DC Celebrates 30th Anniversary Of Groundbreaking Milestone Media With New Titles Showcasing Black Superheroes

Milestone Media was founded 30 years ago by a group of Black comic professionals looking to super-charge representation in the medium with stories that reflected their perspectives and experiences. The imprint, which brought forth enduring characters like Static, Icon, Rocket, Hardware and Blood Syndicate, got caught in the collapse of the comic market in the mid-90s but the characters reappeared sporadically under the auspices of longtime licensing and distribution partner DC Comics, and are now fairly well incorporated into the DC Universe.

For Black History month, DC is leaning hard into that heritage, as well as its own publishing history with Black characters including Green Lantern (John Stewart), Cyborg, Vixen, Black Lightning and others, with a series of special edition books and periodicals highlighting characters and creators of color.

The activities kicked off January 31 with the release of two high profile titles, DC Power: A Celebration, and Milestone Compendium Two. According to the company, DC Power showcases stories featuring DC some of comics’ best Black storytellers, including writers Chuck Brown (Black Manta, Bitter Root), Stephanie Williams (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, Trial of the Amazons), and Evan Narcisse (Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded City, Marvel’s Rise of the Black Panther) and artists Valentine De Landro (Black Manta, Future State: Superman: Worlds at War), Clayton Henry (Action Comics, Superman Red & Blue,), and others. The anthology also includes the first DC work from writers Dorado Quick, Morgan Hampton, Jordan Clark, and artist Petterson Oilveira, all of whom participated in the Milestone Initiative Talent Development Program.

Alongside this new title is a massive 1,300 page softcover compilation of original Milestone stories from the 1990s, featuring a cover by legendary artist and Milestone cofounder Denys Cowan. Milestone Compendium Two also includes the 1994 crossover event where the Milestone characters first appeared alongside the mainstream DC pantheon.

DC also has a few other titles planned, including a new Static series, Static: Shadows of Dakota, co-written by Nikolas Draper-Ivey and Vita Alyala, with art by Draper-Ivey; an Icon vs. Hardware miniseries written Reginald Hudlin and Leon Chills, with art by Cowan, and a collection of DC Universe stories written by Milestone co-founder, the late Dwayne McDuffie, including his work on titles such as Action Comics, The Demon, Impulse, JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant, Batman: Gotham Knights (2002), Sins of Youth: Kid Flash/Impulse, and Firestorm: The Nuclear Man.

All this leads up to the release of the Milestone 30^th Anniversary Special on February 21, uniting the current incarnations of the Milestone characters in main DC continuity with the 1990s originals, a tried-and-true story structure that DC pioneered back in the early 1960s with the classic “Flash of Two Worlds.” The 96-page prestige format anthology features work by Chuck Brown, Stephanie Williams, and Nikolas Draper-Ivey (who drew a meetup between Batman Beyond and an adult version of Static), plus Cowan and Milestone Initiative Talent Development alum Yasmín Flores Montañez.

The prominent visibility of these characters and creators, at least for a month, is a welcome development, although none of the Milestone properties figure in DC’s recently-announced media plans. For those who remember the excitement of the original Milestone era, every revival of the characters is a reminder that time may have passed, but the conditions that made Milestone so urgent and necessary in the early 90s are still around.