NS: DC FanDome - Milestone returns! Static Shock movie?

[deh_tommy]

I thought about posting this a lot sooner, but I’d already made like three different posts in a row and I wasn’t sure if anyone else was going to post this or not, but given how the first day of DC FanDome has come and gone and the next won’t be until September 12th, I’ll assume no one else is going to do so.

In a surprise DC Fandome panel, Milestone Comics co-founder Denys Cowan appeared alongside DC publisher Jim Lee, filmmaker Reggie Hudlin, and Static Shock voice actor Phil Lamarr to announce the return of Milestone and its heroes. A new digital Static Shock Comic will debut in February 2021, along with a Static original graphic novel by Hudlin and artist Kyle Baker. Other Milestone heroes like Icon and Rocket will also get their own comic book series written by Hudlin and Denys Cowan. In addition, serious talks are apparently underway for a potential Static Shock movie. A 17 page sample from Milestone’s relaunch, titled Milestone Returns #0, will be available for free for 24 hours on September 12th (alongside over 200 other free comics, some of which will be Milestone related). The full comic, and the imprint in particularly, are slated to be released in February 2021.

You can find more info here.

Comments

[silverhammerman]

I'd been hoping to see someone post about this. My take is that this is potentially very cool news which I want to be excited about. Still, I have to admit that my enthusiasm is a touch marred by a couple of factors.

The first that we've heard this before, with the aborted Milestone relaunch of 2017, which fell apart over a rights lawsuit launched by Charlotte McDuffie, widow of the late Dwayne McDuffie. It's apparently been settled, which is probably why the wheels are in motion now, but the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me a little skeptical of some of the people involved in this.

Second and with all due respect, while I think they're all talented and I don't want to sound ageist, I'll be very disappointed if the announced creatives are indicative of the overall direction of the line. Those dudes are all over fifty and Hudlin is a millionaire Hollywood producer; with this seemingly being a modernized reboot of the Milestone characters I worry that these guys alone aren't suited to taking these characters in a new, modern direction. This should be an opportunity to promote young black creatives and set Milestone on the cutting edge of comics craft and representation, and I hope that isn't passed up in favor of a bunch of old dudes clearly just trying to make their old IP attractive for profitable adaptations. In isolation, those graphic novels sound like they could be really good, but if the whole line ends up looking like that it might not be a good thing.

So yeah, excitement marred by some doubts here. I think this could be great but there's reason to be wary.

[beyondthefringe]

I agree. I'm extremely excited by the possibilities here, but just as dubious because it seems like Hudlin is doing the heavy lifting for the relaunch, and well... he's not my favorite writer, based on what I've seen of his stuff in the past. (aka the Black Panther run.)

I'd dearly love to see work given to younger writers who might bring fresh energy and diverse perspectives to the line. Not just ones writing comics already, but also from outside the field... I could throw a rock and hit two dozen authors who'd probably knock this sort of thing out of the park with a little mentoring and encouragement. And not just Black voices, but Latinx, Asian, LGBTQ+...

And yet something tells me that we're not going to get anything quite as revolutionary as Milestone 1.0 was.

[mastermahan]

My thoughts exactly. There are so many diverse writers who could knock this one out of the park. SF&F is in the midst of a diverse voices revolution right now. They could do so much better.

[nyadnar17]

Yay, Milestone is back and Static Shock is getting a movie!

Hudlin is in charge of everything related to Dwayne Mcduffie's legacy.

*Finger Curls on the Monkey's Paw"