richardmurray

DC pairs Milestone heroes with real-life Black historical icons for Black History Month special
By Chris Arrant 1 day ago < https://www.gamesradar.com/author/chris-arrant/ > 

Static, Icon, and Rocket paired with Hannibal, the Queen of Sheba, and more

DC has revealed details on Milestone Media's 2022 Black History Month anthology announced back during the 2021 DC Fandome. Milestone Media will veer away from superhero fiction for true-life stories of real-life Black heroes from human history for the 96-page anthology graphic novel Milestones in History.

There will be stories about real-life historical icons including:

Hannibal, the Carthagian general who fought the Roman Republic
The mythical/historical Queen of Sheba
Alexande Dumas, the writer of The Count of Monte Cristo and the The Musketeers
Eugene Bullard, a World War One fighter pilot who was an American but served for France
DC says the writers of Milestones in History will include Reginald Hudlin, Alice Randall, Touré, and Michael Harriott. The publisher says more writers, as well as the artists, will be named at a later date.

And although Milestones in History is non-fiction, there's still room for Milestone's heroes - Static, Icon, Rocket, Hardware, and more will act as narrators of these true stories of world history.

For February 2022's Black History Month, DC also has planned the massive 1300-page MIlestone Compedium One < https://www.am*zon.com/Milestone-Compendium-One-Dwayne-McDuffie/dp/1779513100 > , a collected edition of the recent Static: Season One, as well as a series of Black History Month-themed variant covers across the entire DC comics line. 

This follows a similar female-centric anthology DC published in 2021, Wonderful Women of the World - retelling stories of real-life women but themed around Wonder Woman. Could this be the start of an informal series of non-fiction anthology graphic novels with its superheroes as the narrators?  We'd love to read a true crime history anthology narrated by Batman.

Doug Braithwaite will draw the main cover to Milestones in History, with a variant cover planned by Chriscross.

DC/Milestone Media's MIlestones in History goes on sale on February 15, 2022.

These Black superheroes changed the face of comic books. 

Blood Syndicate returns to comics and Milestone gets animated in 2022
By Michael Doran October 16, 2021 < https://www.gamesradar.com/author/michael-doran/ >  

All the Milestone news from DC Fandome 2021 including a DC/Milestone Black History Month anthology

The new Milestone Initiative program to "identify, educate, spotlight, and empower" the next generation of Black and diverse creators in the comic book industry wasn't the only Milestone announcement from 2021's DC Fandome. 
 
In a discussion moderated by actor Echo Kellum (Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific on Arrow), Milestone Media producer Reggie Hudlin and Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan announced more new projects from their DC partnership and the Dakota Universe comic book universe, including a new Blood Syndicate comic book series for 2022. 

Hudlin and Cowan did not announce the creative team but the publisher did release a promotional image and the duo talked about how Blood Syndicate has been the Milestone property fans have been clamoring for.

Originally published for 35 issues from 1993 to 1996 and created by the late Milestone co-founder Dwayne McDuffie, writer Ivan Velez Jr., and Cowan, the Milestone team book starred a loosely affiliated 'gang' of superheroes, most of whom were former street gang members who gained powers during the Milestone 'Big Bang' origin event and used their powers for the greater good. 

Cowan (Hardware: Season One) and Hudlin (Icon & Rocket: Season One) also confirmed that there are plans for "Season Two" of each series and that their characters will appear in each other's titles, reestablishing a shared Dakotaverse. 
 
The characters will also appear in a Milestone anthology scheduled for February 2002 as a part of DC's Black History Month celebration, which will also feature the release of Milestone Compendium One on February 1, 2022 - which Cowan revealed his cover. 

And in Milestone multimedia news, Hudlin and Cowan confirmed writer Randy McKinnon is currently writing a script for a Static Shock feature film in production with Warner Bros. and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society production shingle, and Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are developing a Milestone animated movie based on a screenplay by Hardware: Season One writer Brandon Thomas (who is also co-writer of the upcoming new Aquamen DC series).
  
"This has been the thing that Milestone fans have been dreaming about for a long time, and we're happy to give it to you, finally," Cowan says during the Fandome event.  

As the promo image featuring Static, Rocket, Icon, and Hardware released by DC Saturday indicates, Cowan described the film as being about more than one Milestone character, suggesting it's more of a Dakotaverse film than a solo story. 

MY THOUGHTS TO THE FIRST ARTICLE

Technically, Hannibal was phoenician not carthaginian. Carthage was the capital of the phoenician empire which controlled the south of the meditteranean while the roman empire, centered on Rome controlled the north. But, the phoenician community had changed its center from the eastern mediterranean to the center. Part of it was the influence of Kemet/Hellens/Persia in the east. As the roman empire would eventually absorb kemet/hellens and create something akin to a USA/USSR dichotomy commonly called a "cold war" with each other.  

Sheba is historical in that history shows Black female queens/leaders in the lands now commonly called ethiopia. The myth is the unfortunate truth, the various wars in that region have destroyed alot of ancient monuments. 

While I comprehend the time period of Hannibal or Sheba gives them precedence in these sort of artistic endeavors. I will add to and if I can not add replace Hannibal with Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut while Sheba with Dandara and add Jonas Caballo of the Seminoles.  I think the legend of all three is needed. The reality is being black, is a phenotypical designation. It isn't about being african. And, i think more black people need to see Black people with cultures that are not african based. And need to see that the white/black dichotomy exist within being asian, within being latino. and, the violent/non-violent dichotomy exist within the descended of enslaved in the usa. Black is one thing. African is another. They are not synonomous.  To be blunt, Hannibal is mulatto. Jamal ud Din and the later Janjira state is a part of Black history in asia that is, ignored, not wanted, not presented. In the larger black world or in the asian world. I am not hating on Hannibal. I know his legend well And his legend warrant telling.  But, I think this book should focus on legends not talked about alot. And Jamal-ud-Din's military greatness is equal to Hannibal's but his existence in asia, as a siddi, gives him a relationship to ancient Kemet, where it is known traded with the various peoples  of what is commonly called today  the indian subcontinent. The existence of black peoples from the indigenous Negrito or Aborigina of Australia to the transported Siddi needs a champion. Jamal-ud-Din for me, is that champion.
Dandara , like Jamal-ud-Din, is not as old as Sheba or in relativity Hannibal. but, like Jamal-ud-Din fits the same category as HAnnibal. Dandara fits the same category as Sheba. Wife to a legendary leader. Warrior woman. A woman disputed in historian circles, a woman disputed in the brasil in which she lived. A latino but she J-Lo. She was a negra, not a blanquito, or mulatto or mestizo. All terms still valid in latin america today. so... I think she needs to be in it. Not the convenient Sheba, who is not known while well known. 

For me Jonas Caballo needs to be in it cause Black people in the usa continually reject Nat Turner or similars. To be blunt, for all the talk black people in the usa have about forebears, people like NAt Turner/Jonas Caballo are not given their due. But why? the why is their violence isn't contained. Black cowboys violence is contained within the usa. Jonas Caballo was fighting against the usa in what is now the state of florida. Nat Turner was fighting against the white community with the same energy as Haiti's initial forebears<dessalines to henry christophe>. BUt, the black community globally , to be blunt, despises them. Why? cause they can't place them in the convenient bubble of nonviolence and anti revenge. Nat turner/Jonas Caballo/Ann Nzinga/Menelik II are heroes but they are violent ones, who also had success militaristically and the black community globally, is led by anti violent zealots. 

Dumas will be interesting. I think Milestone missed a trick. While Dumas's Black saint domingan <not Haitia yet> grandmother and White french father produced his military schooled mulatto father. Pushkin is clearly the best legendary Black writer of Europe to use, for a story. His ancestor was Gannibal. An East african, raised as a show slave by Peter the great of Russia , who became a statued military hero and teacher in Russia. And Pushkin's great grand children were members of Eastern European regal aristocracy. 

Eugene Bullard, in the end, Bullard for me is black not american. People have this wierd way of attributing every person born in the usa as american based on nothing but they were born in the municipal bounds. but, Bullard after his world war exploits, came back to the usa to be a janitor, a elevator operator. In france he actually owned a business. The article says Bullard is american . I don't see him as american or french. His geographic designation is stateless. He was a black man who happened to be born in the usa and happened to fight for france. I like the choice of Bullard but I can already tell where the storytelling is going will not be to my liking. 

I hope the best for the book. 

MY THOUGHTS TO THE SECOND ARTICLE

Blood syndicate is my favorite Milestone title and I am saddened some others will take it cause I am certain they will turn it into what I will dislike. HArdware is black iron man meets lewis lattimer with edison. Icon is black superman as a conservative with a black supergirl who is liberal and not truly a blood relation to him. With the brilliant story caveat that Rocket is why there is icon. Static is spider man with a nod to the first black comic book character in the usa to get their own book, black volt or bolt. But ...
The Blood Syndicate is something else. They are pure Dakota for me. You can not find a similar story like Blood Syndicate in DC or Marvel. And the reason why is Blood syndicate reflects black cultures  unique reality. To restate, Blood syndicate reflects what Blacks don't have in common with whites. And that is special to me. It must be nurtured in the same way I want the Black latino, the Black asian, the Violent Black to have their due, I want this imprint to be free of the Static/Icon and Rocket/Hardware dogma. Those three in the modern version have been made lackies to the rebooting culture that plagues usa comics. From the first crisis in the DC universe circa 1985 to now. I don't want Blood syndicate to be part of some Black lives matter riot turned wrong. I want Blood syndicate's story unchanged. It was the big bang, they are the survivors of a big gang fight. the police department plus a white industrialist sickened and killed them.  They are the survivors and they exists  in a poor sector of the city , in the same way the hookers run a part of the town in sin city. Nothing needs to change for blood syndicate and listening to denis coan side others, I know they have already decided things will change. 
My blood syndicate, hurts, hurts bad, knowing what will become of them.

IN CONCLUSION

I wish Milestone well, I did as a fan club member , I did never having watched the static tv show but supported it in all other ways, I do now. Even if I am not chosen to be a part of their development <yes, I applied to the milestone initiative>. But, gardless of how successful Milestone is. A space exists for black superheroes of the many other ways. And, history , the teaching of history, needs the philosophical naysayers out of its telling. Just cause you don't concur or agree or like the path of one in history doesn't mean you dismiss them through never speaking their name. Comprehend the people in the past. ... Would Germany had been better eternally indebted to england or france?