Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment, michael davis, michaeldavis, milestone

You Can't Handle The Truth – Michael Davis, From The Edge

Michael Davis is an artist, writer, mentor, and entertainment executive. He writes,

A year and some change ago I was in a heated on line exchange with some knucklehead broadcasting how Milestone stole its business plan from Big City Comics publishers of Brotherman (BM).

One of BM's creators wrote about how he sent the plan to Black Enterprise magazine (BE) as background for a cover story on Brotherman. In his account, Derek Dingle who worked at BE took one look at the plan, killed the BM cover story and together he, Denys Cowan, Dwayne McDuffie, Christopher Priest and myself ripped off the plan and from there Milestone Media was born.

I remember the day Derek called us at our crib in the hood with the news of his successful heist. I was busy smoking crack while Priest and Denys took turns smacking some of our Hoes around. At the time we were running girls and selling crack with an occasional foray into comics.

As Black comic artists and writers we did OK but it was a struggle. Having to go to the white men who controlled the comics industry was an affront to our Blackness. Now, running girls and selling crack, that's the sort of thing we could do without having to sell out and go to the white boys.

Hell, now the white boys came to us.

When Derek stole the Brotherman business plan we could now move into comics' full time. It was a simple shift of product. The only hic-up would be if our crack supplier would let us go. We were its leading pipeline into the comic conventions and frankly we were a bit afraid they would not stand for it.

Imagine our surprise when we found out DC didn't stand for Drug Cartel and they also did comics!

Give that a sec…

While you're at it, take another moment and see if you can determine what's real from the above narrative and what's bullshit.

I'll make it easy for you, Dawud Anyabwile co-creator of Brotherman did mistakenly wrote he believed Milestone stole their business plan and that Derek killed their cover story for one on Milestone.

Everything else is the product of my chronic insomniac imagination but I'm sure more than a few people believed most if not all of it

I can only imagine Rich getting to this part and thinking: "THIS is what I finally get from Mr. Master Of The Universe? Mr. One article a bloody blue moon is more like it!"

Sorry Rich, I promise if I plan to bust a cap in somebody I'll write about it on Bleeding Cool. Don't hold me to a deadline on that as a Black person I reserve the right to be late.

An awful LOT of Black creators believed the Brotherman story. On Facebook, where the majority of the debate about Milestone stealing from Brotherman was raging, many creators whom I thought friends, some who's career I'd helped, were quick to 'like' and post support for Brotherman.

Milestone's policy has always been to ignore any and all attacks and rumors. Clearly, since they still have not commented on my situation, Milestone 2.0 is taking the same approach.

Good luck with that fellas.

There is no doubt whatsoever, Milestone lost respect among many young Black creators by allowing Ania to define OUR brand 22 years ago. It was a bad mistake then and, in my opinion, a bad mistake now.

Not commenting on claims that others make against a company is a very professionally corporate thing to do. Stay above the fray, pay them no never mind, sticks and stones may break our bones but words will never hurt us.

The goal of many Black companies is to operate like the white boys do. Not in product but procedure. In other words to be perceived as the white boys are, professional, corporate and classy.

Classy companies don't comment and take no action against those who speak ill of them. So, 'no comment' becomes many a company line. This way the perception (in Milestone and M2.0 case, reality) is of a serious company, doing serious things and not a bunch of thugs engaging in some 'street' antics.

Newsflash, letting someone call you a House Nigger like Ania did and letting someone else say you're a thief with NO response is just plain f-cking STUPID. ANY Black company looking to reach Black kids in the inner cities perceived as either can kiss that cover price goodbye. Its hard enough reaching Black kids in the first place but to ignore an entire segment is just asinine, in my opinion.

No, not all African American kids from the inner cities are concerned with 'street cred' feuds between warring Black companies. No, not all Black companies aspire to conduct themselves like the white boys do. No, there's nothing white run companies have done that a Black company couldn't accomplish. No, this is not an attack on M2.O; it's my opinion, which means little to nothing to some, much to something to others. HELL No, a corporate environment is not the only way to run a company.

Yes, I have danced with the devil in the pale moonlight.

However-here's a bit of reality, rather or not you're someone's bitch, (cool or not) in the African American community, specifically in the inner cities, is a HUGE factor. That perception drives dollars.

Black entertainment companies targeting young Black men who ignore that inner city swagger allowing others to define them do so at risk of becoming a joke.

Once you're that joke, you're done. Gangster Rap took down the once, although short lived, biggest star in the world. That star then tried to make a comeback as a gangster rapper and FEW even remember M.C. Hammer's gangsta period.

Fueled by generations of racial discrimination hardened by economic adversity and vitalized by Hip Hop culture you expect Black boys reared with those factors to buy or support anything from house niggers who steal their shit?

Nigga please.

What you say, how you say it, and when it is said are just as important as any business plan you can steal.

When asked if he was a cheater, Tom Brady answered, 'I don't think so.'

IDIOT, please.

Bottom line, Black comic book creators, companies and ideas are considered second tier at best. When a white creator or company does something it's instantly validated as original and applauded as such.

In 2015 DC and Marvel are bringing diversity to comics. What? Milestone doing it over 20 years ago and every year since doesn't count?

No. No it doesn't. Not in the real world. Because WE don't control our narrative.

That's way I feel we reach out with the sway and swagger that's part of us. Some will think I'm suggesting we hood up the place by being loud. No, I'm saying take a page from the greatest most badass white boys to EVER create branded content.

Disney.

You f-ck with Disney, they will in turn, f-ck you up. NO ONE soils their brand and gets away with it.

Black achievement in comics is like the tip jar at Starbucks. If the person serving you does not see you tip, it didn't happen. YOU can walk away secure in the knowledge you're done the right thing if you wish, I'm making damn sure Heidi or Brittney SEE me tip especially if I go there often.

People remember bad a lot more than good. The trip from, 'he didn't tip' to 'he never tips' is a short one. Trust me, leaving your story to travel down that road without insurance may work for a while but when it doesn't, you are in big trouble.

Creators of color can ill afford anything that does not produce forward movement. Like it or not persons of color operate at a huge perception disadvantage.

The Baltimore protesters, angry over the continuing murders of unarmed Black men were called criminals and thugs on CNN, FOX News, and the like.

NINE PEOPLE SHOT DEAD in Texas and the headline is 'rival motorcycles gangs in a shootout, nine dead.' NOT, 'swastika wearing white thugs kills each other over drug territory.'

If these were Black people the headline would have been, 'another Black on Black crime. Nine dead in a dispute over malt liquor and crack. FOX would have called for Obama to be lynched, this somehow being his fault or plan.

During Katrina thousands were stranded many without ample food and water. When white people broke into stores they were doing what they could to survive.

Black people were looters when they did the same.

Like I said, in 2015 we're still at a huge perception disadvantage in America. In comics it's a disadvantage Black creators do our best to maintain.

Yeah, we do the worst damage to ourselves and it has to stop.

Its simply F-CKING CRAZY for Milestone to have a beef with Brotherman, Ania to call us house niggers, Denys Cowan rumored at odds with Michael Davis and Black creators supporting the notion that Dwayne McDuffie was a thief.

Yeah motherf-ckers, when you lent your support to those accusations you called the most beloved Black creator of all time a thief. When the 'they be thieves' accusation was out there, some of comics biggest Black names co-signed with quickness. When it was proven false ONE person called to apologize. NO ONE, with the exception of a fan named Arnie did so in a public forum.

He posted the following at worldofblackheroes.com. A FANTASTIC site that represents Black comic content better than any pop culture site on the net.

On November 23, 2013 at 1:35 am Arnie wrote:

Let me be the first to apologize to Mr. Davis. There are two sides to every story, I should have known better than to jump to conclusions.

Thank you for setting the record straight.

ONE guy I don't even know comes correct. One guy. One.

If that doesn't explain why Black comics never move the needle nothing does.

This has got to stop.

We have to stop fighting over bullshit, stop fueling rumors, stop treating each other like we're Crips and Bloods back in the 80's. It's 2015 the Crips and Bloods have a truce, although you'd never know that if you watched FOX. Just like you'd never know there's never been beef between Brotherman and Milestone from Milestone's perspective.

I'd like to think 2.0 would work with those guys in a second. I know I would.

There's plenty we have to stop doing yet we can accomplish all that and more by doing a few thing. START controlling and defining our brand.

START working together and FINALLY stop pulling each other down.

Joe Illidge and I think there a way we can do all that.

Over the next few week as we get closer to The Black Panel at Comic Con you'll hear more about it. Hopefully embrace it and become part of it.

If you're a creator and/ or fan of color we want you involved. That goes for our blue-eyed creators and fans also. Y'all think we would leave you out?

How could we? You guys have to hail the cab. ;)

Lastly, I don't want to give the impression that all Black creators subscribe to the 'hate on other Black creators' school. We do not.

But, if one of us does wrong it's all of us who have to pay. In the comics world that perception kills growth. In the rest of the world that perception kills young Black men and boys.

Time to stop both.

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