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Milestone Compendium Five
- GenresComics
1344 pages, Paperback
Published July 21, 2026
About the author
Dwayne McDuffie
439 books75 followersDwayne McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television. His notable works included creating the animated series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and co-founding the comic book company Milestone Media.
He co-hosted a radio comedy program, and also wrote under a pseudonym for stand-up comedians and late-night television comedy programs. While working as a copy-editor for a financial magazine, a friend got him an interview for an assistant editor position at Marvel Comics.
While on staff at Marvel as Bob Budiansky's assistant on special projects, McDuffie also scripted stories for the company. His first major work was Damage Control, a series about the company that shows up between issues and tidies up the mess left by the latest round of superhero/supervillain battles. While an editor at Marvel, he submitted a spoof proposal for a comic entitled Teenage Negro Ninja Thrasher in response to Marvel's treatment of its black characters. Becoming a freelancer in early 1990, McDuffie followed that with dozens of various comics titles for Marvel comics, DC Comics, and Archie Comics.
In 1992, wanting to express a multi-cultural sensibility that he felt was missing in comic books, McDuffie co-founded Milestone Media, a comic book company owned by African-Americans.
After Milestone had ceased publishing new comics, Static was developed into an animated series Static Shock. McDuffie was hired to write and story-edit on the series, writing 11 episodes.
McDuffie was hired as a staff writer for the animated series Justice League and was promoted to story editor and producer as the series became Justice League Unlimited. During the entire run of the animated series, McDuffie wrote, produced, or story-edited 69 out of the 91 episodes. McDuffie also wrote the story for the video game Justice League Heroes.
McDuffie was hired to help revamp and story-edit Cartoon Network's popular animated Ben 10 franchise with Ben 10: Alien Force, continuing the adventures of the ten-year-old title character into his mid and late teenage years. During the run of the series, McDuffie wrote episode 1-3, 14, 25-28, 45 and 46 and/or story-edited all forty-six episodes.
On February 22, 2011, McDuffie died from complications due to a surgical procedure performed the previous evening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_M...
He co-hosted a radio comedy program, and also wrote under a pseudonym for stand-up comedians and late-night television comedy programs. While working as a copy-editor for a financial magazine, a friend got him an interview for an assistant editor position at Marvel Comics.
While on staff at Marvel as Bob Budiansky's assistant on special projects, McDuffie also scripted stories for the company. His first major work was Damage Control, a series about the company that shows up between issues and tidies up the mess left by the latest round of superhero/supervillain battles. While an editor at Marvel, he submitted a spoof proposal for a comic entitled Teenage Negro Ninja Thrasher in response to Marvel's treatment of its black characters. Becoming a freelancer in early 1990, McDuffie followed that with dozens of various comics titles for Marvel comics, DC Comics, and Archie Comics.
In 1992, wanting to express a multi-cultural sensibility that he felt was missing in comic books, McDuffie co-founded Milestone Media, a comic book company owned by African-Americans.
After Milestone had ceased publishing new comics, Static was developed into an animated series Static Shock. McDuffie was hired to write and story-edit on the series, writing 11 episodes.
McDuffie was hired as a staff writer for the animated series Justice League and was promoted to story editor and producer as the series became Justice League Unlimited. During the entire run of the animated series, McDuffie wrote, produced, or story-edited 69 out of the 91 episodes. McDuffie also wrote the story for the video game Justice League Heroes.
McDuffie was hired to help revamp and story-edit Cartoon Network's popular animated Ben 10 franchise with Ben 10: Alien Force, continuing the adventures of the ten-year-old title character into his mid and late teenage years. During the run of the series, McDuffie wrote episode 1-3, 14, 25-28, 45 and 46 and/or story-edited all forty-six episodes.
On February 22, 2011, McDuffie died from complications due to a surgical procedure performed the previous evening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_M...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 12, 2026
Five compendiums, each worth 1000+ pages of a shared superhero universe. An incredible achievement and an immensely enjoyable ride.
I will rank each compendium as well as each Milestone comic at the end of this review.
It’s been about a year since I’ve read Milestone Compendium Four and I could continue with this volume just fine. I will be honest that the ending to most of the series and the shared universe as a whole is sloppy. Apparently at the end of the 90s, the Milestone line folded quicker than the creators were able to resolve open storylines. But this collection also includes Milestone Forever #1-2, which was published more than a decade later, that does resolve the most jarring open plot threads. Nice!
On the other hand, this means that most of the Milestone series in this volume still feel like ongoing series and some of them have major story arcs that are fun and important. There’s even a new series here, Heroes, which is this universe’s answer to the Avengers, one that I enjoyed immensely, even though it’s only 6 issues. Well, there’s also the Wise Son mini-series, which I hated like no other series in the line.
3/4 of this collection includes the final issues of the Milestone line in the 90s, while the final quarter shows publications in the 2000s and 2010s. The artwork and writing do feel different in the more recent publications, but they are meaningful to the line and read well collected in here, offering either a closing point or a look at possible futures of the heroes. Many of them operate under the Static branding, but they feature the entire universe.
I wholeheartedly recommend this set of 5 compendiums, if that wasn’t clear. Go get the first volume and see how great superhero comics can be!
Ranking of the compendiums (favourite to least favourite)
Milestone Compendium Vol. 1 Knowing nothing about this universe, expecting to need months to finish such a huge book, only to find out that these comics are incredibly engaging, consistent and connected in a remarkable way. I think I finished this in the span of a few days.
Milestone Compendium Vol. 3 I love the Kobalt ongoing, which is almost fully collected here. A big chunk of Shadow Cabinet is here, which isn’t great. Deathwish gets a mini-series that is quite forgettable.
Milestone Compendium Four The Long, Hot Summer crossover drags a little and unfortunately disrupts all other ongoing series to deal with it. Xombi returns and is quite fun. Holocaust gets a mini-series that’s also great.
Milestone Compendium Vol. 2 The crossover with the DC Universe is a mess. The Shadow Cabinet series starts here, but never quite finds its footing. The 4 main runners, Icon, Static, Hardware and Blood Syndicate, are fantastic though.
Milestone Compendium Five It has a lot of Static and Hardware and both of those series were quite weak and dragged at the end of the line. The Wise Son mini-series is absolutely awful. But I still liked a lot of comics in this volume.
Ranking the ongoings and mini series (favourite to least favourite)
Icon (and Rocket): 42 issues of greatness. My favourite take on Superman; it seems all it takes to make him interesting is giving him a mortal sidekick (and not make him evil, duh). This series finds the right mix between street-level superheroics, battling aliens on a foreign planet and diving into the history of humanity, while never growing stale.
Kobalt: Kobalt is badass and this comic is basically a training montage of his sidekick, while slowly figuring out the identity and history of his sensei. It’s only 16 issues, but those are packed with action, morale and badassery.
Blood Syndicate: X-Men, but rooted in crime and poverty instead of racial prejudice. It works, because the power set of the group is fun and the roster changes frequently throughout the entire 35 issues. From talking dogs to reincarnated goddesses, this comic is a well of ideas.
Heroes: The continuation of Shadow Cabinet, which strips away all the bad parts and makes this a great team book. I could have done without Static and I would have liked more than 6 issues of this, but those 6 issues are packed with really fun ideas. Also Donner & Pro Wrestling.
Xombi: This one is not connected to the rest and is the Milestone version of a Vertigo title: Fully embracing the weird and channeling the strange. It ended way too soon with issue 21, as I could see they were going for a much larger story that never came to fruition.
Hardware: This started out very strong, but got its status quo shaken in a major way. Twice. And it hurt the book, because by the end the motivation of Hardware was questionable at best. A shame, because the first half is one of the best takes on Iron Man I’ve seen.
Deathwish: This mini-series spins out of Hardware and I’ve completely forgotten what it’s about, so I’m placing it just below Hardware…
My Name is Holocaust: A good mini-series about a villain who connects through all the titles. The mini-series itself is fun as well.
Shadow Cabinet: The very first crossover in the line and it expands the roster by a lot. The ongoing that follows is not able to deal with such a big roster, however, and it makes it hard to follow the storyline. It’s very important to the story of the universe though.
Static: Ugh, I can’t with this kid. This is the most popular title of the line and I don’t understand why. Sure, it’s a Spider-Man clone, but a bad one, in my opinion. The protagonist is disrespectful to his family and friends all the time and even cheats on his girlfriend during the series! There are some good standalone stories in the 45 issues, but his power set doesn’t offer good back-and-forth fights with his villains either.
The Long, Hot Summer: It’s quite long, yes. Given that nothing important really happens, aside from the major plot point in Hardware’s ongoing, it’s way too long.
Worlds Collide: Sure, it’s exciting to see how the DC Universe plays with the Milestone heroes. But grouping characters with similar power sets together and honouring the continuities means nothing major is allowed to happen here, and this crossover quickly drags into a boring toothpaste.
Wise Son: The White Wolf: This is the only comic in this entire list that I actually hate. Take the least interesting member of the Blood Syndicate, involve him in a racial conflict with Nazis and have him reduce himself to a drug addict. Use artwork that is barely decipherable and writing that is bloated to the point that it disrupts the already hideous artwork and you’ve got the recipe for a truly awful comic. Also nothing happens here that affects anything in the Milestone Universe.
I will rank each compendium as well as each Milestone comic at the end of this review.
It’s been about a year since I’ve read Milestone Compendium Four and I could continue with this volume just fine. I will be honest that the ending to most of the series and the shared universe as a whole is sloppy. Apparently at the end of the 90s, the Milestone line folded quicker than the creators were able to resolve open storylines. But this collection also includes Milestone Forever #1-2, which was published more than a decade later, that does resolve the most jarring open plot threads. Nice!
On the other hand, this means that most of the Milestone series in this volume still feel like ongoing series and some of them have major story arcs that are fun and important. There’s even a new series here, Heroes, which is this universe’s answer to the Avengers, one that I enjoyed immensely, even though it’s only 6 issues. Well, there’s also the Wise Son mini-series, which I hated like no other series in the line.
3/4 of this collection includes the final issues of the Milestone line in the 90s, while the final quarter shows publications in the 2000s and 2010s. The artwork and writing do feel different in the more recent publications, but they are meaningful to the line and read well collected in here, offering either a closing point or a look at possible futures of the heroes. Many of them operate under the Static branding, but they feature the entire universe.
I wholeheartedly recommend this set of 5 compendiums, if that wasn’t clear. Go get the first volume and see how great superhero comics can be!
Ranking of the compendiums (favourite to least favourite)
Milestone Compendium Vol. 1 Knowing nothing about this universe, expecting to need months to finish such a huge book, only to find out that these comics are incredibly engaging, consistent and connected in a remarkable way. I think I finished this in the span of a few days.
Milestone Compendium Vol. 3 I love the Kobalt ongoing, which is almost fully collected here. A big chunk of Shadow Cabinet is here, which isn’t great. Deathwish gets a mini-series that is quite forgettable.
Milestone Compendium Four The Long, Hot Summer crossover drags a little and unfortunately disrupts all other ongoing series to deal with it. Xombi returns and is quite fun. Holocaust gets a mini-series that’s also great.
Milestone Compendium Vol. 2 The crossover with the DC Universe is a mess. The Shadow Cabinet series starts here, but never quite finds its footing. The 4 main runners, Icon, Static, Hardware and Blood Syndicate, are fantastic though.
Milestone Compendium Five It has a lot of Static and Hardware and both of those series were quite weak and dragged at the end of the line. The Wise Son mini-series is absolutely awful. But I still liked a lot of comics in this volume.
Ranking the ongoings and mini series (favourite to least favourite)
Icon (and Rocket): 42 issues of greatness. My favourite take on Superman; it seems all it takes to make him interesting is giving him a mortal sidekick (and not make him evil, duh). This series finds the right mix between street-level superheroics, battling aliens on a foreign planet and diving into the history of humanity, while never growing stale.
Kobalt: Kobalt is badass and this comic is basically a training montage of his sidekick, while slowly figuring out the identity and history of his sensei. It’s only 16 issues, but those are packed with action, morale and badassery.
Blood Syndicate: X-Men, but rooted in crime and poverty instead of racial prejudice. It works, because the power set of the group is fun and the roster changes frequently throughout the entire 35 issues. From talking dogs to reincarnated goddesses, this comic is a well of ideas.
Heroes: The continuation of Shadow Cabinet, which strips away all the bad parts and makes this a great team book. I could have done without Static and I would have liked more than 6 issues of this, but those 6 issues are packed with really fun ideas. Also Donner & Pro Wrestling.
Xombi: This one is not connected to the rest and is the Milestone version of a Vertigo title: Fully embracing the weird and channeling the strange. It ended way too soon with issue 21, as I could see they were going for a much larger story that never came to fruition.
Hardware: This started out very strong, but got its status quo shaken in a major way. Twice. And it hurt the book, because by the end the motivation of Hardware was questionable at best. A shame, because the first half is one of the best takes on Iron Man I’ve seen.
Deathwish: This mini-series spins out of Hardware and I’ve completely forgotten what it’s about, so I’m placing it just below Hardware…
My Name is Holocaust: A good mini-series about a villain who connects through all the titles. The mini-series itself is fun as well.
Shadow Cabinet: The very first crossover in the line and it expands the roster by a lot. The ongoing that follows is not able to deal with such a big roster, however, and it makes it hard to follow the storyline. It’s very important to the story of the universe though.
Static: Ugh, I can’t with this kid. This is the most popular title of the line and I don’t understand why. Sure, it’s a Spider-Man clone, but a bad one, in my opinion. The protagonist is disrespectful to his family and friends all the time and even cheats on his girlfriend during the series! There are some good standalone stories in the 45 issues, but his power set doesn’t offer good back-and-forth fights with his villains either.
The Long, Hot Summer: It’s quite long, yes. Given that nothing important really happens, aside from the major plot point in Hardware’s ongoing, it’s way too long.
Worlds Collide: Sure, it’s exciting to see how the DC Universe plays with the Milestone heroes. But grouping characters with similar power sets together and honouring the continuities means nothing major is allowed to happen here, and this crossover quickly drags into a boring toothpaste.
Wise Son: The White Wolf: This is the only comic in this entire list that I actually hate. Take the least interesting member of the Blood Syndicate, involve him in a racial conflict with Nazis and have him reduce himself to a drug addict. Use artwork that is barely decipherable and writing that is bloated to the point that it disrupts the already hideous artwork and you’ve got the recipe for a truly awful comic. Also nothing happens here that affects anything in the Milestone Universe.
September 27, 2026
This volume is really uneven, but the good parts are so great that I have to give this 4 stars.
September 29, 2026
The Milestone line of comics is an extraordinary achievement. Go get the first 4 and meet me back here.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews