This morning, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee, producer/director Reginald Hudlin and Milestone Media co-founder/artist Denys Cowan announced the creation of “Earth-M,” the brand-new home to the “Dakota” universe of characters from 1993’s Milestone Media and a host of all new characters.
This means that fan favorites such as Static Shock, Icon, Rocket, Hardware, and Xombie will return along with brand new heroes and villains, with the same kind of contemporary and socially relevant tone of storytelling that made Milestone such a groundbreaking imprint in the early 90’s.
“We couldn’t be more proud and excited about the opportunity to bring the ‘Dakota’ universe back to DC,” said Lee. “This is a huge step forward for us in bringing readers a more diversified lineup as part of the New DC Universe, and we’re anxiously looking forward to telling new stories that are socially and culturally impactful and representative of the world in which we live.”
Up to two “Earth-M” hardcover graphic novels will be published ever year, in addition to a number of miniseries and one shot comics. An all-star ensemble of creative talent will bring the characters to life, including Milestone principals Hudlin and Cowan, as well as DCE top guns Lee and Geoff Johns. This agreement also means a revival of Milestone content as collected editions, both in print and digital format.
“Milestone Media was the first company to create a superhero universe full of Black, Latino, Asian, and white superheroes – both gay and straight,” said Hudlin. “Its fan-base was equally diverse. This new relationship will enable us to not only revive classic Milestone characters, but introduce new ones as well. Denys and I have had a great time working with Jim and Geoff as we reinvent the Dakota Universe for the 21st century. We have a lot of innovative ideas – from how the characters are presented to how the books are released – that will excite both new and old fans.”
Original graphic novels, one shots and miniseries are just the first step in an overall Milestone revival, eventually expanding to include action figures and an upcoming Static Shock digital series.
“Milestone Media has a long tradition of bringing multicultural heroes to life and DC Entertainment has always been an industry leader with their innovative approaches,” said Cowan. “Working with Geoff and Jim has been great and Reggie, Derek [Dingle] and I are thrilled to team up with them to bring the Dakota universe of characters back to the fans.”
