Hello to all my little Munsonites out there, and welcome to anyone who found us via a nice little mention over at Blog@Newsarama.com , are you ready for some more Milestone Mania?!? Good, because this week we are going to cover four, count them FOUR, big comics from Milestone. We are going to cover Static #2, Icon #2, and the first two issues of the fourth core Milestone title – Blood Syndicate! Now before we begin I want you all to join me in a little flashback to week 1 of this column where I mention a little sparking point for the Milestone universe called the Big Bang. Well the explanation of this event starts to unfold in this week’s column so pay attention my Milestone Minions because you don’t want to miss a thing! (Plus there may be a test later so take notes)

We begin this week with a double-barreled shotgun blast of action in Blood Syndicate #1 and #2.

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Blood Syndicate is best summed up by this blurb from issue #2: Super powered survivors of the massacre known as the Big Bang, the Blood Syndicate are all that’s left of Paris Island’s toughest gangs. Holed up in an abandoned factory, they battle to protect their territory, the Dead Zone, from enormous forces that may rip them apart. Their names are unknown. But as Holocaust, Tech 9, DMZ, Brickhouse, Masquerade, Flashback, Fade, Wise Son and Third Rail, they’ve carved out a reputation for brutality that cows all but the very powerful and the very foolish. Don’t ever cross the Blood Syndicate. You won’t survive.Well if that doesn’t make you want to read on, I don’t know what will! Dwayne McDuffie & Ivan Velez Jr wrote both issues of Blood Syndicate, while issue #1 was drawn by legendary artist Trevor Von Eeden (the artist on Black Lightning in the 1970’s!), and issue # 2 was drawn by James Fry (he of Marc Spensor: Moon Knight fame). Issue one starts out in the Chronicle building, home of Dakota’s only daily newspaper. Reporter Roberta (Rob) Chaplik is trying to convince her editor that she needs to go into the most violent area of the city, Paris Island, to interview the Blood Syndicate. Despite his protestations, Chaplik gets her way, and it is her voice that carries us through these two issues as we are introduced to the Syndicate. She journeys on a subway car to Paris Island, a place that no one goes to anymore since the bridge that led to it from Dakota was destroyed. As Rob sits on the train thinking about the people she is going to meet, the power to the car is removed and the train stops. She looks outside the car and sees a huge man standing in the tracks, he introduces himself as Third Rail, and he obviously has the power to absorb electricity (although what he does with it we do not know as of yet) He tells the reporter “This is Syndicate territory. You’re here as my guest and at my whim. Do NOTHING without permission, and EVERYTHING that you are told.” And at this we are treated to the money shot double page spread introduction to the Blood Syndicate:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) First interactions between the gang and Rob are interesting as Wise Son( who appears to be invulnerable) asks who’s the bitch, which prompts a smack down from the woman known as Brickhouse (well like the name suggests she is made of bricks and appears to be DAMN strong!) The Syndicate have a bold plan for the night, as they are going to bust up a crack house or as Holocaust says “we’re going to destroy the means by which the white man’s poison is disseminated in our community” Rob has really come here for the true story behind the Big Bang, but tags along because she has no real choice. In our first bit of foreshadowing in this issue, the gang is being watched by not only the rats in the station, but also a strange furry creature in the shadows (who I don’t think is some warm and cuddly Cookie Monster or anything like that).Tech-9, their leader, then goes over their battle plan to attack their target – the Greenfield Projects. People still live there, but it has become an impenetrable crack house (kind of like the Carter Apartments in the film “New Jack City”…. man Judd Nelson and Ice-T were sooooo much cooler buddy cops than Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, but I digress). Fade is the key for the syndicate to get in to the apartments as he walks through the walls and takes out the guards and opens the front gate, Brick house then demonstrates her strength by taking out the front door. Brickhouse, Holocaust, and Wise Son take fire from the drug dealers while Tech-9 demonstrates his power of providing unlimited ammunition and incredible shooting precision to his guns by blowing off the gunmen’s hands. Rob observes that “He shot the guns right out of their hands. Like something out of an old cowboy movie!”

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Masquerade then leaps into action, transforming his body into that of a lion. He attacks with ferocity and chews up his prey. Third Rail displays his electrical absorption powers bay jamming his hands into a circuit breaker and growing in size and strength. Rob gets a little behind the Syndicate while she observes the violence around her, and takes off alone to try and find Wise Son or Tech-9. She gets into what she calls “what happens next is even more difficult to believe, but I was there, at least, for most of it…”

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Fade’s sister Flashback then uses her power to go back in time three seconds to bowl Rob over to protect her from the gunman’s blast while Holocaust then uses his ability to generate and control fire to roast the gunman alive. Rob has no idea what is going on around her, as she wonders what it was that could change these children into the violent killers she sees in front of her. The Syndicate finds the money, and the drugs (which flashback manages to steal a little bit of) and Holocaust takes it upon himself to start a fire that consumes not only the drugs but also the whole apartment complex itself. Tech-9 does not think that was a good idea, and as the Syndicate gets the innocent people out he confronts Holocaust with some interesting results.

(Click the scans for a larger version!) Which brings us to issue 2, as the battle between the two super powered “Bangers” has begun outside the apartments as Rob is still our narrator. Wise Son steps in however, as he states that a battle of this importance is a private matter and does not get played out anywhere else but in Syndicate territory. The gang follows a self-imposed code of honor that they follow diligently as all members of the gang walk home in silence. Two things of import happen on this walk as the Syndicate think on the battle that is to come, one being Flashback acknowledges her need to smoke up the crack she took from the building and that strange creature from the station appears again. This time however, he seems to be talking to the rats as he looks in awe at the Syndicate exclaiming:

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We are then treated to an interlude where an old woman is talking to some men in armor. She tells the armored men that there is something special that they have been looking for and by rights it belongs to them. They are to go and get it and bring it home to MOMMA. Dead or alive. (I have to say this seemed strange, but like most foreshadowing interludes it will pay off).The Syndicate then arrives back at the Accordion Door Factory they call home. It is a home that used to serve as the financial hub of the city of Dakota, but was now an abandoned decaying building that “stands tall and proud in defiance of it’s circumstances” Rob notes “it’s a fitting home for the Blood Syndicate .” Rob still has interviews to conduct, but notes that since the duel was to begin at dusk she would not have much time to do them in. She decides to start with Tech-9, and as she talks to him she meets the final member of their gang (and one who I find pretty damn cool) Dogg. Yes the Syndicate boasts as a member a dog, but not any ordinary dog. It’s a dog that talks, which Rob discovers by asking how old he is and Dogg replies to her “Old enough to give you puppies!” Tech-9 then begins his story of the night of the Big Bang:

(Click the scans for a larger version!) Holocaust then offers up his story of the Bang:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Rob starts to put things together, realizing that the gas was the key to the powers of the gang and others who survived the Big Bang. She tries to talk to Masquerade, but he wants nothing to do with her. DMZ sits in a silent vigil above the Building illuminating the sky with his lantern. Brickhouse just rambles incoherently about the night and giant lobsters in armor that serve a great power, but she gets frustrated at being unable to remember anything and runs off. Hmmm…. My Munson-Sense tells me that the interlude armor guys might be related to this, but we will have to wait and see! It’s now time for the fight, and Holocaust and Tech-9 let it all out. It’s basically a few pages of banter, fire, and ammunition as Holocaust then comes out on top and prepares to strike a killing blow.Meanwhile, Brickhouse is alone and trying hard to remember things, and as she thinks of a gentle old face the armored men attack (don’t you love it when things come together like this). She fights back screaming that she knows who they are and won’t ever go back, using her immense strength to rip the armored attackers limb from limb.We return to the Dead Zone, as it appears Holocaust is too busy gloating over his victory to come and doesn’t notice Tech-9 creating guns out of mid air (what a great power) and takes him down:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) The Syndicate loses a member, but gain a strong leader. The action then leads back to Brickhouse as the armored men surround her and take her down by using a web filled with gas to knock her out. They prepare to take her back to Mother as they are running late and she will be upset, but our shadowy friend makes his presence known to assist the fallen Syndicate member as he says “my friends you’re going to be MORE than late….”:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Action packed two-issue beginning to a great series! What more can I say about the book that appears to hold some serious insight into the backbone of a major conspiracy in the Dakotaverse. We see the first scenes from the night of the Big Bang, the mystery of which will interweave through each of the Milestone books for some time. I really enjoyed these issues, as they were well written and made great use of foreshadowing (which unlike some X-Men storylines actually paid off). The only problem I had with these two books was the art. There was a huge difference between the first two issues as both artists have distinctly different styles, not as glaring as say Rob Liefeld and George Perez do, but different enough that it seems like after meeting the group in issue 1, that they all look different in issue 2. I did enjoy Fry’s work more than Von Eeden, but they both did decent work. It didn’t jump out at me like the artwork in some of the other Milestone books, but it was still decent. The main characters show a lot of potential, as the Syndicate shows that a gang is not just a group of people, it’s a family as they celebrate Tech-9’s victory and watch each other’s backs in the crack house raid. Add to this a guy who calls himself the Boogeyman, and a talking mutt named Dogg, and you have a pretty diverse cast of characters. Yeah, they are violent, but they want to clean up and protect their turf, and to do that they have to resort to some extreme methods. As an added plus, I love a good mystery and wonder what the Armored crew and “Mother” mean to the Syndicate and perhaps to the Big Bang. I can once again say that this look back got me up for some more reading, so let’s move on to our next big review of Icon #2 (I am a poet and I didn’t even know it… god I am sorry I typed that just now…. I should just delete it…. Nah I’ll just leave it in and maybe you will all laugh at just how pathetic and sad of a joke I made).

(Click the cover for a larger version!) Despite the Dr. Seussian tag line of the cover, these issue things get serious as our heroes get their first taste of action! Icon #2 picks up a little bit before the scene we ended issue #1 with, as we get an explanation for all the cops on the steps of city hall. Apparently four hours prior, Mr. Kevin Franklin who hasn’t been seen in City Hall since the Big Bang six months previously (see there it is again!) decided to take the Mayor hostage. He is looking for Payback and is apparently working with someone on the outside as he holds a shotgun to the mayor’s head and asks to have a little sit down with Mayor Jefferson about the Big Bang.Fast forward to now, and Icon and Rocket are surrounded by the elite police unit known as S.H.R.E.D. ! Yes it’s the first Milestone Agency Acronym! Eat your heart out Marvel!! S.H.R.E.D. (which stands for Special Heavy-Equipment Rapid Emergency Deployment) has our heroes in their sites and are intent on declining Icon’s offer to help them out. Icon complies with the police’s request to put his hands on his head, but Rocket isn’t having anything to do with that. A cop tries to strike her and that is when we see exactly what the belt Icon gave her in issue #1 does, as he can’t even touch Rocket. But she can most certainly touch him:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) The situation rapidly escalates from there as Icon tries to intervene and stop the deterioration of his first public appearance, bullets are fired, innocents are endangered by ricocheting bullets, and Icon and Rocket try and stop the police from attacking them with as little force possible. Icon is amazed at the behavior of the police as they fire at him with no care for the lives they have sworn to protect. He asks for composure from the police, and gets a rifle butt in the face. Icon throws this brazen cop around like he was made of tissue paper as he says “I suggest in the future you refrain from clubbing people in the face with your rifle butt”:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Meanwhile Mr. Franklin is still holding the mayor hostage, and will let her go and stop the violence outside if she just tells him the truth about what happened the night of the Big Bang. If not, then the cops will not have to arrest him for kidnapping, but for MURDER ONE! (queue dramatic music here)Icon has had enough of the situation outside City Hall and orders Rocket to take off. She hesitates at first, but then complies. Icon then surrenders to the police to avoid further trouble, and so that S.H.R.E.D. can continue the operation to free the Mayor. Icon sits in a paddy wagon as he watches the efficiency with which the officers make there way into the building. But as they attempt to scale their way into the building, their covering fire is taken out by a rocket, and the officers attempting to gain access to the building are sitting ducks. Icon can sit still no longer as some goons that appear to be helping the Mayor’s kidnapper cut the officer’s rope line to the building. He springs into action to save the S.H.R.E.D. officer’s life, while screaming out for Rocket to catch the other officer. Rocket comes out of nowhere to save the falling cop, and when she lowers the officer to the ground, asks Icon how he knew she was still around. Icon’s response is a simple one “Because I ordered you to leave”.Now we are left with the Mayor and Kevin Franklin. The Mayor tells him that he is running out of time and that the fighting is getting closer. He confronts her about her role in the event that was the Big Bang. She admits to ordering the police raid on Paris Island, but says that the gas they used on the kids was just tear gas. Kevin responds “The HELL it was, I was there” (uh-oh Munson – Sense is definitely tingling now) as he takes his glasses off and says “all of those kids are DEAD! YOU killed them! I am PROOF of what you did!” Icon and Rocket then make their way into the office, and Icon tells him “Son, you’re obviously in a lot of pain, give me the gun. You don’t need it anymore.” Kevin hands the weapon over and says “Yeah, you’re right….” Then, to quote Christian Slater, the fit hits the shan!:

(Click the scans for a larger version!) Well I guess it wasn’t just gang members that were affected by the gas used at the Big Bang huh?This issue of Icon fleshed out a few things left over from the first issue. Firstly, we see that Rocket has a variety of abilities while wearing her power belt. She can fly, steal the inertial force of an object that comes at her and then redirect the force, and has some sort of force field protecting her from harm. It also begins to illustrate the partnership of Icon and Rocket, as Icon shows that he knows Rocket well enough to determine when she will listen to him and when she won’t. I really liked the exchange between the two of them as they rescued the falling cops, as it suggests a developing trust and instinct between the two that will hopefully be expanded on in later issues. Once again Dwayne McDuffie, the “Babe Ruth” of Milestone comics writers, brings a great script and Mark Bright shows some tight penciling. One thing about his art that I have always liked is his great talent for facial expressions. Just check out Icon and Rocket’s faces when Kevin Franklin changes in front of them. The cocked eyebrow in panel one from Icon is classic. Perhaps it is here that The Rock (of WWE fame) got his People’s Eyebrow! Another great entry into the Milestone Mythos, and another piece to the puzzle that is the Big Bang. Will our next book reveal more about the Big Bang? Let’s take a look together as we check out Static #2!

(Click the cover for a larger version!) Static # 2 is entitled “Everything but the Girl” and begins in Virgil’s bedroom where he is recovering from the beating given to him by Hotstreak last issue. With him is best friend and girl he crushes on Frieda Goren who found out his secret I.D. also at the end of last issue. Frieda is very blunt when she asks why he took the beating from Hotstreak like he did when he had him beaten easily. Virgil is pretty down about himself and to try and change the subject Frieda asks him how he became Static. Here comes the flashback boys and girls, brace yourselves to go back in time!Our hero’s story begins on the day that Frieda and Virgil first met. They were hanging out in the hallway with their mutual friend Larry, and as Larry left the got to talking about various things and seem to have an immediate connection via their ability to banter wittily with once another. Their banter is interrupted however by Biz Money B, a Vanilla Ice wannabe who asks for Frieda’s “digits”. Frieda rebuffs his advances as both she and Virgil basically put a little verbal smackdown on the guy. Frieda leaves Virgil with a shocked expression as she says she would call him later. Perhaps it is this shocked expression that causes him to be taken out by Biz Money B and his rhymin’ and stealin’ beatdown:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) WOW, this guy has a future if Rico Suave ever needs an opening act huh? Virgil tells Frieda that he knew how pathetic he looked sitting on the hallway floor crying like a little kid, but he felt hopeless and that he felt he couldn’t do anything. Larry comes back to save Virgil’s bacon from the third cousin of Marky Mark, and as he is walking him to his bus tells him that he shouldn’t let people put him down like that. He needs to take charge when someone does that and just smoke ‘em, and that if he needs a CAP he can hook him up. Virgil had a long ride home to deal with everything that happened, and once home his day was brightened a little bit by Frieda’s call. This happiness was dashed when Frieda asked him if he was okay after what happened because guys like that always know who to pick on. She said that she knew right away that he was not about that macho stuff and so did they. Virgil obviously took this blow to his manhood to heart because that night he took Larry up on his offer to hook him up with a gun. Larry told him he could find that Vanilla Fudge guy with the rest of his gang on Paris Island that night because the Big Bang was going down and he Biz Money B would be there!This is where we find him next hiding in the shadows with his gun looking to pop a cap in Biz Money B on Paris Island. He has him in his sights while he thinks:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) He just can’t do it as he realizes he just doesn’t have anything like that in him. He throws his gun down into the water and at that moment, the police converge around the gangs and the gassing of the Big Bang kicks in. The cops call for the gas, but something starts to go wrong as all around Virgil people are fighting, and different people screaming that the gas was eating through their masks, officers and gang members alike are all succumbing to it and the last thing Virgil hears is someone saying:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Later Virgil awakes where he says that it feels like a dinosaur used his head for drum practice. He looks around at the various bodies around him. He looks up in the sky and sees “Them. A bunch of flying people. Some glowed, some had wings, some were just shapes.” He then backs up against a brick wall, or what he thought was a brick wall but was really a brick woman, yup it’s the first (unofficial of course) Milestone cross-over as Brickhouse was standing behind Virgil. Next Virgil sees some strange shapes approaching. Shapes that look exactly like(Continuity alert here folks) the Armored men from Blood Syndicate:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Virgil concludes his origin story by telling Frieda that after that night he did a lot of practicing, and as Static he busted crack houses, street thugs and really made a rep until today. When he was confronted once again by Biz Money B, A.K.A. Hotstreak! He beat him once before and couldn’t handle facing him again. Frieda tries to console him by telling him that he beat BMB the first time when he walked away. Virgil doesn’t see it that way, and says “I’ll have beaten him when I’ve kicked his sorry ASS.” He then takes off to find Hotstreak.Hotstreak is of course holding court in a playground hyping up his victory over Static. Our hero of course finds him here and decides to take him down and out:

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Static defeats his foe and his fear by using his brain and displays a new power of some sort of control over sound waves, broadcasting his humiliation of Hotstreak to all his boys over their various boom boxes. Virgil flies back to see Frieda to bring her the triumphant news, and also to fish for a little hero’s reward! What he gets is Frieda’s true feelings for him:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Poor guy, shot down in his moment of glory. At least now we know what the title of the issue really meant. The issue ends with two men in the shadows talking about Hotstreak being defeated in front of all his boys by Static. The “boss” tells his underling to ”Find this Static. Test him. If he’s weak, take him. If he’s strong hire him. If he’s a problem….. SMOKE HIM”This issue was a fun read, and also a revealing read. I really can’t help but draw comparisons to “Ultimate Spider-Man” when I read Static. Both books really deal with teenage issues excellently, and the dialogue is just fun to read. Both books also don’t just have a hero running around and beating people up, as Static # 2 takes us inside the characters heads so we can learn about their personalities. You genuinely begin to feel a connection with each one of Virgil’s friends in this comic. Larry is the protector who seems to see only one way to deal with certain situations. Frieda is not just a pretty face, she has a sense of humor and can keep up with Virgil’s verbal quips. Virgil is a caring, sensitive goofy guy who has a real head on his shoulders. I hope we see more of each of these people and are introduced to some new friends as well. This issue is also important because we see Virgil deal with something pretty heavy, the opportunity provided to him to kill another person to get revenge for a beating. He deals with it like a mature adult and doesn’t resort to a disproportionate response to his hallway humiliation. It’s a great part of the issue and you can feel the emotion coming through the page. Artwork and Story were perfect as McDuffie, Washington, and J.P. Leon just knock the book out of the park.Wow! What a week, and we have only begun to delve into the Milestone universe, my friends. We have just started to uncover some of the secrets of the Big Bang, and you have to wonder where they will lead! Who are the flying people Virgil saw that night, and who are the armored people that want to capture the “bangers”. All I can tell you is that I will find out along with you all because I honestly can’t remember! But in the weeks and months to come we will find out together my little Milestone Minions. Next week we will cover Hardware # 3, 4 and 5 and also Icon # 3. In the meantime, if you’re curious about your friendly neighborhood author, feel free to come check out my own little piece of cyberspace on my homepage (Munsonisms!) at www.munsonisms.blogspot.com. So join me, two dogs, and a Vicar, next week as we continue this walk down memory lane known as Munson’s Milestone Mondays!