Static: Shadows of Dakota

by Vita Ayala, Nikolas Draper-Ivey (Illustrator)

The breakout creative team of Vita Ayala and Nikolas Draper-Ivey have returned to make Static's life, and Dakota City, very complicated indeed—you've never felt shocks like these!

Though Virgil and his friends might have been able to stop the government's off-the-books prison operations in Dakota, a powerful new threat lurks in the shadows. The mysterious Ebon is cutting a bloody swath through the underworld on a single-minded quest to find his brother. Against this backdrop of exploding violence, innocent people are finding themselves in the crossfire.


Collecting Season Two #1-6!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

208 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Roman Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent followup to Static: Season One. Vita Ayala introduces a new, updated version of Ebon, the most iconic villain from the Static Shock cartoon. He’s the highlight of the book for me. Ebon’s dynamic with Static pays tribute to what came before, while still being it’s own thing. Their relationship goes in an interesting direction which I hope is further explored in future stories. The art by Nikolas Draper-Ivey is still great, the anime influences make it feel unique compared to the other Milestone titles. If you enjoyed the last volume, you’ll enjoy this. Highly recommend for Milestone fans.

[Joe Bogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the incarnation of Ebon 14 year old me never knew he needed..!

[Aidan Hepler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm gonna have to come back and read this again. I enjoyed it, that needs to be said, but I don't think my expectations were met.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

More cohesive than the first volume, Vita Ayala wrote a solid adventure story with a strong moral center that emerges naturally as a guiding principle of the story without ever becoming preachy or high handed. This arc was very reminiscent of the original run of Static nearly 30 years ago and I couldn’t be happier over it. My only complaint on the story is there wasn’t enough of a build up to the identity of the Big Bad causing the reveal to fall flat. Beyond that was a very excellent story

However, the artwork did not live up to the story. Nicholas Draper-Ivey’s work seemed rushed and slap-dash. My hot take is that he took on too much at a time, being the full illustrator and colorist of the book and I wonder what would have happened if he were part of an art team, maybe farming out inking or coloring to someone else. Many of his page compositions were well done and carried the story solidly, but I wish I had the chance to see how stunning they would have been if he had the time to polish them completely.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never read much Milestone, back in the day...

Always kept my eye out for Static, though. Plus, Vita Ayala has been killing it across the board for both companies. It's, arguably, one of the most approachable characters in the Dakotaverse.

Give it a shot. It won't disappoint.

[sunkissedmiranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 Stars

This comic team REALLY upped their game. While some of the storylines were a little weak, the way they revamped and characterized Ebon was worth it alone. Genuinely enjoyed this series and I hope there's another series in the future!

[Zachariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series didn't miss

[SaDarius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Static and Ebon is a combination similar to Kobe and Shaq. Also surprise appearance from Anansi? Love it all the way through.