Creative teams for STATIC, ICON & ROCKET, and HARDWARE relaunches revealed

Vita Ayala, Brandon Thomas, and Khary Randolph are among the new and returning creators for DC’s slate of Milestone Returns titles.

By Joe Grunenwald– 02/26/2021 12:15 pm

Today DC Comics released the digital edition of Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0, the expanded version of the comic that originally debuted at the Fandome event last year. Along with new story pages, the issue also features ads for the three forthcoming new Milestone Returns titles – Static, Icon & Rocket, and Hardware – that reveal their creative teams. The house ads also reveal that each series, announced as digital-first earlier this month, will be available same-day on the DC Universe Infinite service.

Check out the house ads featuring the newly-announced Milestone Returns creative teams, along with the descriptions for each series from DC Comics:

he new six-issue Static series will be written by Vita Ayala, with art by ChrisCross and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. Khary Randolph will provide covers for the series, which debuts in April.

IN THIS MONTHLY MINISERIES (20 PAGES PER ISSUE), BULLIED NERD VIRGIL IS GIFTED WITH INCREDIBLE ELECTROMAGNETIC POWERS IN THE WAKE OF THE BIG BANG. NOW HE FINDS HIMSELF CAUGHT BETWEEN AN OVER-MILITARIZED POLICE RESPONSE TO BLACK KIDS GETTING SPECIAL ABILITIES AND SOME OF THOSE KIDS WHO ARE USING THOSE POWERS IN DANGEROUS AND DESTRUCTIVE WAYS. BUT WHEN THE BULLIES WHO TERRORIZED HIM BEFORE THE BIG BANG SHOW UP WITH POWERS OF THEIR OWN, CAN STATIC BE THE HERO THAT DAKOTA NEEDS?

The new Icon & Rocket series, arriving in June, will be written by Reginald Hudlin & Leon Chills, with art by Doug Braithwaite and covers by Taurin Clarke.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SUPERHEROES ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? WHEN RAQUEL ERVIN BROKE INTO THE HOME OF A WEALTHY BLACK LAWYER, SHE DIDN’T EXPECT TO LEARN THAT HE WAS A NEARLY OMNIPOTENT ALIEN, LOST IN DESPAIR OF EVER RETURNING HOME—AND HE DIDN’T EXPECT THAT SHE WOULD INSPIRE HIM TO EMERGE FROM THE SHADOWS AND BECOME A FORCE FOR CHANGE ON THE PLANET HE’S TRAPPED ON. WHAT STARTS OUT AS A SIMPLE REQUEST TO STOP THE DRUG TRAFFICKING IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD TURNS INTO A MISSION TO ELIMINATE THE DRUG TRADE WORLDWIDE. HOWEVER, THIS ACT OF HEROISM HAS UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES, MAKING THE PAIR THE TWO MOST WANTED CRIMINALS IN THE WORLD WHEN ACTUALLY STOPPING CRIME LEADS TO THE COLLAPSE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY!

The third series, Hardware, will come from the creative team of Brandon Thomas, Denys Cowan, and Bill Sienkiewicz. Artist Mateus Mahanini will provide covers when the series arrives in August.

ALL HIS LIFE, YOUNG PRODIGY CURTIS METCALF WAS TOLD HE WAS SPECIAL, AND THAT HE WOULD SAVE THE WORLD. BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT ALVA INDUSTRIES WANTED HIS BEAUTIFUL MIND FOR SOMETHING A LOT LESS NOBLE THAN THAT—AND HIS TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE HIM THE FALL GUY FOR THE TRAGEDY OF THE BIG BANG. BUT CURTIS IS SMART ENOUGH TO NOT GO OUT LIKE THAT—AND SMART ENOUGH TO STEAL HIS INVENTIONS BACK FROM ALVA AND START THE PROCESS OF REMAKING THE WORLD HIS WAY.

The creative teams feature a mix of new talent and returning Milestone creators, signaling that the Milestone Returns initiative will be as much about pushing the imprint forward as celebrating its history. The decision to release each series same-day on DCU Infinite is also a bold one, and, along with today’s earlier news about the Batman/FortNite crossover also being available same-day on the service, is further incentive to drive new subscribers to the service.

The first issue of the new, monthly six-issue Static miniseries arrives digitally and on DC Universe Infinite on Monday, April 12th.