Milestone Forever #2

[sakinnuso]

Dunno if you guys are/were Milestone fans or not, but I highly recommend Milestone Forever #2 which ties up the story of the Milestone universe. It's often very subtle, powerful, and personal.

I'm not going to get into a big old discussion on the deeper context of the issue unless some of you fellas feel like chopping it up, but it definitely feels like somebody died. I guess that's part of what the book is trying to do. Bury the past. Bury the legacy. Either way, it's very good.

-S

 

[Megazell]

Dunno if you guys are/were Milestone fans or not, but I highly recommend Milestone Forever #2 which ties up the story of the Milestone universe. It's often very subtle, powerful, and personal.

I'm not going to get into a big old discussion on the deeper context of the issue unless some of you fellas feel like chopping it up, but it definitely feels like somebody died. I guess that's part of what the book is trying to do. Bury the past. Bury the legacy. Either way, it's very good.

-S

It was a great read. I bought both books and put a sealer cap on my Milestone box. My kid read them all 2 weeks ago.

Her favorite heroes were Rocket and Static. She even started to draw them in her art class and it's now in the center piece of her school wall.

I was quite disappointed with the Hardware storyline as it's almost a photo/word for photo/word reprint of his number 1.

Every other story was awesome.

I think the ONLY issues I own now are of dead universes...Milestones, New Universe, Ultraverse, Defiant, Valiant, New Words and others...

​

 

[sakinnuso]

Yeah, props to you for giving it to your kids. I've been reading comics for over 20 years and have long ago given away damn near every comic I've ever owned - EXCEPT for my Milestone box. I'm saving that for my children. I sent a thank you email to Dwayne McDuffie personally via his facebook because that guy takes an unbelievable amount of heat and bullshit from the publishers AND from fanboys. To be honest, that cat has been a personal inspiration for years, which made that Hardware ending in Milestone Forever #2 something special.

While it seemed like a reprint, the change was small but important. The change in Curtis and his observation about the solution was both telling of Dwayne's growth and approach to breaking that ceiling since he started Milestone, and an incredible way to bookend the story with circular storytelling.

That's just my interpretation.

I wasn't as in love with Milestone Forever #1, but #2 felt more personal, as if it was meant to speak directly to the fans about his own resolve and decision in the Milestone legacy.

That thing about finally letting Alva go, this ghost that he's been carrying with him - propelling him - using it as both hateful anchor and, in effect, defining his every action - was, again, a mirror. If not for himself, then possibly as an observation on what many black men from that era (my era) have done and how, now, we're able to embrace the richness of love and life on our own terms, redefined.

The static story seemed to me a more obvious nudge at the lack of growth in not just the industry, but those resistant to the change that the world has made. I love how Hotstreak still wants to fight that tired old fight while Static has moved on. I love the very pointed jab at the industry today, too. How modern comic fans want the same old shit (Virgil: What's new these days? Virgil's friend: Chaykin on the Supergirl Revamp!). So true!

More than that, though, if you look at the life that Virgil embraced, it's due to the fact that he found peace with himself. I think that, too, represents a peace that Dwayne McDuffie has found having recently been married.

There's a weighty acceptance throughout the book. Powerless to change what is not ready to be changed, but the promise that nothing ever dies.

I was deeply moved by this book. I was both saddened that things ended up the way they did, but happy that I have these books in my hands as keepsakes that they did exist, that it was good, and for a time, these rich stories in multi-cultural, multi-religious, realistically representative world, was part of a dream very real.

Thanks Milestone, and thanks to people like you, Megazell, for supporting the books. In all of my 35 years alive, I've never seen myself or the people that I know and love ever truly represented in that hobby, other than in the world of Milestone Comics. For that alone, I will always have a deep love for the contribution of the Milestone Founders. Even if they think that they failed, they succeeded.

-S

 

[tajshan]

Yeah, I agree with the above statement..... They will be missed because I doubt DC will do anything with them (hey War of the Supermen is coming up and you'd think Superman would be trying to recruit any, no EVERY mofo in his class - how much y'all wanna bet Icon will be a no show)..
One can only hope Kevin Grevioux decides to bring back Darkstorm and his Vindicator series..

 

[Basetip]

Just read #1, can't find a link for #2.... can someone help me out?
Holla

 

[Megazell]

@sakinnuso - Word. Glad to see some BGOL members with introspective outlooks especially in the arts.

The Hardware section still felt a little lazy to me...though it was as you said a way of showing D's maturity I was hoping for a tale of what he has been up to so far.

Hardware was a comic that really needed to be re-evaluated the overall writing of the entire series was OK but never great because of the over militant tone that came and went with each issue. As if the character (or writer) could never make up his mind.

D has always poked fun at bad writing both in Marvel and DC though he has more love for DC because as he said during a con it's what he grew up on. It would be nice if the editors and interest board took more notice of writers like him and others that through satire show the flaws of their current projects direction.

I would love to see D and Kirkman collaborate.

ICON and Static Shock were 2 of my most prized books. Not sure if anyone ever picked up on how ICON's outlook was the older generation of heroes looking in and Static was the current generation looking out.

I was hoping for a little more information on Shadow Cabinet as the book addressed a lot of the issues like fatherhood in urban communities.

My kid and I are currently reading Impact comics now. All this nostalgia is making me bust out the books for reading time at night like mofo

 

[Megazell]

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[tajshan]

Question now is there anything or anyone coming up to fill the void?

 

[Megazell]

Question now is there anything or anyone coming up to fill the void?

What do you mean by that question?

 

[tajshan]

come with NEW black superheroes with potential.........

 

[Megazell]

come with NEW black superheroes with potential.........

There are thousands of African American own comic book publishers out there. Many of them have excellent writing and excellent art work...the only thing is that it may be a local release only.

http://comicsworthreading.com/2008/04/10/recommend-good-african-american-comics/

http://africomics.com/

Just understand that NOTHING of value will ever hit mainstream...and if I am wrong and something does...it will do a Chapelle...be here...be gone and leave the fan base like...

I would also hit up this spot

www.zudaonline.com​

 

[Megazell]

Going to tag on this experience I recently had.

So there is a shop called 'Magnum Comics' comics in The Bronx, Riverdale area. Mostly Italians and Jews in that area.

Inside the comic shop is mixed on Wednesday. This is one of my favorite spots to hit on Wednesday outside of 'Jim Hanley's Universe.' Women, Men, Black, White, Asian...whatever be up in there talking about comics in this little spot.

So Milestone Forever #2 came out and I wanted to pick it up and since I was in a debate with some cats over various story lines and movies...I dipped into the dollar bin. The owner sometimes has TPB in there...that day I found these two comics below...

Here is the creator's website - http://www.simmonshereandnow.com/

Both those books came out in the late 90's.

So the owner who is a middle age white guy and I got into a talk and some others got involved too about why Milestones went down.

Another person asked 'How many minority publishers/creators are there?'

The owner spoke for about 10 mins straight naming Black, Hispanic, American-Asain, Native fucking American...he knew them all...he blew every single one of the minority customers listening away...you could see it on our faces...

Then he went in on why he thinks they don't sell as much as he thinks they should...

In the end this is what he said 'White American Males buy more comics' and even minorities stay away from their minority made comics...this latter part I can totally agree with because I have seen it.

I have fellow comic book fans that are mixed and when I try to get them into say 'Ant' when it came out...they was like 'Yeah...this looks good but I need my 'INSERT ALREADY ESTABLISHED SUPERHERO OR SUPERHERO TEAM BOOK HERE' fix.'

Then you have that cat that is like 'Just because I'm Black/Hispanic/Asian does not mean I want to get a Black/Hispanic/Asian comic book.'

Dilemma.

 

[tajshan]

Going to tag on this experience I recently had.

So there is a shop called 'Magnum Comics' comics in The Bronx, Riverdale area. Mostly Italians and Jews in that area.

Inside the comic shop is mixed on Wednesday. This is one of my favorite spots to hit on Wednesday outside of 'Jim Hanley's Universe.' Women, Men, Black, White, Asian...whatever be up in there talking about comics in this little spot.

So Milestone Forever #2 came out and I wanted to pick it up and since I was in a debate with some cats over various story lines and movies...I dipped into the dollar bin. The owner sometimes has TPB in there...that day I found these two comics below...

Here is the creator's website - http://www.simmonshereandnow.com/

Both those books came out in the late 90's.

So the owner who is a middle age white guy and I got into a talk and some others got involved too about why Milestones went down.

Another person asked 'How many minority publishers/creators are there?'

The owner spoke for about 10 mins straight naming Black, Hispanic, American-Asain, Native fucking American...he knew them all...he blew every single one of the minority customers listening away...you could see it on our faces...

Then he went in on why he thinks they don't sell as much as he thinks they should...

In the end this is what he said 'White American Males buy more comics' and even minorities stay away from their minority made comics...this latter part I can totally agree with because I have seen it.

I have fellow comic book fans that are mixed and when I try to get them into say 'Ant' when it came out...they was like 'Yeah...this looks good but I need my 'INSERT ALREADY ESTABLISHED SUPERHERO OR SUPERHERO TEAM BOOK HERE' fix.'

Then you have that cat that is like 'Just because I'm Black/Hispanic/Asian does not mean I want to get a Black/Hispanic/Asian comic book.'

Dilemma.

true....................