In the early days of 1993, Milestone Media hit comic book stores for the first time. The company’s first four titles created by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle and published through DC Comics were unlike anything on the market at the time. The Milestone books focused on people who were not normally represented in the comics, which gave them the opportunity to be the heroes of the stories.
Milestone’s rise came at a time of growth in comics, with the emergence of a number of new universes and companies, including Jim Shooter’s Valiant Universe, Ultraverse, and Image Comics. Sadly, Milestone closed its comic book division in 1997, and for decades the Dakotaverse characters seemed lost in time, aside from the occasional appearance in other DC books. But like all good superheroes, the champions of the Dakotaverse have returned from the dead when the comics need them most.
10 The return of great characters
While Static has become Milestone’s best-known character, thanks in large part to his Emmy Award-winning animated series. Static shock – is far from the only great character to come out of the Dakotaverse. Icon, an alien who came to Earth in the 19th century and eventually became a superhero today after being discovered by his partner Rocket, is on par with Superman when it comes to power, but with a different story. to that of the other characters. which are analogous to the Man of Steel.
Hardware is an armored hero representing the underpaid and overworked. Blood Syndicate was a modern-day X-Men who wavered between being hero or villain. And beyond the first four series, there were characters like Xombi, Deathwish, and Kobalt, all full of great stories to tell.
9 A restored legacy
Sadly, several of the people who helped make Milestone so great have passed away. Robert L. Washington III, who won praise for his writing on Static, passed away in 2012. Maddie Blaustein, also a writer but best known for her voice work as Meowth from the animated series Pokémon, died in 2008. John Paul Leon, who was still in school when he became the artist and co-creator from Static, sadly passed away earlier this year.
And then there’s Dwayne McDuffie. Not only the founder of Milestone, but also one of the most prolific comic book and animation writers of his time, McDuffie died in 2011. Neither of these creators lived to see his 50th birthday, but with Milestone’s return, his work will live on.
8 Bringing new voices to mainstream comics
In the short time Milestone was creating comics in the 1990s, the company worked to bring new voices to the industry, and that dedication to diverse voices has continued to help the industry thrive. Artists like Humberto Ramos and Jamal Igle made their first big breakthroughs with Milestone and continue to lead the way in comics today.
Milestone was a space where creators could try things they couldn’t with characters like Batman or Iron Man. The company gave writers and artists space to explore new ideas and challenge comic book tropes – and it can do it again.
7 A second chance for hard-to-tell stories
Speaking of challenging comics, the return of Milestone once again offers creators the opportunity to use the superhero medium as a way to really look at the toughest problems we face as a society today. Milestone was not known for addressing issues of race, but also of sexuality, gender fluidity, and religion.
Milestone may have been ahead of its time when it initially attempted to present these ideas to readers, but in the decades since, the industry has become more willing to listen and learn, and the return of Milestone could propel things even further towards a welcome. future.
6 An urge for something different
It was the company’s drive to do things differently that has helped keep Milestone in the hearts and minds of fans for so long. As it stands, few of the original Milestone titles have been reprinted over the years, making it difficult for fans new and old to get their hands on the stories.
It was the way Milestone pushed for a different perspective that has kept them in the conversation all these years. Fans both within and outside of the industry knew that Milestone was something special, something that should not be forgotten. And now that he’s finally back, everyone will be able to see that spark again.
5 Representation matters
“Performance Matters” is something that is talked about a lot, but rarely acted upon. If you look at the picks from the major comic book publishers, you will notice that there is still not much representation in superheroes. If you look at current DC superhero books, only two of the titles feature people of color as main characters, and Marvel isn’t doing any better.
Milestone, at heart, is about representation. The company prided itself on publishing stories in which the heroes did not resemble Captain America or Wonder Woman. These are heroes who are truly a greater representation of the people of America and the world.
4 An opportunity to attract new readers
Paraphrasing Uncle BenWith great representation comes a great readership. A more diverse field of heroes can draw the attention of new readers, bring new blood to comic book stores around the world, and help keep comics alive. And with Milestone starting all over with its rebirth, that gives these new readers an easy entry into the wonderful world of comics. You don’t need to read a long wiki page to learn everything about John Stewart before continuing. Green Lantern, they just need to spend a few bucks and see what the hardware is all about.
3 A second life for great stories
Of course, if the new Milestone takes these new readers back to the original titles from the 1990s, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. And thankfully, after years of being impossible to find, the original Milestone books are finally available again.
Each week, DC Universe Infinite, DC’s digital comic service, adds more and more classic Milestone books. Currently, the focus is on the four original Milestone titles: Icon, static, hardware, Y Blood syndicate – but hopefully the other series will soon join the service. And with the work to digitize the original Milestone books, there is hope that new operations will also be published.
two There is a lot of crossover potential
In 1994, Milestone and DC first crossed paths with Clash of worlds. The 14-part story saw the Superman family team up with the heroes of the Dakotaverse to stop Rift, a cosmic being who was destroying both realities.
After Milestone stopped publishing his own comics, some of the characters, notably Static, were brought into the DCU proper, allowing them to appear occasionally in books like Teen Titans Y League of Justice. But now that the Dakotaverse is making a comeback in full force, the possibility of another great crossover could be very close.
1 A universe of new media
It has already been announced that Michael B. Jordan is producing a static, live-action film, opening the door to seeing more Milestone characters on the big and small screen in ways that were not possible in the 1990s. Milestone’s revival succeeds, it would seem logical to see the characters leave the four-color page and enter theaters or streaming services like HBO Max. Milestone titles were always bolder than those released by DC or Marvel, and that will likely continue. Bringing the character into live action could help fill some comic book fans’ need for more adult-oriented storytelling.
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