Milestone holds a reputation as a groundbreaking line of comics featuring a diverse cast of characters. But their legacy extends far beyond the color of their heroes’ skin.
When DC’s Milestone Comics premiered in 1993, it ushered forth dozens of characters, heroes, and villains of different backgrounds. It was unlike anything mainstream comics had published before. Superficially known as simply a Black comic company, the Milestone books sought to represent diversity through avenues beyond simply race. With four initial titles— Static, Icon, Hardware, and Blood Syndicate—characters of different socio-economic backgrounds, races, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities were presented through superhero stories that stayed true to the genre while simultaneously reinventing it. Even more important, the diverse characters played diverse roles within these stories.
Check out our News article to look at the different topics and social issues Milestone tackled through its four headlining books and the legacy it created that still lives on today.
Does Milestone’s long legacy inspire you? Tell us about it in the comments below!
I’ve been a fan since it started up in the 1990s. I considered it a refreshing well-designed new fictional world, much like other new publishing efforts at around the time like the diverse Comics Greatest World from Dark Horse or Ultraverse from Malibu.
We just launched a celebration of the Artwork of Milestone in Community here:
I’ve never really heard of milestone until I subscribed way back at the start when looking through the community. I’ve heard of a lot of the characters (which are awesome™) but thought they were just DC. So it’s very awesome™ to see them return can’t wait.
Static Shock: Season 1 | A League of One - The Dwayne McDuffie Story | Warner Bros. Entertainment
A Black History Month celebration of the life of Dwayne McDuffie. From his early career at Marvel Comics to the creation of his own company, Milestone Media, to Static Shock and Justice League Doom, this is the story of Dwayne McDuffie, as told by his family and friends.
The Milestone Books first caught my attention in 1994 when they had the “Worlds Collide” crossover between DC and Milestone characters. My favorite issue of that crossover was the finale, where Rift (the big Bad Guy) altered reality, causing the young heroes (Static Shock, Rocket and Superboy) to be changed into a very Retro Legion of Super-Heroes version.
As a kid I couldn’t wait for Hardware to hit the shelves. Really had to lovingly press (nag) my parents to make sure they were able to take me to the comic book store that week.
I cut out a feature story from the newspaper about Milestone Media about a month or so prior to their first book - Hardware, being released. When I finally got that comic home I loved every moment with it. In the article I read how there was a special coloring process they were going to use for their books, that was new to the industry, and I was fascinated by it. The pages looked so beautiful and like nothing else out there at the time.
My imagination felt so alive reading the Milestone books.
There are a lot of cherished memories here that I’ll need to spend some time writing down more thoughtfully. Lots of love for Milestone and all the people who brought it to life.
) but thought they were just DC. So it’s very awesome™
