Milestone is back!
What I thought
What happened- Virgil is still recovering from the physical and psychological fallout of the Big Bang (SEE Milestone Returns for details). The last time he attacked Hotstreak he almost killed him. No one at school besides his friends Frieda and Richie and Hotstreak knows that he has powers. They are concerned about him but he’s playing it off. At home that night, while the family decides what to do with Virgil he is attacked by Hotstreak. In the ensuing battle, Virgil gains the upper hand but Virgil is distracted by his family and his home is engulfed in flames.
Emotion- This issue was triggering for me in many ways. The contrast between what his normal nuclear family was like before the incident fractured them reminded me of just how devastatingly my father’s death hit our own family. We never recovered. It changed us irrevocably. I expect the same thing to happen with Virgil and his family because of the Big Bang. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.
Family- I got misty-eyed watching the interaction between Virgil and his sister. It reminds me of better days before my own relationship with my sister became strained as hell. While the parts and talking about how to handle Virgil as if he is not a human being she sees him as a person. Their interactions show the care of a sister to a brother, it’s loving but not overbearing.
Social commentary– As a non-American with a very large American fan base, Black Lives matter and the racism that affects those being black in America face is not part of my lived reality. Honestly, the only protest I have ever been involved in was when more than fifteen years ago while at university we chained up the gates of the institution because they had threatened to de-register us because we could not pay the day school fee within a month of arriving at the institution. We were tear-gassed. It was not pleasant. Watching the Black Lives matter protest from the outside looks damn scary. It reminds me of the civil rights movement. Watching George Floyd having his neck kneeled on to the point of death brought my mother and me to tears. America is scary if you’re black. That is the reality. Also, check the panel at the bottom right, the media spinning the narrative of the protesters being at fault stings since that’s exactly what happened in real-life BLM protests.
Art– A huge part of the allure of this issue is the art courtesy of Nikolas Draper-Ivey and Chriscross. What has been accomplished in this issue is just lightning in a bottle. I bow down to your legendary talent. The art Panel layout is fire. Straight up this may be one of the most dynamic and sleek books of 2021!
Cover-My man Chriscross did the standard cover at it is straight fire!
Black hair-So many styles, so black, so fly! I am in love with this book and can only imagine the impact that imagery like this will have on the young black mind. I am in love with Static’s hair and the many styles. In my country, the length of my hair is an issue. I pretty much need to wash my hair, oil it and just brush it back. Anything like Static and I’m called in for “professionalism”. I even have a student with African locks and they need to be “covered”. Why? Apparently, it’s not a “professional” hairstyle and is unacceptable. I keep asking the “powers that be” why this is an issue but women can flash fry and straighten their hair and that’s acceptable.
Verdict
If your a collector buys this issue. Love to complain about diversity in comics? Buy this issue. Milestone fan? Buy this issue! Static Season one #1 is beautifully illustrated and just maybe one of the best pieces of work of Vita Ayala’s career! Hell! This could be the start of the best comic series of 2021! After years of delays. The legal drama behind the scenes all I can say is welcome back Milestone, we have missed you! 4/5 stars