Tag Archives: steve barnes

Virtuous Con launches a Summer Writing Workshop Series in partnership with Amazon KDP

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Virtuous Con have announced they have partnered with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing on a special project for writers called The Virtuous Con Summer Writing Workshop Series. This unique virtual program expands on the success of the Virtuous Con 2021 Juneteenth Master Class Series and their 2022 virtual convention in February. For this summer program, founder and award-winning writer Cerece Rennie Murphy assembled nine prominent African-American writers in fiction, comics, screenwriting, and film to offer aspiring writers an intimate learning experience to challenge creators to create with courage.

The virtual series will feature eight live weekly 2-hour workshops featuring award-winning and best-selling authors, Beverly Jenkins, L. Penelope, Ines Johnson, and Minister Faust, ground-breaking comic creators Greg Burnham, Regine Sawyer, and Micheline Hess, and pioneer novelists and screenwriters Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes.

Jenkins, both a Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award winner and an NAACP Image Award in Literature nominee, will launch the series on July 6th with “Plot Characters and Setting for Fiction Writers.”

The Virtuous Con Summer Writing Workshop Series runs from July 6, 2022, to August 3rd, 2022, and tickets are available through their website. A special discount is available for Virtuous Con Patreon subscribers.

Preview: Milestones in History #1

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Milestones in History #1

(W) Reginald Hudlin, Alice Randall, Amy Chu, Steve Barnes, Alice Randall, Tananarive Due, Pat Charles, Karyn Parsons, Touré, Melody Cooper (A) Jahnoy Lindsay, Eric Battle, Maria Laura Sanapo, Ron Wilson, Don Hudson, Jamal Yaseem Igle, Arvell Jones, Francesco Francavilla, Ray-Anthony Height, Dominike “Domo” Stanton (CA) ChrisCross
In Shops: Jun 21, 2022
SRP: $9.99

Written by Reginald Hudlin, Alice Randall, Toure, Michael Harriot, and more Art by Various Celebrate Black History Month the Milestone way, as the superpowered citizens of Dakota (including Static, Icon, Rocket, Hardware, and more) narrate the true stories of Black trailblazers from across human history! Witness the military campaigns of Hannibal and the Queen of Sheba, the literary accomplishments of Alexandre Dumas, the World War One dogfights of Eugene Bullard against the legendary Red Baron, and many, many more, all written and drawn by a who’s-who of comics and literary talent!

Milestones in History #1

DC and Milestone Reveal more details about Milestones In History

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DC and Milestone Media have revealed new artwork and story details on their upcoming one-shot anthology, Milestones In History. Initially announced during last year’s DC FanDome, this anthology combines an unprecedented collection of writers from traditional literature, entertainment, culture, and social activism with celebrated comic book artists to celebrate Black people throughout world history.

The stories and talent for this 96-page spectacular include:

  • “Born in Africa – Mother of the World:” Rocket chronicles the history of “Lucy,” the collection of Australopithecus Afarensis fossil bones discovered in Ethiopia in a story by New York Times best-selling novelist Alice Randall and artist Eric Battle. In a second story, “The Brilliant Black Russians: Pushkin and His Family of Genius,” Randall teams up with artist Don Hudson and Jose Marzan Jr. to tell the story of Russian poet and novelist Alexander Pushkin
  • “The Many Queens of Sheba:” Virgil Hawkins (Static) has a tough time keeping his mind on his school project when he’s paired with his high school crush Raquel Ervin (Rocket) as they discuss competing origins of The Queen of Sheba, in a story from writer Amy Chu and artist Maria Laura Sanapo
  • “You Will Follow A Great Man:” The history of military commander and statesman Hannibal Barca, told by award-winning sci-fi, mystery and fantasy writer Steven Barnes, with art by comic book vets Ron Wilson and Mike Gustovich
  • “The Dumas Legacy: “Icon and Rocket recount the history of the family of The Three Musketeers writer Alexandre Dumas is in a story by award-winning author and educator Tananarive Due, with art by Jamal Yaseem Igle and Chris Sotomayor
  • “Ace,” the story of trailblazer Eugene Bullard, the first African American to fly in combat and the only African American pilot in World War I, is told by television and film writer Pat Charles and comic book artist Arvell Jones
  • “Spirit Step” chronicles the life of anthropologist, activist, dancer, and creator of the Dunham Technique of dance, Katharine Dunham, is highlighted in a story by writer Karyn Parsons, with art by Francesco Francavilla
  • In “Controversy,” writer and activist Touré and artist Ray-Anthony Height celebrate the life and career of musical icon Prince
  • Horror and Sci-Fri writer Melody Cooper and artist Domo Stanton celebrate two more aeronautical pioneers in “The Sky’s The Limit” – Bessie Coleman, stunt pilot and the first Black female to earn a pilot’s license, and physician, engineer, and former NASA astronaut Mae Jemisin, the first Black woman to travel into space

Featuring an introduction from the heroes of the Dakotaverse, by Reggie Hudlin with art from Janhoy Lindsay, Milestones In History also includes at what’s next for the super heroes of Milestone in “Things to Come,” by Reggie Hudlin and Leon Chills, with art by Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan.

Milestones In History arrives in comic book shops and on participating platforms on Tuesday, June 21. 

DC and Milestone Reveal Milestones in History featuring Real-World Heroes from Black History

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DC and Milestone Media have revealed new details about Milestones in History, a 96-page anthology coming June 14th. Theone-shot spotlights real world icons from Black history across the ages. These stories will combine well-known comic book artists with writers from the fields of entertainment, literature, and social activism. The anthology embraces the Milestone universe with these stories being told through the eyes of the heroes of Dakota. 

Featured history-making subjects and storytellers for Milestones In History include:

  • Russian Poet and novelist Alexander Pushkin, written by New York Times bestselling author Alice Randall, with art by Don Hudson, José Marzan Jr., and Andrew Dalhouse
  • Carthaginian general and statesman Hannibal Barca, by award-winning writer Steven Barnes, with art by Ron Wilson and Mike Gustovich
  • Musical icon Prince, written by journalist and culture critic Touré and art by Ray Anthony-Height
  • The Three Musketeers author Alexandre Dumas, by bestselling author and pioneer of Black Horror fiction Tananarive Due, with art by Jamal Igle and Chris Sotomayor
  • Eugene Bullard, the first Black American military pilot, by Pat Charles and Arvell Jones
  • Black American female pilot Bessie Coleman and astronaut Mae Jemison, written by Melody Cooper, with art by Domo Stanton and Emilio Lopez
  • Dancer, educator, and social activist Katherine Dunham, by actor and author Karyn Parsons (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
  • “Lucy,” the early hominid fossil (Australopithecus) discovered in Africa by Donald Johanson, Mary Leakey, and Yves Coppens, written by Alice Randall 

More than just an anthology, Milestone In History also serves as a springboard into the next phase of this new iteration of the Dakotaverse; the book features an ending that will serve as the catalyst for the first big “event” in Milestone, something most fans will never see coming.

  • Milestones In History Main Cover by CHRISCROSS
  • Milestones In History Variant Cover by Doug Braithwaite