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Exploring Lost Comic Book Universes: Milestone Media

or many years, comic book collectors have referred to “dead universes,” which focused on the characters and creators behind the company.
by which they meant comic book imprints or publishers that were going The non-Bang Baby series, Icon, an alien in human form, was
Fwell at one point and then ceased to be. In comics, of course, dead written by McDuffie and illustrated by M.D. Bright. The technology-
doesn’t always have the finality that it does in real life. Just ask the fans of any centric action-drama Hardware was written by McDuffie and
number of heroes, villains, or supporting characters. illustrated by Cowan. The fluidity of superpowered gang life,
Given that they can indeed return from the world of cancelation, we chose which really explored the gray areas of good guys and bad guys,
the term “lost universes” rather than calling them “dead universes.” Blood Syndicate, was written by Ivan Velez, Jr. with
Not only can they come back, they’re also still out there, the early issues illustrated by Trevor von Eeden, James
waiting to be discovered by collectors. Fry, ChrisCross, and Arvell Jones before settling
There have been many of these comic book universes on ChrisCross.
that have come and gone over the decades, and several Static, co-written by McDuffie and Robert
have actually come and gone and come again. The 1990s Washington III, and illustrated by John Paul Leon,
was a particularly rich period for the development of was about teenage life and struggles, bullies, popular
continuities designed to compete with Marvel and DC, people, romance, would-be romance, true friends,
the industry’s giants. plenty of jerks, and a witty, brainy kid with newly
Archie Comics, for instance, originally known as MLJ, acquired powers, just brimming with possibilities.
led with superheroes before Archie even arrived and then Shadow War, a crossover event that ran through
more or less took over. Their superhero characters, known the Milestone title in early 1994, introduced two new
collectively as The Mighty Crusaders, have had at least titles, Shadow Cabinet and Xombi. Later that year,
six full iterations over the roughly 80 years since they Kobalt was rolled out as another new title and the
first appeared. Milestone titles crossed over with the DC Universe
Some of those Archie/MLJ issues are quite rare and in a 14-part event called Worlds Collide.
accordingly pricey, but average lost universe collections will Davis left Milestone in 1995 to found Motown
cost significantly less than a single top Marvel or DC issue. Machine Works, a comic book imprint published
They are, in a word, accessible. through Image Comics. Cowan would soon join
him as editor-in-chief.
Milestone Media was formed by comic book With the comic market devastated by the
industry veterans Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, speculator boom and bust of the mid-‘90s,
and Michael Davis, and business executive Derek T. Denys Cowan and Jimmy Palmiotti’s Milestone stopped publishing in 1997.
original art for the cover of Milestone
Dingle to increase minority representation in comic Media’s Blood Syndicate #1. With Static Shock airing as a popular cartoon
books. The company arranged a relatively unique deal (September 23, 2000 – May 22, 2004, on Kids’
Image courtesy of Nick Katradis.
through which their comics would be published by DC WB), the company released the four-issue
Comics with Milestone retaining full editorial control over the content. mini-series Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool in early 2001. That would
In what would later be dubbed the “Dakotaverse,” the main action be it for Milestone until 2010’s two-part Milestone Forever, which
was set in the fictional midwestern city of Dakota based on an extensive actually delivered something that most Lost Universes fans never get –
story bible created by McDuffie with character designs by Cowan. an actual conclusion before the characters were merged into the
In addition to editor Matt Wayne, Milestone recruited both DC Universe for a while.
established and then-up-and-coming talent, including M.D. Bright, In all, there are well under 300 original Milestone issues. DC
Mike Gustovich, Noel Giddings, Robert Washington III, John revived the characters in 2021 in a series of limited series.
Paul Leon, Shawn Martinbrough, John Rozum, Christopher
Sotomayor, J.H. Williams III, Joseph Illidge, Ivan Velez, Jr., Tommy First Publication: Blood Syndicate #1, Hardware #1 (both April
Lee Edwards, Humberto Ramos, Eric Battle, Prentis Rollins, 1993)
ChrisCross (Christopher Williams) and J.Scott.J (Jason Scott Jones), Last Publication: Hardware #50 (April 1997)
among others. Revival(s): Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool #1-4 (2001), Milestone
The precipitating event for the arrival of most of the superpowered Forever #1 (2010). Characters appeared in DCU titles following
individuals in Dakota was “The Big Bang,” a conflict between rival that. “Milestone 2.0” begins with Milestone Returns #0 (2021),
gangs in which the authorities intervened and used a dangerous gas to Static Season One, Icon & Rocket Season One, and Hardware Season
control the situation. The unintended consequences were many ended One (all 2021).
up dead and others transformed. The survivors who manifested powers,
“Bang Babies,” were not always clearly cut good guys or bad guys. J.C. Vaughn is the co-author of The
The company launched its first four titles, Hardware, Icon, Blood Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide To
Syndicate, and Static, in 1993. At about the same time, the trading card Lost Universes, and the Vice-President of
company SkyBox released a card set, Milestone: The Dakota Universe, Publishing for Gemstone Publishing.

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