Comic Vine News

104 Comments

DC Talks Diversity in Its Creators and Updates Readers on Milestone's Return

"I think we've made great steps, but we're always going to need to improve ourselves."

During DC Breakfast hosted on the Thursday of Comic-Con, Co-publishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee spoke to the press about the future of DC comics and their current event, Rebirth. With this newest initiative, the company brought the characters back to their core to reestablish what makes each one of them great. Thus far, it has been a success.

No Caption Provided

"When we look at the numbers of Rebirth, they're at New 52 levels," explained Lee. He went on to say that June--when Rebirth started--was the biggest month in all of comics since 1997. "We're seeing this very strange phenomenon of issue 2s outselling issue 1s, which I've never seen anything like that. Usually, issues transitions 1 down to 4, but we're actually seeing them go up at 2 and seeing them cresting at 3 and 4."

Aside from bringing these characters back to the essence of what made them great, DC has been pushing towards having more diverse characters within the realms of sex, race, and orientation, since the New 52 started, which includes its DC You campaign. Now, the company has reached out to diverse creators to tell these stories.

"We launched DC You at a particular point because it allowed us to concentrate and focus on diversity in different ideas and different styles of storytelling," explained Didio. "It was a risk worth taking."

Didio went on to explain that it's more than just the characters mirroring the likeness of the fanbase: "The interesting thing about the diversification now is that we're watching this grow naturally. There's a huge push for female creators and rightfully so. Now, it's become part of the conversation, not something that feels like it has to be addressed, but something that is naturally addressed. I think we've made great steps, but we're always going to need to improve ourselves."

At 2015's Comic-Con, DC revealed that Milestone would be returning. The former imprint featured African-American creators working on books that featured incredibly underrepresented minority characters. Most notably, Static Shock was one of the biggest hits.

No Caption Provided

However, since last year, there's been no news about its return. Writer of the upcoming comic Deathstroke, Christopher Priest--who is best known for his now iconic run on Black Panther--stated that the gears are still in motion for Milestone to return.

Jim Lee explained that writer Reginald Hudlin, who plays a major role in Milestone coming back, has been directing a few films, and the return of Milestone is moving at a slower pace. Fans may be disappointed with the amount of time it is taking, but it will eventually happen.