Milestone Returns or Earth-M is a relaunch of American comic books published by DC Comics that began in September 2020.[1] The line features reimagined versions of the fictional characters and shared universe of Milestone Media by Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle and Dwayne McDuffie.[2]
| Milestone Returns | |
|---|---|
 Official cover for Milestone Returns #0. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | September 2020 – November 2023 |
| Main character(s) | Earth-M (Milestone Universe) |
Publication history
editBackground
editIn a January 2015 interview, writer Reginald Hudlin discussed a relaunch of Milestone Media Group, along with surviving co-founders Denys Cowan and Derek Dingle.[3] The following July, DC Comics announced the creation of "Earth-M" within their multiverse, which would be home to the earlier Milestone characters as well as new ones, and that one or two Earth M imprint titles would be published annually, as well as miniseries and one-shots. No further developments took place until October 2017, when it was announced that Milestone would be returning in 2018 with five titles, including Milestone (featuring Icon and Rocket), a new Static series, Duo (based on the character Xombi), and two other new titles: Earth-M and Love Army.[4][5] Charlotte Fullerton, Dwayne McDuffie's widow who inherited his 50% share in the original Milestone Media company, sued in August 2017 over being excluded from the revived company despite the new Milestone taking over the original's Milestone IPs.[6]
Development
editIn 2020, Earth-M was retitled as Milestone Returns, with the initial issue being published in September.[7] An extended version was published in February 2021.[8] The issues are available in print, digitally, and on DC Universe Infinite since April 2021.[1]
Setting
editMilestone Returns is set in Earth-M, which is officially non-canon to the DC Universe.[2] According to Dark Crisis: Big Bang, it is designated as Earth-93 in the Multiverse.[9]
In Earth-M, famous characters like Static, Icon, Rocket, Hardware and several others have new origin stories related to the Big Bang, the event that happened in the city of Dakota.[10] While they still do not know each other, the enigmatic Dharma prepares them in secret for a war to come.[11]
List of titles
edit| Title | Issue(s) | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Colorist(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preludeedit | |||||||
| Milestone Returns | #0 | Reginald Hudlin Greg Pak |
Ryan Benjamin Denys Cowan Scott Hanna Don Ho Jim Lee Jimmy Palmiotti Khoi Pham Bill Sienkiewicz |
Hi-Fi Alex Sinclair Chris Sotomayor |
September 13, 2020 | [7] | |
| Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition | Reginald Hudlin | ChrisCross Denys Cowan Nikolas Draper-Ivey Bill Sienkiewicz Juan Castro |
Nikolas Draper-Ivey Wil Quintana Chris Sotomayor |
February 24, 2021 | [12] | ||
Year 1edit | |||||||
| Static: Season One | #1–6 | Vita Ayala | ChrisCross | Nikolas Draper-Ivey | June 15, 2021 | March 1, 2022 | [13][14] |
| Icon and Rocket: Season One | Reginald Hudlin | Doug Braithwaite Andrew Currie Scott Hanna |
Brad Anderson | July 27, 2021 | March 22, 2022 | [14] | |
| Hardware: Season One | Brandon Thomas | Denys Cowan Bill Sienkiewicz |
Chris Sotomayor | August 10, 2021 | May 31, 2022 | [14] | |
Year 2edit | |||||||
| Blood Syndicate: Season One | #1–6 | Geoffrey Thorne | Juan Castro ChrisCross |
Wil Quintana | May 10, 2022 | October 25, 2022 | [15][16][17] |
| Duo | Greg Pak | Scott Hanna Khoi Pham |
Chris Sotomayor | May 17, 2022 | October 18, 2022 | [18][19] | |
| Milestones in History | #1 | Steve Barnes Pat Charles Amy Chu Melody Cooper Tananarive Due Karyn Parsons Alice Randall Touré |
Eric Battle Francesco Francavilla Mike Gustovich Ray-Anthony Height Don Hudson Jamal Yseem Igle Arvell Jones Jose Marzan Jr. Maria Laura Sanapo Dominike "Domo" Stanton Ron Wilson |
Michael Atiyeh Dan Brown Andrew Dalhouse Eva de la Cruz Francesco Francavilla Hi-Fi Emilio Lopez Chris Sotomayor |
June 21, 2022 | [20] | |
Year 3edit | |||||||
| Static: Shadows of Dakota | #1–7 | Vita Ayala | ChrisCross | Nikolas Draper-Ivey | February 7, 2023 | November 28, 2023 | [21] |
| Icon vs. Hardware | #1–5 | Leon Chills Reginald Hudlin |
Denys Cowan Yasmin Flores Montanez |
John Floyd Chris Sotomayor |
February 14, 2023 | November 7, 2023 | [22] |
| Milestone 30th Anniversary Special | #1 | Nikolas Draper-Ivey Evan Narcisse Geoffrey Thorne Stephanie Williams |
Juan Castro ChrisCross Nikolas Draper-Ivey Anthony Fowler Jr. Sean Damien Hill Atagun Ilhan Yasmin Flores Montanez Norm Rapmund Dexter Vines |
Nikolas Draper-Ivey Romulo Fajardo Jr. Noelle Giddings Wil Quintana Chris Sotomayor |
March 21, 2023 | [22] | |
| New Talent Showcase: The Milestone Initiative | Ashley Allen Julio Anta Greg Burnham Natham Cayanan Jordan Clark Cheryl Lynn Eaton Morgan Hampton Jarred A. Lujan Jarod Rhys Pratt Jerome Rhett Dorado Quick Zipporah Smith |
Tiahn Ankum |
Michael Atiyeh Andrew Dalhouse Nick Filardi Luis Guerrero Alex Guimarães Hi-Fi Chris Sotomayor Bryan Valenza |
June 6, 2023 | [23] | ||
| Static Team-Up: Anansi | Evan Narcisse | Jose Marzan, Jr. Charles Stewart III |
Luis Guerrero | June 13, 2023 | [24] | ||
Year 4edit | |||||||
| Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet | #1– | Joseph P. Illidge | Darryl Banks Atagun Ilhan |
TBA | November 20, 2024 | TBA | [25] |
Collected editions
edit| Title | Material collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Static: Season One |
|
200 | February 1, 2022 | ISBN 1779514212, 978-1779514219 |
| Icon and Rocket: Season One |
|
192 | June 28, 2022 | ISBN 1779515529, 978-1779515520 |
| Hardware: Season One |
|
October 4, 2022 | ISBN 1779515138, 978-1779515131 | |
| Blood Syndicate: Season One |
|
152 | April 11, 2023 | ISBN 1779518439, 978-1779518439 |
| Duo |
|
186 | April 25, 2023 | ISBN 1779518455, 978-1779518453 |
| Static: Shadows of Dakota |
|
200 | February 6, 2024 | ISBN 1779518552, 978-1779518552 |
| Icon vs. Hardware |
|
192 | February 6, 2024 | ISBN 177952305X, 978-1779523051 |
References
edit- ^ a b MacNamee, Olly (2021-03-23). "DC Comics Rethink: Milestone Comics To Relaunch, Now With Same Day And Date Print Copies". COMICON. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
- ^ a b "The Return of DC's Milestone Universe Showcased in New Trailer". ScreenRant. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Milestone Media rises again. Hudlin, Cowan and Dingle will revive company with eye toward characters of color". The Washington Post. January 21, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ "DC Entertainment, Reginald Hudlin to Relaunch Milestone Universe With 2018's 'Earth M'". Hollywood Reporter. October 5, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ "Milestone & DC Announce Earth M, Static Shock Comics". CBR. October 5, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ Maddaus, Gene (August 1, 2017). "Estate of Comic Pioneer Sues Over Milestone Media Revival". Variety. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Quaintance, Zack (2021-05-25). "DC ROUND-UP: MILESTONE RETURNS #0, it's finally happening!". The Beat. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
- ^ "Milestone Comics, the diverse and boundary-pushing superhero series, is back after two-decade hiatus". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
- ^ Dark Crisis: Big Bang (2022). DC Comics.
- ^ Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0 (2021). DC Comics.
- ^ Milestone Returns #0 (2020). DC Comics.
- ^ MacNamee, Olly (2021-03-23). Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition (2021-). Retrieved 2021-03-23.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ^ March 2021, Chris Arrant 23 (2021-03-23). "New Static series delayed, but now all Milestone comics coming out simultaneously in print & digitally". gamesradar. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Grunenwald, Joe (2021-02-26). "Creative teams for STATIC, ICON & ROCKET, and HARDWARE relaunches revealed". The Beat. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "DC Comics reveals next phase of Milestone Media with Blood Syndicate comic, animated movie and talent initiative". SYFY Official Site. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
- ^ Doran, Michael (2021-10-16). "Blood Syndicate returns to comics and Milestone gets animated in 2022". gamesradar. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- ^ Michael Doran (2022-02-10). "Milestone's Blood Syndicate Season One launches in May". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ George Marston (2022-02-18). "A new Milestone title rings in DC's AAPI Heritage Month celebration along with a series of variant covers". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "DC's Milestone Universe Expands With Earth-M Line of Comics". CBR. 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ Schreur, Brandon (2022-03-21). "DC and Milestone Media One-Shot Highlights Real Black History Heroes". CBR. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ^ Samantha Puc (2022-07-22). "Static: Shadows of Dakota limited series debuts in October". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ a b Samantha Puc (2022-10-07). "Icon vs. Hardware and an anthology one-shot headline Milestone Comics' 30th anniversary". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Kate (2023-02-23). "DC Celebrates Up-And-Coming Milestone Talent in New Special Showcase". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ^ First Comics News (2023-03-09). "Static-Team Up: Anansi #1 – Static: Shadows of Dakota Gets A Special One-Shot Featuring the Comic Book Debut of a Popular Character from the Static Shock! Animated Series". Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ^ King, Samantha (2024-08-25). "The Dakotaverse Changes Forever as DC's Milestone Universe Returns for a New Series". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-09-23.