Milestone Media was founded in 1993 to tell stories about underrepresented communities and to tackle hard-hitting issues like racism and homophobia. It ceased publication in 1997.
After two decades, Milestone Comics has returned. According to CBS News, the brand is known for having a diverse cast of superheroes and pushing boundaries, and it wants its revival to be even more cutting-edge. Milestone tried to revive the comic in the past, but efforts were short-lived.
Milestone Media was founded by a team of African American writers in 1993 to tell stories about underrepresented communities and tackle hard-hitting issues like racism and homophobia. It ceased publication in 1997 due to a downturn in the industry.
Denys Cowan, one of the co-founders, spoke with CBS News and said, “We were four Black creators who got together and formed a company with the intent of doing multicultural characters from our point of view and the people we wanted to work with — that alone was revolutionary.”
The outlet points out that Milestone had a distribution contract with DC Comic, but DC was often uncomfortable with the progressive storylines and artwork. This strained the relationship between both companies.
This past February, Milestone dropped a digital preview into the universe and what is to come titled, “Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0.” It touches on subjects like anti-police brutality. The physical version was released on May 25.
According to a partner and writer, Reginald Hudlin, there is a lot on the way for the brand, including film, television shows, toys, trading cards, and more. Also, Micheal B. Jordan announced last year that he and Hudlin would produce a Warner Bros film based on one of the popular Milestone characters, Static.
Reginald Hudlin says that although the comic book industry has a little more diversity than it did in the 90s, it has a long way to go.
“Blackness is a constantly evolving and expanding term,” he explains. “There was a time when almost all Black Americans had a similar set of experiences — that's not been true for generations now. So when you go by exploring every aspect of it, thankfully, that's a lifetime mission.”
