Black History Month 2023 will see a bevy of content from DC, with the highlight being a celebration of Milestone's 30th anniversary. DC fans have enjoyed stories featuring heroes such as Black Lightning, John Stewart, Cyborg, Vixen, and more, along with the re-emergence of Milestone characters Static, Hardware, Icon, Rocket, and Blood Syndicate. Some of comics' brightest creators and Milestone Initiative Talent Development Program participants will contribute to an anthology titled DC Power: A Celebration and Milestone Compendium Two, new series will launch for the Dakotaverse, and works from renowned creator Dwayne McDuffie are collected in January and February 2023.
DC Power: A Celebration and Milestone Compendium Two
DC Power: A Celebration follows in the tradition of other cultural anthologies, such as the Ringo Award-winning DC Pride and DC Festival of Heroes. The newest anthology features Green Lantern (John Stewart), Cyborg, Vixen, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Batwing, and others, with stories from writers Chuck Brown (Black Manta, Bitter Root), Stephanie Williams (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, Trial of the Amazons), and Evan Narcisse (Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded City, Marvel's Rise of the Black Panther, Black Panther Wakanda Atlas), plus artists Valentine De Landro (Black Manta, Future State: Superman: Worlds at War), Clayton Henry (Action Comics, Superman Red & Blue, Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands), and others.
Writers Dorado Quick, Morgan Hampton, Jordan Clark, and artist Petterson Oilveira will make their DC debuts. The creators all participated in the latest Milestone Initiative Talent Development Program, part of DC's Talent Development Program. The creators get hands-on teachings and mentorship from the same individuals that bring these high-profile comics to life.
Milestone Compendium Two is a 1,300-plus-page softcover with a cover by Milestone cofounder Denys Cowan. It collects the original stories from the original Milestone talent, and reprints the 1994 Worlds Collide event, where the DC and Dakotaverse characters appeared together for the very first time. DC Power: A Celebration and Milestone Compendium Two go on sale January 31, 2023.
Static: Shadows of Dakota and The DC Universe by Dwayne McDuffie
February 7, 2023 brings the release of the six-issue Static: Shadows of Dakota, the follow-up to Static: Season One. Artist Nikolas Draper-Ivey returns to co-write with Vita Ayala. The DC Universe by Dwayne McDuffie collects DC stories from this beloved writer, who was both a founding member of Milestone Media and the co-creator of the Static Shock animated series. This 280-page collected hardcover features McDuffie-written stories from Action Comics, The Demon, Impulse, JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant, Batman: Gotham Knights (2002), Sins of Youth: Kid Flash/Impulse, and Firestorm: The Nuclear Man.
Icon vs. Hardware
First teased in Icon & Rocket: Season One and Milestones in History, Icon vs Hardware drops on February 14, 2023 and is a five-issue limited series that reunites the Icon & Rocket: Season One writing team of Reginald Hudlin and Leon Chills, with art by Milestone Media cofounder Denys Cowan.
Milestone 30th Anniversary Special
The aforementioned Milestone 30th Anniversary Special releases on February 21, 2023. It's a 96-page prestige format anthology celebrating 30 years of Static, Icon, Rocket, Hardware, and the rest of the Milestone characters. A story by Evan Narcisse finds the current Milestone superheroes encountering their original 1990s counterparts via the powers of a mysterious character known only as Rift. It also features stories written by Chuck Brown, Stephanie Williams, and Nikolas Draper-Ivey, who is also providing art for his story in which Batman Beyond teams up with an adult version of Static, plus a variant cover highlighting the two characters. Along with Denys Cowan and other artists, the anthology features art from Yasmín Flores Montañez, who also participated in the Milestone Initiative Talent Development Program. Cowan provides the main cover to the anthology, an homage to DC's iconic "Flash of Two Worlds" cover from 1961's The Flash #123.
DC Black History Month Variant Covers
There will also be special variant covers spotlighting iconic DC superheroes for Black History Month. The complete list is below:
The Flash #792 (Wallace West/Kid Flash) by Mateus Manhanini, on sale February 7
I Am Batman #18 (Jace Fox/Tiffany Fox/Batwing) by ChrisCross, on sale February 14
Black Adam #8 (Malik White/Bolt) by Taurin Clarke, on sale February 21
Lazarus Planet Omega #1 (Cyborg) by Edwin Galmon, on sale February 21
Wonder Woman #796 (Nubia), by Taj Tenfold on sale February 21
Action Comics #1052 (John Henry Irons/Natasha Irons), by Khary Randolph, on sale February 28
You can take a look at all of the different covers below.