
By Jeffrey A. Brown
What do the comedian e-book figures Static, undefined, and Icon all have in universal?
Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics, and Their Fans provides a solution that is going a ways past "tights and capes," a solution that lies in the challenge Milestone Media, Inc., assumed in comedian e-book tradition. Milestone was once the brainchild of 4 younger black creators who desired to half from the mainstream and do their tales their very own approach. This historical past of Milestone, a "creator-owned" publishing corporation, tells how good fortune got here to those mavericks within the Nineties and the way comics tradition used to be improved and enriched as lovers have been captivated through this new style.
Milestone inquisitive about the African American heroes in a city referred to as Dakota. really quickly those black motion comics took a company place within the controversies of race, gender, and company identification in modern the US. Characters battled supervillains and occasionally even clashed with extra widely recognized superheroes. entrance covers of Milestone comics frequently bore confrontational slogans like "Hardware: A Cog within the company laptop is ready to Strip a few Gears."
Milestone's creators aimed for unheard of tales that addressed racial concerns with out alienating readers. a few opponents, despite the fact that, accused their comics of now not being black adequate or of simply advertising Superman in black face. a few felt that the tales have been too black, yet a wide cluster of readers applauded those new superheroes for fostering African American satisfaction and identification. Milestone got here to symbolize an alternate version of black heroism and, for a bunch of admirers, the suitable of masculinity.
Black Superheroes supplies information about the founding of Milestone and reviews at the safe area of interest its paintings and its photo completed on the market. Tracing the company's historical past and discussing its creators, their works, and the fanatics, this booklet gauges Milestone along different black comedian booklet publishers, mainstream publishers, and the background of costumed characters.