Defiance sets up the idea that when there was a war in heaven and Lucifer and his allies were cast out the place they ended up wasn't empty. Rather hell was already populated, at the time Lord Syrus surrendered his domain to Lucifer. But with time he has been fighting a covert action to reclaim his lands, and with Defiance we are preparing for the escalation of that action with the battle field likely to be the near future earth depicted here. An exit from hell into New York, guarded by agents from both sides - the point through which a secret agent will come through, a messenger and catalyst. The art team for Defiance has produced some striking work and it is that which makes Defiance particularly eye catching. The plot seems reasonable as a base to work from, though in some ways the ideas have certain familiarity. With that the title could go either way, though certainly the writing of the first issue sets it up with enough potential that I am curious enough to see how this first act of the overall three sections develops.

Taken from comicoo.com