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If you are a fan of Milestone’s most famous character Virgil Hawkins, then this is the episode for you. Vita Ayala ((New Mutants, Shuri), is the new writer on the series Static Season 1, and I talked to them about what it was like updating the character and how they got the gig. The debut of Milestone’s original Static #1 was almost 30 years ago. (No he’s not a young Black Lightning). It was created by the co-founders of Milestone, Dwayne McDuffie, Dennis Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle, and drawn by the late John Paul Leon. Now the character of Virgil Ovid Hawkins would go on to be one of the most impactful characters in comics in the ’90s. Vita Ayala is updating Virgil Hawkins for a whole new generation Vita Ayalaphoto credit: Carla Cain Walther Comic book series inspired Static Shock, the animated series which ran on the WB Network’s kids block starting in 2000. The show ran for four seasons (also produced and written by McDuffie) influenced an entire generation who grew up with Virgil (voiced by the legendary Phil Lamarr) in their living rooms. The new Milestone, now an imprint within DC Comics finally returned last month with a new story, Static Season One #1. (Fun fact: It wasn’t Vita’s idea to update Vigil’s origin story, that came from Milestone partner Reginald Hudlin.) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCATCHER If you enjoy this episode please subscribe and leave a comment over on iTunes for me if you can, it really helps me out. Or, screenshot your podcatcher and tag theblerdgurl over on IG stories with what you liked about it! Show Notes Click here to buy Static Season 1(Remember to Pre-Order!) Click here to read Hardware Click here to read Icon and RocketCLICK HERE TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT WITH THE SELF APP Transcript Email Download New Tab Ep50_Vita Ayala on Static and Milestone[00:00:00] Karama: What's up, folks! I'm Karama, aka, The Blerd Gurl, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with award-winning comic book writer Vita Ayala. Now, if you haven't already, please take a moment to subscribe to The Blerd Gurl podcast over on iTunes and leave a nice rating. It really helps the show.Now, if iTunes isn't your thing. That's fine. You can always find The Blerd Gurl on your favourite podcatcher.Now, if you're a fan of Milestone Comics’ most famous character, Virgil Hawkins, then this is the episode for you. Vita Ayala is the new writer on the series Static: Season One. And I talked to them about what it was like updating the character and the very interesting way that they got the gig.For those of you who don't know what all the fuss is about. The debut of Milestone’s original Static: Number One was almost 30 years ago. It was created by the co-founders of Milestone. Dwayne McDuffie, Dennis Cowen, Michael Davis, and Derek T Dingle. And drawn by the late John Paul Leon.Now the character of Virgil Ovid Hawkins would go on to be one of the most impactful characters in the comics of the nineties.The conflict series inspired Static Shock, the animated series, and it ran on the WB networks’ kids block starting in 2000 for four seasons. The show, also produced and written by McDuffie, influenced an entire generation who grew up with Virgil— voiced by the legendary Phil Lamarr.[00:01:30] The new Milestone now, an imprint within DC comics. Not to be confused with Milestone Media, the media company run by Hudlin, Cowen, and Dingle, finally returned last month with a new story, Static: Season One.Now by the time, this drops Static: Season One #2 will also be out. Now, this new story which is written by award-winning writer, Vita Ayala was laid out by award-winning artist, ChrisCross and drawn, uh, I believe this is his first Milestone comic by Nikolas Draper Ivey. A lot of you know him as the guy who designed the Black Panther album. And he's also done a lot of work with noirCaesar, a Black-owned manga company.So I'm going to pay some bills, and then up next, my conversation with comic book writer Vita Ayala.Ad transcript because you mention it at the end too.Listen, if you have bad credit or no credit, I’m telling you, the Self Credit app is a way to build your credit history. After the dumpster fire that was 2020, as well as some mounting health insurance bills from years ago, my credit was pretty much tanked! And I was able to raise it by 35 points from the start of this year. I’m not exaggerating! Thirty-five points and it is so simple to use. You simply open a self credit-builder account and deposit a small amount of money in it. And for as little as five bucks a month, you pay the money back, automatically, through the app!Then Self reports your credit to all three credit agencies; that’s it, it’s that simple. Like, I don’t even think about it, and my credit has jumped 35 points.Low credit, no credit, it doesn’t matter. Use the Self app today and build your credit and savings, and get back on track. It’s available on iOS and Android. I have a link in my show notes for anyone who’s interested. Check it out! Karama: When you first got this project, first of all, did you put in for it, or did they come to you? Did Milestone come to you?[00:02:41] Vita: I was approached by Conroy, I think by Chris Conroy, um, the editor, uh, and I was told, I believe I was told straight off the bat that it was a bake-off, which makes me really nervous.It's a very stressful thing. Cause I, at this point, I know so many people, like, I don't want to, I don't [00:03:00] want to like fight for like this stuff. You know, I grew up with this stuff. I remember the comics. I remember the, you know, the cartoon and all that kind of stuff. So I was like, all right, like. I was going to say no, and then I was like, no, this I have to, I have to try. Right?[00:03:17] Karama: So, but by bake-off, you mean, do you have to pitch something?[00:03:21] Vita: Yeah, I had to pitch it and there was multiple people pitching. Um, I wasn't told who, so it was a blind bake-off. I hate that term, though, so I just call it a bake-off. So you're kind of just developing a pitch with, sometimes with an artist of mind and sometimes not.They did tell me like this is the person that we would love to have you work with, and it was Nik. So yeah, I kind of developed something after talking to Reggie and Dennis and Conroy all together. Um, and they seem to like it because they chose mine.[00:03:50] Karama: But that's great! So what was one thing that you definitely wanted to do going in that, you know, like you grew up with this character, but you knew? I mean, look, we can all look back at Milestone and go; some of this stuff might not hold up right now.[00:04:06] Vita: Right, right. I, you know, I re-read a bunch of that stuff too, to kind of get into the mindset, to find the core of the character to bring forward. And that's really what I wanted to do. I, I think that the stuff in the past was of its time in a good way. You're like; this is what was going on at the time.These were the conversations. And I was like; we need to do that for now. What are the conversations that we're having? What are the struggles that, you know, [00:04:30] Black kids are having and, you know, right now? And then taking the core of Virgil, you know, of his character and translating that into a more contemporary context.I think that like one of the things that I've always really liked about the character that I hoped to replicate in a more contemporary way was that, you know, he's weird. He's a weirdo. He’s a weird smart Black kid who plays like Dungeons and Dragons with his friends. And like, you know, like he's, he's, he's kind of a fanboy.Like he likes superhero stuff. He wants to; he wants to be a good person. Um, and I think that. That's something that is really beautiful. Um, I think that looks different than it did, you know, in 93. Right now, partially because people are just-- have more access to information. So you, you make different decisions based on that, but also just because the world has changed so rapidly in the last what? Thirty years, 20 years?So yeah, that was kind of what I wanted to do. And Nik and I talked about this a lot as well. Like what does it mean for that kind of Black kid to exist now and Black boys specifically? Right. But also we wanted to do a lot of stuff with his family, and, and show that dynamic and show a healthy functioning Black family who struggles, but like ultimately they are a united force, together.[00:05:53] Karama: Right. And which, which sadly enough, is very rare because a lot of Black characters too, you know, I don't know my [00:06:00] parents or one of my parents was killed.[00:06:01] Vita: They got shot down.[00:06:03] Karama: They got shot down, or they have a drug overdose, or they had whatever. Right. That's also...[00:06:07] Vita: and, and, and I think those stories are really important too.But I think for me, I was like, Hey, that's not everybody's experience, and that's okay! We should; we should show multiple experiences. And one of the things that I thought was really important was to show how a family that has very different people. Who have very different opinions can still work together, who can still support each other, even if they don't always agree.Like you said like often, the family dynamic is one of, of, not chaos, but one of struggle. I just want to be like, yeah, like, but also this is what this looks like. Again, no, no judgment on any of those other things. Um, that was just something that was important for everybody working on this book to do.[00:06:54] Karama: Who made the decision to change the quote-unquote Bang Baby's origin? Was that you, or did they come to you with that?[00:07:01] Vita: That was already scripted and being drawn. That was a Reggie, Dennis decision. I think that that was a good decision. I think that the conversations that people were having in the past at the time were, you know, in the news, and all this stuff was about gang warfare. But then, that book then went on to show like, but it's not as simple as you think it is and all this kind of stuff whereas, now, the conversations we're having are like, Hey, uh, you literally want to kill us just for existing. [00:07:30] Like, can we not? And it's very; it’s very public.Karama: Very overt, yeah…Vita: the conversations Black people have been having, but now everyone has to deal with it. Right. So to update the origin in that way, um, I think puts the, puts the onus of, of responsibility, where it belongs on these people that are trying to destroy this community and, and hurt these people— playing off of that. Uh, one of the things that I wanted to do, and Nik is super into it too. And, so it was Conroy was played with how information then gets twisted. Right. Um, and I, I won't spoil anything or anything like that, but there is this kind of through-line where. That we floor through the character of Derrius, where he saw the truth, but now he's seeing how, how things get twisted and how the victims get blamed and get demonized and that kind of stuff, and he wants to fight against that. Um, whereas Virgil is living that experience.Karama: Right! And, and he's also living with trauma.Vita: Yeah, and that was, another thing too, that like, to me. They accused him of being too angry and too sad at first. And I was like, yo, this kid just watched all his friends like melt and die. Like I would not be okay.I'm a very happy go lucky person. You know, I'm, I'm a very optimistic person, and that's why Virgil appeals to me, personally. He sees really, you know, messed up stuff. And then he's like, but we can do better. But, I would need a minute. Like I would be angry. I would be so angry. Um, [00:09:00] and he's scared, right?He has PTSD. His body is changing in ways that like, he doesn't know what's going on, and he's afraid that he's gonna either hurt people. Right. Or, or cause someone to be hurt. Like he's, he's gone through a lot. I think he needs to be allowed to process those feelings.[00:09:17] Karama: Yeah, no, absolutely. And I also think that the dumpster fire that was 2020, God. It's like from zero to 2020. Is this that violent? Like?[00:09:29] Vita: I think that people were expecting him to bounce back immediately. And to me, I was like, he’s going to get there because that's who he is at his core. But we cannot expect children to go through these traumas and immediately be okay.We can't expect anybody.Karama: Yeah!Vita: Nobody, but especially not children. It is okay to be angry, to be confused, to be sad. It doesn't make you a weak person. It makes you someone who's experiencing stuff.Karama: makes you human.Vita: Yeah, exactly. It makes you human. And, and this was something that resonated, I think, with Nik as well. Cause we have all these conversations about the underlying themes, and it's just like, we can show him lying about how he feels. Right? But like, we have to be authentic about his internal life when we go forward. Like, yo, it's a bummer this takes place like very, very quickly after the big bang.Like it's a lot.[00:10:21] Karama: What I'm also curious about is because there's some amazing, uh, other characters that are, that really care about him, like his sister.[00:10:30] But towards the end of the first issue, we get to meet some people that were in the animated series.Vita: Yup.Karama: Now, was that your idea? Cuz this is kind of exciting.[00:10:41] Vita: Yes and no part of it was like conversations with Nik, and he's like, but, what about this person? I was like, all right, we, we goin do it. Like we have to put them in there.Um, but also I just felt like. I dunno, man. I think that the the happiest superheroes are the ones that have friends. Right. And I really liked the dynamic between those characters when we see them. So I was like, again, like, what does it look like now? Um, and then, of course, Nik hooked them all up with the drip.They look great. They all look incredible.[00:11:07] Karama: No, they do look great! But yeah, like when I saw Frida and Richie, I'm like, wait a minute. Aren't they, the animated series?[00:11:15] Vita: I know that that Frida was, uh, in the, in the OG comics, but she's different. Right. She looks different she's, you know, but it's a teen book. We had to have a little bit of that. Like, uh, romance drama.[00:11:28] Karama: Yeah, no, absolutely. Also, the interesting thing, we touched on it a little bit, is working on a comic like this; you did work on it in 2020.[00:11:39] Vita: I sure did.[00:11:41] Karama: So, what was that like? What was that experience of drawing this child going through this trauma with very obvious and violent police brutality, and you know, and you're writing it? You're coming up with this story, and then, you know, to relax, you turn on the TV and oh, look, it's more police brutality.[00:12:00]Vita: Listen, I don’t have cable; I just have streaming. I can't; I’m not sure. You know, it was a, it's a hard line to walk. Um, and I know it's gotta be difficult for Cross and for Nik as well, to be like, we want to be as authentic as possible. But, also, we want to provide hope in a way that the media doesn't necessarily provide when reporting on these situations.[00:12:22] Right. I think that we, we kinda come at partially through his internal, um, his internal life and how like he's working through it, but you see that he's going to make progress. Um, but this is all a lot. It's hard; it’s hard still. Like we're not going through as many mass protests, but like everything's very difficult.[00:12:46] Karama: It is, it is tough. And how…
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