
Publishing companies established in 1993