(standing ovation) "If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director?" -- Charles L Grant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2009 04:36:28 +0000 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] DC Screws McDuffie and Buries Milestone I'm too depressed to comment. I was with Milestone from the first issues of Hardware, Static ("Don't Start None, and there won't be None!"), Blood Syndicate, then later, "My Name is Holocaust", "Shadow Cabinet", Xombi. Great stuff, great to see black people in major roles in comics. Hell, great to see a black female character finally drawn with a *butt*! I was heartbroken when Milestone died, and cautiously optimistic when DC pulled this deal. I just never felt that a company that caters to the mainstream was going to be able, capable, or willing to treat characters of color with respect, and guess I was right. Damn shame. I do wonder though, why did the guys license away all their rights wholesale? Why the hell not work out a deal where they could lease them out temporarily, or only for specific projects? But to give away all rights in perpetuity to your creations--not a good move! ----- Original Message ----- From: "ravenadal" <ravena...@yahoo.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2009 9:58:06 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] DC Screws McDuffie and Buries Milestone http://selux.notlong.com DC Screws McDuffie and Buries Milestone Source: Pop Culture Shock Pop Culture Shock posted a great article here about the plight of Dwayne McDuffie and the Milestone characters. I am not going to go over the ins and outs of the events leading up to the subject of the article, but to summarize my understanding is that DC signed McDuffie to write for the JLA, and then handcuffed him by taking away the Big 3 (Supes, Bats, and WW) and then basically limiting him to the C,D and E team characters. As part of DCs overall deal with McDuffie, they also acquired the Milestone line of characters, including Static. Obviously, due to the popularity of Static, its apparent that the whole thing was to get control of Static for use in the DC universe. EDIT: BTW-check out the Pop Culture Shock link because it has an interview with McDuffie about the whole ordeal. http://www.popcultureshock.com/didio-plans-milestoners-static/50200/ I am pretty sure that DC's committment to integrating the Milestone characters into the DC universe was a temporary ruse. It seems that DC is notorius for picking up popular characters and comic lines just so they can't be used anywhere else. So, here we have DC picking up Milestone and deciding not to use the characters at all, except for the one they wanted: Static (now appearing as a member of Teen Titans). The end result being that McDuffie can't even use or license those characters to anyone else (Marvel), or use them in a relaunch of Milestone (not saying that was likely, but the time IMO is right). DC takes the characters and places them on the shelf. Can't say I'm not surprised to see McDuffie get screwed over by DC. It isn't like they were very welcoming from the get go. I remember how hyped I was when Milestone first started. Comic books for black people by black people. Recently, I evengot copies of every single Milestone comic. It was revolutionary and those guys were ahead of their time. It was also giving black artists and writers who weren't getting gigs at Marvel and DC a place to showcase their talent and many careers were launched as a result. At that time there wasn't a lot of support for Milestone, and it didn't stay around long enough. But I think that now would be the ideal time for something like Milestone. With the success of Blade and Will Smith at the box office, the rise of the webcomics and iPhone comic viewers, and the future of comic distribution, I have no doubt that Milestone would have been successful on a relaunch. I know that McDuffie & Friends hold these characters dear to their hearts (and wallets) and I know that they ultimately bear the responsibilty(DC probably gave them a boatload of money) for the fuckery that DC is perpetuating against them (just because I pay for the sex, doesn't mean I want to get raped). So, here's to you DC, for showing your ass once again. _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you’re up to on Facebook. http://windowslive.com/Campaign/SocialNetworking?ocid=PID23285::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:SI_SB_facebook:082009
