Milestone Forever

According to this post over at DC's The Source blog, original Milestone Comics editor-in-chief Dwayne McDuffie is teaming with several artists who worked on the original Milestone Comics line back in the 1990s to wrap up the stories that were being told in those books before the line was canceled. It also sounds like it'll somehow transition the characters from their separate Milestone-verse to the DCU proper, where we've already seen them show up in the pages Justice League and Teen Titans.

McDuffie will team with John Paul Leon, Mark Bright, Chris Cross and Denys Cowan to wrap up the stories from Hardware, Icon, Shadow Cabinet, Blood Syndicate and Static. I figured we were well past ever seeing these characters again in their original environment, so this is welcome news, even if it is "a bittersweet tale that chronicles the literal end of a universe."

Also, a reminder: the programming schedule is out, so you can start putting together your to do list. This post at the Daily Cross Hatch, which includes a rundown of what various indie comic creators will be doing at the show, might also be helpful.

Creators | Remember those Colleen Coover Clue drawings Kevin linked to in May? Turns out she's turned them into blank cards and will have them at the show. She'll also have some new buttons.

Creators | Joëlle Jones will have a new sketchbook featuring the seven deadly sins at the show.

Comics | Wildstorm will distribute a free primer on their universe of characters -- Authority, Gen13, etc. -- at the con. Titled This Is WildStorm Universe #0, the book will lay out "where each WildStorm Universe team began, where they are now… and offering a few hints about their future."

Organizations | The Hero Initiative will have their new T-shirt available at the show.

Creators | David Petersen will have two new products available at the show: The Mouse Guard Winter 1152 Hardcover and his 2009 sketchbook.

Graphic novels | Last year a group of animators from Disney published an anthology called Who is Rocket Johnson? that was only sold in San Diego. This year they're doing a follow-up, called What is Torch Tiger?, an all-ages book in which every artist answers the question: "What is Torch Tiger?" It will be sold exclusively at booth 2302 in San Diego and is limited to 1,300 copies. Check out a preview here.

Publishers | Marvel has posted their panel schedule.

Creators | Wanna know where to find Ben Templesmith at the show? Check out the cool "postery type image" he created for it --->

Creators | Dwayne McDuffie has posted his panel and signing schedule for the con, which includes a signing at the Comic Relief booth.

Creators | Sonny Liew has also posted where he can be found at the show.

Friday, July 3

Bloomington, Minn | CONvergence -- "a celebration of the funny side of science fiction and fantasy" -- continues through Sunday and will have Dwayne McDuffie and the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew as its special guests, among others. More details can be found here.

Brooklyn, NY | The comic shop Rocketship will host a release party for local artist Adam Suerte's latest comic, starting at 8 p.m. Details here.

White River Junction, Vermont | First Friday Book Release party, with four new books debuting by Colleen Frakes, Denis St. John, Morgan Pielli and Jen Vaughn at Revolution. Details here.

Wednesday, July 8

Chicago | Green Lantern inker Christian Alamy will sign at Challengers Comics. Details here.

New York | A "glittery, burlesque-inspired" launch party for Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt's Scarlett Takes Manhattan at the Slipper Room. It's a free event, but an RSVP is mandatory; details here.

More in July

July 10 | Michael Kupperman in Brooklyn

July 10 | Bay Area cartoonists art exhibit kicks off in San Francisco

July 10-12 | Screaming TikiCon in Cleveland

July 11 | The Asian American ComiCon in New York

July 11 | 100 Bullets event benefiting the Hero Initiative in Los Angeles

July 11 | Peter Bagge rocks Seattle

July 15 | Geoff Johns in Anaheim

July 16 | Dave McKean in Chicago

July 17-23 | Watchmen director's cut screenings in L.A., NYC, Dallas and Minneapolis

July 18 | March of Dimes Sketch Benefit in Puyallup, Wash.

July 18 | Keith Chow, Alex Tarampi, Jerry Ma and Larry Hama in Baltimore

July 18-19 | Frank Santoro teaches a class on line drawing and composition in New York

July 22 | Spider-Man #600 exhibit in San Francisco

July 23-26 | Comic-Con International in San Diego

Justice League of America #33

Writer Dwayne McDuffie revealed today on his message board that he's been fired from Justice League of America, saying "it was my own doing."

His dismissal came after "Lying in the Gutters" columnist Rich Johnston "ran a compilation of two years or so of my answers to fans' questions on the DC Comics discussion boards," McDuffie posted, referencing this May 4th column. "I'm told my removal had nothing to with either the quality of my work or the level of sales, rather with my revelation of behind-the-scenes creative discussions."

If you look through the column, you'll see several statements that show McDuffie's frustrations with working on the title, from comments on how the Anansi storyline was "about my not having control of the stories in my book" to remarks about how DC's big guns -- from Superman and Batman to Green Arrow and Captain Marvel -- weren't available for his use.

"I'm doing 'Cap's Kooky Quartet'," McDuffie wrote. "Of course, in this case Captain America isn't available, either."

McDuffie did share some "what might have been" thoughts on JLA:

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed, because next summer was planned to feature a JLA-driven crossover, where my book's story line would have been the driving force. I'm distressed by where I left Black Canary, as my intention was to use the current subplot to strengthen her character and relationships with the new membership, and instead I'm leaving her at the bottom of a hole I'd intended to rebuild her from. I was also just about to get a regular artist for the first time since I've been on the book, which would have been nice. That said, I'm sure DC's going to put together a creative team that will generate major excitement around JLA, which is as it should be.

He also said he has a pretty full plate, as he's editing Cartoon Network's Ben 10: Alien Force and the upcoming Ben 10: Evolutions series. He's also working on a new project called Milestone Forever for DC, just finished a video game script, and is writing a direct-to-DVD animated feature for Warner Animation.

As for Justice League, it looks like Issue 33, which came out today, is his last. Len Wein is writing the next few issues, and was doing so initially to give McDuffie a break while he worked on his various TV projects.