Chuck Austen’s Comic Swan Song Begins With Sci-Fi Epic ‘Defiant’
by Scott Redmond
All things must come to an end, and for GLAAD-Winning writer/producer Chuck Austen, the time has come comic book writing-wise. That’s right, the man behind Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princess of Power, as well as comic books including X-Men and Avengers is hanging up the cape.
But not without one more thing to say within the pages of a comic book.
Launching in March from DSTLRY is Defiant, a sweeping space epic from Austen and co-creator Patrick Olliffe. This science-fiction space vendetta series marks the end of a 40-plus-year career in comics that also includes time with Action Comics, JLA, Miracleman, Captain America, and more.
Defiant follows Sandusky, a veteran who retired from a planet and galaxy spanning cosmic war, who has one final mission: to bury his son. Along the way he begins to unravel a conspiracy behind the war and that implicated his son as a traitor. These revelations send the man on a quest of light years to achieve a final vengeance.
“This series is a deeply personal journey,” Austen said. “That merges spacefaring adventures with the obstacles of parenthood. I’m honored to mark it as my final comic, and having Patrick onboard to join me in this final adventure.”
As co-creator and artist, Olliffe said “The sheer scope of Defiant has to be seen to be believed.”
Continuing, Olliffe said “this is one of the most ambitious, sprawling projects I’ve had the honor to co-create” and that “Chuck has conceived a universe of planets, species, and timelines that would take decades to unpack in their detail.”
DSTLRY co-founder and CCO Chip Mosher described the duo as a “comics’ dream team.”
“Defiant is Chuck’s biggest story ever,” Mosher added. “Brought to awe-inspiring life by Patrick. I’m overjoyed we get to publish Chuck’s swan song in the comics medium.”
David Steinberger, DSTLRY’s co-founder and CEO, said, “Advancing an entire genre is no easy feat, but Chuck and Patrick are well set to aim and surpass the stars on Defiant.”
Each of the series issues comes in DSTLRY’s perfect-bound Prestige format with wraparound covers featuring spot glass on robust cover stock. These issues include 48-pages of comic book story within. Olliffe provides the main cover for the series as well as a variant alongside variants by Ariel Olivetti and Fernando Blanco.
Defiant launches in March.
