Alright it’s time for me to catch up on these new Milestone comics, started with the first new title of three. I think it’s smart that they’re launching the first titles as 6-issue miniseries’, or “seasons”, rather than straight to ongoing series. Test them out, let’s see what sells.

This issue picks up a year after the events of the Milestone Returns special issue, Virgil is still struggling with controlling and understanding his powers and feeling guilt over almost losing control when he fought Francis aka Hotstreak at school. We get a glimpse of his family dynamics in this new continuity, the biggest change being that sister Sharon is now older than him rather than younger, and their relationship is less antagonistic, barring the typical sibling rivalry that most people experience. His parent are still happily married and I can’t help but notice that his father is drawn to resemble Milestone co-founder the Late Dwayne McDuffie (Peace Be Upon Him).

Virgil returns to school for the first time since the fight and discovers that some other kid, a popular basketball player named Derek, is taking credit for beating Hotstreak, and most kids believe him, except for his friends Richie and Frieda, who know what really happened and express concern for Virgil, but he assures them that everything is fine. There’s some flashbacks which further illustrate the closeness of Virgil’s family, and also reveal Virgil’s connection to Curtis Metcalf aka Hardware. But the action kicks in during the end of the issue when Hotstreak shows up at Virgil’s house, calling him out, and the two engage in another major battle, where Virgil shows off his scientific aptitude as he figures out how to use his powers to counter Hotstreak’s powers, but Hotstreak is still dangerous enough to put Virgil’s entire family at risk. The issue ends on a dramatic cliffhanger that had me eager to see what happened next.

Writer Vita Ayala has crafted a thrilling story here that successful revamps the character Static and makes it equally accessible to older fans and newer fans alike. And the art team of Nikolas Draper-Ivey and homophobe ChrisCross illustrate the story wonderfully. The Milestone Relaunch is off to a great start.  Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS

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