Milestone Returns #0

Hardware: Season One #0

by Reginald Hudlin, Denys Cowan (Penciller), Nikolas Draper-Ivey (Inker)

At long last - the return of the legendary Milestone Comics imprint has kicked into high gear! This jumping-on point one-shot features twenty-four all-new pages chronicling the events of the Big Bang - the police-brutality protest gone wrong that changed the face of the city of Dakota forever, by unleashing a wave of superpowers across its population! As the world watches, a bullied teenager will become the hero known as STATIC… a framed scientist will go on the run as the superweapon HARDWARE… and a stranded alien will meet an ambitious young woman who will transform his life, and remake the pair as the all-powerful ICON & ROCKET!

Also included is the 17-page primer story originally released during the world-famous DC FanDome event, further expanding on our heroes’ origins and where they’re going next… and setting up an entire world of allies, enemies, and surprises!

The original Milestone changed the face of superhero comics forever, introducing the industry to a wave of Black talent who still shape the conversation… and the new Milestone intends to raise the bar! Get on board here!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book

46 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2020

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting! I’ve heard of Milestone before and the characters Icon, Static Shock, Rocket etc but I’ve never watched the TV shows or read the original comics. This was a good introduction which is almost split into two parts. The first part focuses solely on the introduction of the powers that the high school students acquire as well as some brief scenes of Hardware (I wish there were more). The second part introduces the mini series that are going to occur with the relaunch of Milestone. There’s some extremely interesting history behind Milestone so I would definitely recommend checking it out. The pacing of this wasn’t always on par but for the most part it checked out. I think this is going to be a great starting point for those who want to pick up the Milestone comics. It covers a variety of social justice issues as well some day to day issues that average high schoolers typically deal with. The art changes through out the issue. I wasn’t enjoying it at first but it did grow on me. I’m definitely looking forward to the series that will come out of this initial issue!

[A.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Milestone, and I’m very excited it has come back with more exposure than ever. Sadly though, I wasn’t totally thrilled to hear Reginald Hudlin (or as he was famously known as on The Boondocks, Wedgie Rudlin) was the one taking the reigns on Milestone, as he’s kinda an asshole. He was actually called a “culturally insensitive buffoon coasting on his Ivy League Education” by the Boondocks creator, Aaron McGruder, while Hudlin was a producer on the show. Yikes. I say all this because that isn’t even the worst of it, as he was known to be pitching a Milestone relaunch as far back as AT Dwayne McDuffie’s funeral. Yeah let that sink in for a second, especially since he had ZERO connection to the company before McDuffie’s death. McDuffie’s widow is actually suing the whole company for conspiring to take her husbands work for their own purposes, but that’s a whole other thing that I won’t get into here.

So yeah, I have super mixed feelings on this. On one hand I love Milestone, I own every single collected edition they printed, and still have most of Static, Blood Syndicate, Hardware, and Icon in single issues to this day. I even have the mini series’ like Wise Son, Deathwish, My Name is Holocaust, and the World Needs Heroes, so I love this company, but man I hate Reginald Hudlin with a passion. And holy oof this one-shot is fucking rough.

I have been able to read most of the 3 titles that were launched out of this, and they are thankfully much better than whatever the hell this was. It’s split into two halves, with both being written by Hudlin. The first half feels like a bunch of wooden dialogue and rushed art spliced together into this totally incomprehensible three part story. The only part I liked was the Static one at the beginning, but that was mostly for the art and the story itself gets dumb as fuck towards the end once he tries to justify murdering a dude in a school hallway, but Vita Ayala thankfully fixed most of that in Season One. The worst of the lot is the Hardware one though, which got stuck with HORRENDOUS dialogue that makes me cringe everytime I try to read it. You can tell Hudlin wrote this shit.

The second half is a little better but still not great as we see Icon & Rocket look at all the new heroes in Dakota. We get hints for the future with extended looks at Hardware, Static, future members of the Shadow Cabinet, and even a new take on Xombi (which is going to be called Duo), and I feel this half sells the whole concept of the Milestone universe being relaunced alot better. At the same time, it also somehow feels more rushed, with the art looking sloppy as fuck to say the least, and it honestly feels not real just because how loosely connected it seems to be to the story from the first half. Like Static’s section sees him just walk into school, beats up Hotstreak and some unnamed Bang Baby before the police rush in and he dips, and this is all in two pages and just makes me ask a ton of questions. Why is Virgil using his powers in school? Why are bullies doing the same? Why did a SWAT team come barging into a school? None of this makes any sense. When did this even happen?

So yeah, I love Milestone, I will support anything that has to do with these characters, but I hope Hudlin stays as far away from the writing and direction of these characters as possible and lets the creative teams do their own thing. I’m only giving this two stars because I LOVE Milestone and the art by Nikolas Draper Ivey and Jim Lee are great. Everything else is a jumbled mess, but I do like the BLM protest origin more than the gang violence one.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for free during DC Comics FanDome offer: https://www.dccomics.com/DCFanDomeCom....

My rating does not reflect my excitement about the return of the Milestone Universe. I read and collected all the Milestone titles during the original incarnation in the '90s and was very sad when it withered away after just a few years. I look forward to checking out all the new titles in the coming months.

Unfortunately, this comic is basically just an extended advertisement, a printed trailer, for the upcoming titles. It's wooden and herky-jerky, written mostly by Reginald Hudlin with a couple pages by Greg Pak. Neither of those guys have ever been among my favorite writers, and I worry that the new Milestone may be a disappointment without the late Dwayne McDuffie behind the wheel. Still, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Rylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know much about milestone aside from static and Icon and Rocket being in young justice but this was a pretty good introductory read for what’s to come I’m pretty excited to read the other books.

[Kaitlyn Red Wing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great re-introduction to many beloved characters—Static and Icon—and the art style was superb.

While this is setting up the Static, Icon and Rocket, and Hardware series, I felt there wasn't much behind Hardware to really sell the character and get new audiences interested.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to the 3 new series and hoping for their success—and maybe even a Static or Icon movie???

[Frank Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing reintroduction

This was an excellent way to bring these characters back. I'm really looking forward to seeing where these stories go.

[Vincent Stoessel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to see these heroes return. Project has great potential if handled correctly

[Dimelo Maldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good introduction to characters I wasn’t familiar with. Great setting up for the story. Good that they didn’t shy away from current themes. I want to see what happens with static.

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I plan on reading Static by Vita Ayala and wanted to get some background because I haven't read anything with these characters before. It focuses mostly on Rocket & Icon and Static while only touching on some of the other characters. The way the stories are presented lacks cohesion but I'm still curious to see where this goes.

[James Staten · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about time

Still not thrilled about Icon's new costume. However I'm willing to live with it because he's back. They are all coming back.

[Saad Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sign of things to come

Pretty enjoyable reboot of Milestone Media. I love the integration of modern day politics. Just goes to show how some things are as relevant as they were years ago.

Interesting characters and stories. Only real complaint is that things felt a bit rushed and fast paced. But that makes sense as it’s a starter issue. It’ll be fun to see the individual characters in their separate journeys

[Mark Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this brand back in the day. I thought it was so revolutionary in comics then it went under or was bought out. I was disappointed the characters didn't live on in some form. Guess I was wrong. They are back and better than ever.

My favorite is Icon and Rocket. I'm looking forward to this series.

This book was a nice introduction (re-introduction) to the characters with some social issues, racial justice, bullying, etc.

[scribble · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who hasn’t gotten to read many of the Modern Age runs/characters, I loved this being my introduction to the Dakota Verse. Reading and seeing how they integrated current events like Black Lives Matter was emotional and important.
Absolutely loved the more manga-esque pages and I’m definitely excited to read more about Static.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great return of a fantastic brand!

I loved the premier issue and can’t wait for subsequent novels to be released! I also love that it’s a digital book. It looks great on my iPad!

[PMoslice · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible retelling of a classic story.

[Egypt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I should have bought them all

What a powerful introduction! Didn't know about these comics but man...I'm happy I do now! Great read, art and story! Definitely hooked!

[The Fizza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS - This is a great re-imagination of the Milestone Universe and shows a lot of potential... I'm hoping that potential will be fulfilled.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one shot is largely just an "extended" teaser of sorts. I really liked the original Milestone and thought DC had done them a disservice with cancellations and false starts.

I really like that they brought Dharma back and the promise of "weirdness". My kind of stuff. I'm really awaiting Xombi and Kyle Baker's Static Shock.

[James Rodrigues · Rating 3 out of 5]

An issue that sets up the rebooted Milestone stories, focusing on Static, Icon and Rocket, and Hardware. I quite liked the retooling of the Big Bang to be at a BLM protest rather than at a gang war, I'm also interested in Icon and Rocket from what I've seen, although the others vary on my interest from what I've seen here. A mixed bag of set-up for one issue.

[True Sankofa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great jumping on point introducing the main characters of Milestone for a new generation with a updated origin of the Big Bang, the event that gave the people of Dakota super powers.

[Colin Oaten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reboot of the Milestone Universe of titles, a much underrated imprint with a timely return in light of the recent Black Lives Matter movement.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

At long last, some incredible art.