Static Shock Vol. 1: Rebirth of the Cool [Paperback]

I remember reading the first couple issues of static in the sixth grade. In about 2005, reruns of the cartoon started growing on me. I love that show now, and the comic a lot a lot more. I have trial by fire and have been waiting for more volumes to come out. This is a great addition because it also features rebirth of the cool, the last of the series. I thought it was great. Its also nice to have a black super hero that wasn't stereotypical. Virgil was a very deep character, unfortunately, mainstream views that as "unrealistic". Anyways this is a great read for anyone who is Milestone fan or just a comic fan in general.

Before Miles Morales came along, there was Virgil Ovid Hawkins. Odds are good that you first heard of Static by way of his television cartoon on the Kids' WB. But this precocious, quippy teen powerhouse actually has his roots in Milestone Media, that maverick comic book company launched by a group of talented black writers and artists, the most famous of whom is the late, great Dwayne McDuffie. Milestone Media focused on producing titles which featured minority superheroes. Static was lucky enough or demonstrated potential enough that dude crossed over into mainstream popularity.

With Static garnering big pub, it's no big startlement that a graphic novel was published collecting his earlier exploits. (It's more of a shock, frankly, that Icon and Hardware also managed to get the trade collection treatment, both being phenomenal characters but now sadly relegated to obscure status.) Anyway, STATIC SHOCK: REBIRTH OF THE COOL reprints STATIC #1-4 from 1993 and STATIC SHOCK!: REBIRTH OF THE COOL #1-4 from 2001, with writers Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III and artists John Paul Leon and Denys Cowan masterminding Virgil's formative story arcs.

Part of Static's appeal is that he is the most fun-having superhero in the Milestone universe, let alone in Dakota City, with maybe Icon's sidekick, Rocket, coming in as second. When he made his debut he reminded me instantly of Peter Parker in the way that he was this bright kid with a good heart who got bullied around. A bad decision on Virgil's part led him to Paris Island, rendezvous point of a mass gang summit. The law's experimental tear gas, deployed to pacify the hoods, accounted for horrific casualties, but there were survivors of this Big Bang event, plenty of whom developed paranormal abilities. These would be dubbed "Bang babies." And Virgil, idealistic fifteen-year-old student, gained the ability to harness electromagnetism. From there, it's a short step to putting on the tights and flying on trash can lids. His habit of cracking wise during fighty fights would be another parallel drawn to Spidey. And his best friend, Frieda Goren, somehow reminds me of M.J. Watson - another gorgeous redhead in on her pal's secret identiy.

Static's first ongoing series lasted for 45 issues, of which first four issues are reprinted here (and also in 2000's STATIC SHOCK: TRIAL BY FIRE). In this first run, Static faces Hotstreak a.k.a. Virgil's former high school bully, now equipped with incendiary powers, courtesy of the Big Bang. Next, he takes on the menace of Tarmack whose organic body has merged with asphalt. Issue #4 has Static falling under the sinister tutelage of Holocaust, formerly of the Blood Syndicate, except you can't tempt someone as righteous as Static to the dark side.

The STATIC SHOCK: REBIRTH OF THE COOL mini-series opens up with a burnt-out Static having retired several months ago. But you can't keep a hero down, especially when fellow Bang babies are being targeted by a mysterious strike force. With Milestone's most powerful hero, Icon, away on a deep space mission and bad@sss vigilante, Hardware, suffering a broken leg, Static is compelled to step in. This mini-series gives us team-up opportunities galore as Dwayne McDuffie shoehorns a mess of guest-stars on page, from Hardware to members of Static's old team Heroes, to Milestone's first ever superhero to, well, there's a splash page late in the tale that showcases what seems to be Milestone's entire gallery of heroes. Minus Icon and Rocket. They're still out in space.

Dwayne McDuffie wrote this (with Robert L. Washington III in the first series); John Paul Leon drew this. McDuffie shows why he was such a good writer. His ear for convincing and funny dialogue makes his stories such fun and fresh reads. You can track John Paul Leon's development in style, from his raw pencils in the first series to his more polished lines in the Rebirth of the Cool arc. Although, okay, Denys Cowan's inks in the first series no doubt helped to influence Leon's jaggedy look at the time. Either way, John Paul Leon's visuals are worth a long glance.

Unfortunately there is nothing in this earlier trade that was not reprinted in Static Shock: Trial by Fire. A pity, I would love to buy all of Static in TB. Milestone really got short changed in the reprinting department.

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