This week’s Milestone comic is Icon #6, the continuation of the throwdown between Icon and the Blood Syndicate. This issue throws Rocket into the mix, as she comes to Icon’s “rescue” by taking on the Syndicate. There is a step-by-step formula that the typical super-hero team follows, and Dwayne McDuffie and M.D. Bright utilize it in this issue:

Step 1- Heroes meet

Step 2- Heroes fight

Step 3- Heroes talk

Step 4- Heroes leave with a newfound respect for each other.

Steps 1 & 2 happen immediately as Rocket takes on the Syndicate. They are impressed with her powers and her bravado, and she holds her own against their toughest members. Icon halts their fight by displaying a heretofore-unknown power, some kind of “light fist”, and tells the syndicate that they can fight or they discuss their differences like men. He takes things right to Step 3 at this point, as he wants to get back to his original purpose in seeking out the Syndicate, to get the truth behind the Big Bang.

Before getting down to brass tacks with Wise Son, he takes DMZ aside. The silent member of the Syndicate seems taken aback by this confrontation, especially when Icon speaks some sort of alien language to him. Icon recognized DMZ in the last issue, and this is expanded on in this scene. Icon tells DMZ that he is stranded too, and that perhaps they should pool their efforts. DMZ appears shocked at first (kudos to Bright for conveying this with a full-face mask on DMZ) and agrees with Icon, then flies off. This conversation leaves the Syndicate, Rocket, and the readers with just one question, “what was that all about?” McDuffie leaves the answers for another issue, as Icon gets back to business.

Icon and the Syndicate get deep into Step 3, as they discuss their differing philosophies in regards to justice for the people behind the Big Bang. Icon believes that Truth leads to true justice, and that if people stand and fight to reveal the truth that injustice will never stand. Icon reveals a little bit of his background, admitting that he is a lot older than he seems as he uses historical events of the last two hundred years to illustrate his point. The Syndicate believes that justice doesn’t exist for people like them and that they must always fight to keep what is theirs- their turf. It is here that Rocket, as she once did with Icon, plays the role of the eye opener. She takes this confrontation right to Step 4, as she challenges Wise son with the following question/statement: “You already GOT your turf. You ran the cops off, all the other gangs, the dopers. Paris Island is YOURS. SO what are you going to do with it?”

Step 4 is now reached between the two groups, as Wise Son realizes that Dakota’s dynamic duo has given him something to think about. The heroes have their newfound respect, and all the team-up bases have been covered. We will see the fruits of this confrontation from the Syndicate’s view grow in their own book, but our resident heroes have their own opinions. Icon realizes that he leaves the gang with no more answers than when he started his search, but feels he and Rocket may have accomplished a greater good (by challenging the Syndicate’s M.O.) and vows to continue his investigation into the Big-Bang.

Rocket also realizes that she has seen and heard a lot in this confrontation that she does not understand. What she is positive about is that she knows next to nothing about her partner Icon, and wants to know the truth behind his origins. The issue ends with Rocket demanding the truth, and Icon promising to tell her everything….. next issue of course!

Despite the fact that this issue was very formulaic, it was nonetheless an entertaining read. I liked the interaction between the characters, and it looks like Icon really gave the Syndicate something to think about. I really look forward to seeing the connection with DMZ get fleshed out, and also want to see Rocket’s reaction to Icon’s origins. While the reader has already seen some details, his arrival on Earth for one, I think there may be quite a bit more to our hero’s story. Knowing Dwayne McDuffie’s penchant for surprises, there may be some interesting tidbits in the next issue.

Those revelations will wait for another column though, as next week we cover the next issue of STATIC! Until then, MAKE MINE MILESTONE!

Welcome to another fun filled installment of the phenomenon that has become Milestone Mondays. This week we cover Hardware #8, the issue that delves into the psyche of our titular hero. This issue seems to be designed to give both the reader and Hardware himself insights into his methods and mission. The insight is provided through Curtis Metcalf’s dreams. He dreams of himself as Hardware and the various people he has killed in pursuit of his vendetta against his boss Edwin Alva. Both his victims confront him, and a business suited version of him, as his subconscious attempts to deal with the guilt he is not allowing himself to feel for his acts of violence.

“Business Curtis” takes Hardware on four journeys intent on getting him to “Wake up” and admit he can be a better hero and a better man. The first journey lies in examining his past, including his relationships with his parents and Alva. The second takes him to school, more specifically a class in African American studies taught by the admitted “will – they – or won’t – they?” love interest of the book Barraki Young. The third journey brings him to the set of the “Opra” show (yes they leave the H off of her name so that they wouldn’t get sued, but you know who it is anyway), where the women who have loved him confront him about the wall around his heart. The fourth journey brings him to church, where a preacher tells him of his wrongs (in full on sermon mode), and what he must do to right them.

Hardware is finally left with just “Business Curtis”, as they hash out what they have both learned about each other. Hardware accepts the fact that his armor cannot be so strong that he forgets the person that he really is, and “Business Curtis” accepts the fact that he cannot continue to fight himself. The two personalities realize that they have thrown their tantrum, and it is time to “wake up” and move on.

Curtis then ends the issue by literally doing just that. His subconscious has shown him the way; he can no longer let his anger rule his actions. He knows he can never undo what he has done in his vendetta against Alva, but he can live up to the ideals his parents and others have instilled in him. He can be better, and so can Hardware. He realizes that his mission was at first about vengeance, but now it will be about justice.

This issue is one heck of a trip for the reader, as Dwayne McDuffie takes us on the subconscious highway that is Hardware’s mind. He brings so many interesting things to the script, including the African American studies class that compares the contemporary superhero origin and it’s antecedents in the traditional African trickster tale. I loved the two sides of Curtis’ personalities, business suit and “The Man in the Shell”, as they bounced off of each other all issue. Their interactions show the internal struggle that one man puts himself through as a means of bringing his true feelings to the surface.

JJ Birch is the guest penciller for this issue, and he does a great job. He brings some great images to the table; including having “Business Curtis” sit on a log cabin porch, ALA Uncle Remus, as he begins the journey into his past. It’s also pretty wild to see a baby Curtis in the Hardware armor during the same journey. His artwork seems to me to be a perfect fit for this kind of story, as it is much cleaner and softer than that of regular artist Denys Cowan, who tends to be very angular and gritty.

This issue is custom built to be a good jump on point for the new reader. It shows where the title character has been and sets up the next phase in Hardware’s life as he attempts to continue his mission of bringing Alva to justice. Join me next week as we continue our look back at Milestone comics and look at Icon # 6.

This week we look at Blood Syndicate #7, entitled “Enter the Fox”. This issue crams a lot into its 22 pages. John Wing, leader of the Demon Fox Tong, has sacrificed his wife to “give birth” to the Demon Fox. The Demon Fox seems to be a demon with a Genie/Ifrit like caveat; he must do the bidding of the person who calls him forth. John Wing wants the total destruction of the Blood Syndicate so that he may save face with the other members of the Tong. The Fox agrees, and plans go into motion.

Meanwhile the Syndicate spends more time at their Factory home, as they begin to heal the wounds that their first leader’s (Tech-9) death caused. The gang does some bonding, and learns a lot more about each other’s personal lives. Brickhouse remembers her real name (Marta) while having another one of her seizures. “Seizures” is a bit tame of a description, as when she starts to convulse, her room ends up looking like a demilitarized zone. Later in the issue, Wise Son’s younger brother & Sister show up at the factory, wondering why their big Bro hasn’t shown up at home recently. The site of a little girl pulling a red wagon laying a verbal smackdown on Brickhouse and Dogg is worth the price of the book alone. Just look at this panel and I dare you not to smile!

The book ends with the Demon Fox, disguised in human form as a hot Asian female, rushing to the factory begging for help. Wise Son asks who is after her, when “she” stabs him in the forehead with a mystical object that appears to suck the life from him. The Fox stands revealed to the Syndicate ready to rumble, as their leader’s shriveled up body falls to the ground, seemingly lifeless. Needless to say this issue is “To Be Continued”

Ivan Velez & ChrisCross have formed a formidable team on this book, as their co-operative efforts changed this series for the better. Based on the first few issues, which were chock full of fisticuffs; I was ready to write this book off as just another action book. This makes for a “fun” book to read, but not anything to write home about. Since issue 5, this opinion has changed for me. Velez seems to have realized that you can have all the slam-bang death defying action you want, but without characters that you care about it’s just page filling (ala some early 90’s Image books). Velez has fleshed out his creations, giving them personalities beyond the rage they feel about the “Big Bang”. Now the readers can feel a connection to the Syndicate that goes beyond merely liking when they bust some heads.

Velez also has started to work with one of my favorite devices in comic book storytelling- the subplot. Quite a few get advanced in this issue, as future members of the gang are shown again (the water lady who seems to be stalking Wise Son, and the teenage Asian girl who will become Kwai), while a former member by the name of Templo and the controversy that surrounded him are brought up by Fade and Third Rail. Velez lays some good foundations for future storylines; this along with the strong characterization will keep me coming back for more.

ChrisCross has really cemented the look of this book. I am a big fan of his current stuff, and since this was his first published work (that I know of) it’s fun to look back at. This issue shows another leap forward in quality, as his storytelling abilities start to show some improvement. He shows his greatest strength in his facial expressions, as you can just feel the warmth and humor shining through the pages when the Syndicate and Wise’s siblings interact.

I remember this book being my second favorite Milestone book back in the day, Static being the best, and this issue reminded me why. With the showdown with the Demon Fox coming up, I am psyched to get to the next book. That will wait for another Monday though, as next week we look at another Milestone classic. Join me then!

There is a lot going on in the world of comics as the convention season has begun, and a Marvel icon has paid the ultimate price! Here at Stately Munson Manor, it’s business as usual as its time once again to talk Milestone comics! Today we will cover Static # 5!

In this issue, Static deals with many threats in this issue, from a possible first date (which he doesn’t even remember making) to the terrorist actions of a man with a message. Robert Washington deftly intertwines these two problems in his script so that we see both action of the superhero and the personal kind. Virgil’s first problem is with a girl by the name of Daisy who has a huge crush on him (much like the one he has on Frieda). In typical Virgil fashion, he steps all over his tongue and his dating life does not really get fixed in this issue.

Static’s “big bad” for this first part of a multipart storyline is Commando X, a militant black man who is trying to spread his pro-black/ anti-white message by bombing various locales in Dakota. He believes that by inciting race riots, and planting bombs in places like Jewish temples (because as some of Virgil’s friends say “they control all the money”) and the like that he will get the black community behind him. This plan is thwarted by Static at first, as he disperses a riot at the Jewish temple while simultaneously agreeing to join some local leaders at a peace rally later in the week. However, Commando X takes things to a whole new level when he bombs Virgil’s school, while classes are taking place!

Luckily no one is killed or even seriously injured, but this action cements a feeling among the community, and is represented in a well scripted moment among Virgil and his friends. Commando X may have a point about some racist tendencies still existing; however his method of communicating with the masses leaves a lot to be desired! Static is resolved to use his influence as a hero to speak at a peace rally. Commando X, in typical villain fashion, arrives to squash the rally with more of his rhetoric and Static and he face off. The issue ends with a cliffhanger as Commando X tosses bombs into the crowd at the rally, daring Static to try and save them all!

This issue really hits home with its subject matter, as our post 9/11 world has had its own share of terrorist bombings establishing a climate of fear in many cities. Dakota appears to be a city at the mercy of a man with a message that will do anything to get it heard. I find it a little weird to read an issue with this kind of plot, as I read newspaper and web articles about men and women with different messages than Commando X using bombs as their means of communication. Hard to believe this issue came out 13 or so years ago, it would have also served as a good commentary on our current life and times if it were published today.

As stated, there is a good two page sequence that shows Virgil and his friends after the school bombing where they debate the merits of Commando X’s message. They speak of racism and equality and their dialogue just feels so real. I may be a white male, not used to any sort of oppression or racism, but I can relate to the reactions of Virgil and his friends. I like to think that racism does not permeate our society as it has done before, but it does still exist. When it does rear its ugly head; I, like Virgil and his friends, hope people would choose a peaceful means of resolution. Washington gets this message come across through his dialogue on these pages, and throughout this issue. J.P. Leon does his usual bang-up job on the art chores, and really gets the emotions of Dakota’s citizens across as they deal with a situation that is rapidly spiraling out of control.

Static is a Milestone comic that continues to impress, and I look forward to part 2 of this storyline. I hope that Static not only physically whoops Commando X’s ass, but helps him realize his methods are just plain wrong. Next week we will cover another Milestone memory so join me then!

Hail to the Chief, Baby! It’s President’s Day here in the grand ol’ US of A, but that’s not the real reason to celebrate on this fine Monday. Celebrate far and wide folks because it’s time for another trip to the Milestone universe as we look at Hardware #7 & Icon #5!

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Hardware #7 is final part of the three-part storyline involving our hero’s encounter with the vigilante Deathwish. You may remember from the previous recap that the first two parts of this story left a bad taste in my mouth. Well this issue was at least a little more redeeming in that it provided an explanation into Deathwish’s “mental” issues, and also had Hardware analyzing his own actions in his quest to destroy Edwin Alva.

The issue opens up with Hardware facing a clearly crazed Deathwish in the hotel room that he found him in at the end of the last issue. Hardware is trying to prevent Deathwish, who Hardware notes, “looks as if he is almost in a sort of a trance”, from continuing his killing spree. Deathwish and Hardware tussle, with Deathwish gaining the upper hand by kicking Hardware out a window. Deathwish uses this moment to go for his knife to kill the prostitute he most recently laid down with. Hardware gets back into the room just in time to stop Deathwish using his Taser Projectors. As electricity courses through Deathwish, he begins to come to his senses. Before he eventually passes out from the pain, Deathwish appears to have “snapped out of it” and wonders what he is doing in hotel room holding a knife.

Deathwish awakens to an Omnicannon pointed at his skull, as Hardware has him covered. Hardware tells him that he is the killer that they have both been searching for. This knowledge appears to shake the vigilante to his core, as he remembers the previous killings. He tells Hardware that it “Started out right I just…. I just lost control… you understand don’t you, Hardware? You HAVE to understand. You’re just like me.” Hardware doesn’t know where he is going with this, and asks him what he is talking about. This is the reader’s queue for the obligatory secret origin/ flashback sequence.

Deathwish tells Hardware of his life as a man named Wilt. Wilt arrived home to his wife and son one day, and got the butt of a shotgun to the face from a home intruder. He is tied up along with his family and forced to watch as the intruder raped and killed his wife and son. When he was done with his family, he turned to Wilt and raped him and shot him leaving him for dead. He miraculously survived the gunshot to the head…

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Hardware asks why he killed all those women, and Deathwish’s answer reveals that since the incident he has been impotent. When the prostitutes could not help him with his inability to perform, he would blackout and with no memory of what he did. He remembers now, and realizes he is sick. He tells Hardware “I can’t continue my war until I win the battle in my head… in my heart. I deserve to be punished for my actions, I surrender.”

Hardware is astonished at this turn of events, as Deathwish turns himself in to the police. Hardware goes home to his life as Curtis Metcalf, a life he realizes he has been ignoring in his crusade against Alva. He reflects on Deathwish’s words to him about their similarities, and about not being able to continue in his war without reconciling his head and heart. These words apparently haunt him as he tries to sleep, as his dreams bring a visit from one of the helicopter pilots he fought back in the first issue.

Hardware is sitting in his bed in his armor talking with the survivor of that conflict, the one whose arm he cut off. The pilot asks him if he remembers him, and Hardware acknowledges that he does. The pilot then tells him “it’s not so bad you know….”

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Hardware’s past is coming to haunt him in his dreams, as the words of Deathwish has stirred the guilt he had been feeling for the people he has killed in the name of vengeance. How will this effect Hardware’s future actions, will he give up his violent nature in his quest to take down Thomas Alva? We will find the answers to this in the next issue of Hardware.

Reading this issue was a little disturbing, mainly due to the nature of Deathwish’s origin. It’s a pretty severe act, and obviously damaged this guy in such a manner that caused him to relieve his pain through killing. There are obvious parallels between him Hardware, which seems to be what writer Dwayne McDuffie was looking for in his script. He wanted to show Hardware a person that became so obviously obsessed with a mission that it drove him to become a crazy psychotic killer. With this parallel, he is showing the reader that Hardware could become this if he doesn’t change his course of action. He explains this in an editorial in the letters page of this issue, which I bring to you in its entirety:

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I have often said in this column that I am re-reading these books as I recap them, and reading the first two parts of this story really gave an incomplete picture of McDuffie and Cowan’s overall aim. Reading this third part and the letter page column gave me an appreciation to the storyline as a whole. My initial thought that Deathwish was a wholly unoriginal character (the vigilante who kills has been done to death over the years) has changed somewhat. The character became a mirror for Hardware to gaze into, and hopefully learn from, and I have to give McDuffie kudos for that.

Now on to Icon #5

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This issue of Icon revolves around two storylines, Rocket’s pregnancy and Icon’s “meeting of the minds” with the Blood Syndicate. Both storylines end with someone (I’m not saying who) getting knocked around, so let’s begin with Rocket.

Rocket’s part of the story is short and sweet. She is sitting on a swing set, writing and reflecting about her current pregnancy problem. While she sits, her grandmother comes to her to talk about what she discovered in the last issue.

Raquel’s grandmother is also in a reflective mood, as she tells her about the story of how she came to live in the projects. “After your grandfather passed, you mother and I had to move here. I went to work for the first time in my life. TWO JOBS. But I didn’t mind because my daughter would have better. She was going to get out of this hell hole.” She pushes Raquel on the swing as she continues her tale, “then she came home from school one day… she wasn’t much older than you were now… and she told me she was pregnant. All of a sudden I was supporting not just my daughter, but also her new baby girl. Your mother was a good girl, but she was too young. She wasn’t prepared to raise no child. So, with everything else, I did most of the rearing too….”

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A harsh reality has set in for Raquel, as she is facing a truly “grown up” problem. She decides to try and face it like a grown-up, and confront the father of her unborn child. She goes to find Noble (who you may all remember as one of the gang that Raquel broke into Icon’s house with), and finds him hanging on a street corner in downtown Dakota. She tells him that she is pregnant, and like any ignorant teenager who has been shocked to the core he responds with the worst statement that you could make: “How do you know it was me?”

Raquel’s response:

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Nice right cross huh? Raquel leaves this issue realizing that men are jerks, and that she may just be on her own with this baby.

Meanwhile, on Paris Island, Icon is looking for answers from the Blood Syndicate. Wise Son has already responded to Icon’s questions with violence, and the rest of the Syndicate respond in kind. Icon is trying to talk to the group, but they won’t listen. They believe him to be the mayor’s own super-cop, and as such must be part of the cover up for the Big Bang. As Icon is actually looking into the Big Bang for answers about the cover-up this is quite ironic. The Syndicate accuses him of trying to retake their Paris Island turf for his “master” the mayor, and they won’t stand for it.

Icon’s protests to the contrary are ignored as he tells Wise-Son to stop talking and he would explain everything. Wise Son, clearly not a fan of talk, winds up and swings…. and is stopped as Icon puts up a hand halting Wise’s fist. “You’re very tough Wise Son, and very strong. But not nearly strong enough.” Brickhouse jumps in at this point and asks Icon “Am I strong enough?”, as she punches him so hard he lands blocks away on an abandoned car. DMZ is the first one there, and lifts Icon out of the rubble:

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Hmmm, it appears that Icon may know what DMZ’s story is? Is he an alien like Icon? Answers will be left for later, because as Icon takes flight after DMZ, Flashback uses her powers to bring Icon back in time to when he was still on the ground. The Syndicate then plays “pig-pile on the Icon” and beat the tar out of our hero. He takes the beatings, but the Syndicate eventually overwhelms Icon with sheer numbers. He begins to run on empty as the Syndicate takes their turn throwing punch after punch. As the issue ends, Icon is weary, almost unconscious, as Wise Son is asked what the Syndicate should do with him. “What do we do with him?” he replies to his gang “Man comes into our turf, damn near whups us all and you gotta ask?”

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This issue of Icon was a good continuation of the ongoing storylines that Icon and Rocket are currently dealing with. We are sure to see more about both Rocket’s pregnancy and Icon’s investigation into the Big Bang in coming issues, but this particular story offered one nice little tidbit of information that helps tie together various corners of the Milestone Universe. That would be the Icon/ DMZ throwdown that revealed some sort of a connection between the two. Whether the answers come in Icon or Blood Syndicate remains to be seen, but if the two are from the same planet it means Icon is not alone on Earth. I look forward to seeing the answers unfold on that mystery.

Otherwise, this was a decent issue; both art and story were top notch. I really have to give props to M.D. Bright; his art really helps to convey the emotion of the script. Raquel is clearly torn in the scenes with her grandmother, and Bright shows it in her facial expressions. He has a very clean style, kind of like Rich Buckler, which I really appreciate.

As we wrap up this week’s Triple M, I’d like to leave you with this bit of ad text lifted from “The Company Line” page (Milestone’s version of Marvel’s Bullpen Bulletins page) in these two comics:

“What if a secret group of superhumans had assembled to save humanity from itself? What if a splinter group formed, and began to recruit superpowered individuals in Dakota? Now: suppose the leader of this secret group had the answer to the biggest question in the Dakota Universe? The SHADOW WAR is coming!”

Prophetic words with promises of answers, could this be a hint for a company wide crossover???? We will find out together, so tune in next week for the next issues of Static and Blood Syndicate! Have a great week!