Chapter 31: Chapter 31

I was kind of amazed if I was speaking honestly. A character concept I came up with was drawn out in front of me in full color. It was a Muslim female and I was fine with that. All that mattered is that the character existed, and had their own comic.

Unreleased to the public, but was being shown to me. It was just the first issue, but I was excited.

"How was it?" Dwayne asked me.

I was at Milestone in New York sitting in a small room with him and a young woman. She was the artist behind my idea.

"I like it. A young woman just starting life on her own while trying to understand what she is. It's a little bit different, but still enjoyable." I replied back to him.

"I tried to have her be different but also showcase the same problems people face. She'll be different from Rocket and the few other females in the Dakotaverse, but I believe She'll attract the attention of the readers." The young woman spoke up.

She had tan skin and long brown hair. It was hard to make out her figure so I was not sure if she was slim, average or even thick as people liked to say years into the future. It was hidden by a gray hoodie he wore. But her voice was pleasant.

"What about the source of her powers?" I asked.

"I decided that it was a mutation that happened when her mother was exposed to some radiation. With the focus on the story being her dealing with the conflicting views of religion her family has versus the world. Gabriella is trying to navigate her life views, school, friendship, while coming to terms with the various gods. It's less about her being a hero and more about the journey she takes."

"I like it a lot, but the outfit should be more simple. She doesn't need this cape or even a mask. Other than that, you've done a good job capturing the character concept I wrote down Brittany." 

I looked over towards Dwayne who was listening in. He did not say anything about my suggestion on removing pieces of her outfit.

"When will the issue be released to the public?" I asked him.

"We'll have to redo the design, but next month is when we plan on publishing five new series." He told me.

That was a lot in my eyes, since Milestone Media only had a few series to begin with. After the reboot a lot was changing with the company.

"Doesn't that seem a bit much?" I asked.

"No. This is pretty great on our end. Actually there have been a few creators seeking employment here since the release of Icon. His movie has given our company exactly what we needed."

"How are the old founders doing?"

"They are working on one of the new series we are releasing. I believe people will be surprised when they read it."

"That's good." I told him. "The reboot seems to be doing well, and it's a bit more modernized. Making it easier for children and young adults to relate more to the characters. I just worry that too much success will put pressure on everyone down here from the higher ups at WarnerBros."

Dwayne sighed.

"I know exactly what you mean. There has been plenty of meetings lately involving having crossovers with the characters from the Dakotaverse. Especially with Icon and Superman. They want to make a movie about it, but you have the rights to these characters and the future ones in this universe. So you can understand some things I've been going through lately." Dwayne explained to me.

"If Rocket's film is also a hit then they'll be hounding you even more. So get ready for that."

"How's the production coming along?"

"It's in the final stretch. You plan on attending the premiere?" I asked him.

"Of course! I'm actually a fan of Halle Berry! This will be the only time I can meet her." Dwayne said in excitement.

I laughed. The two of them would never cross paths otherwise, so I didn't say anything about it.

"What about you Brittany? Will you attend?" I asked the young artist.

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"I didn't know that I could. Don't you need an invite to that sort of thing?" She asked me.

"Kind of, but you can take this as an invitation."

Brittany glanced at Dwayne and he nodded his head.

"Then you can count on me being there."

"Great!" I told her with a slight smile.

"Compared to Icon and Rocket's upcoming film, I believe that Static will be the biggest hit. His character just relates to so many, and I'm sure we can outdo the Spider-Man film." I said.

"To be honest, I'm looking forward to that film as well. Now so more than ever after watching Icon come to life. Who did you cast to play him?" Dwayne asked me.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret honestly. But, besides coming here to talk to you about the upcoming comic series, I can tell you that this movie will have music from popular artists. It's why I was here last week to discuss a deal with them." I said.

"I can't see how it would work in other superhero movies, but for Static, I can see it."

We talked about the characters, universe and the future of the Dakotaverse a bit longer. After Brittany left I had Dwayne stay behind to talk to him about an important matter.

"What's up?" He asked me.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm in the process of buying Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics and IDW."

"Those are some pretty big companies. They are right behind Marvel and DC comics in this field. Some of their series are classics that have tons of fans following them." Dwayne said.

What he said was true. These three companies had published comics for famous movies, TV series, and even games. The most famous would have to have been Star wars, but that was not all they published. Avatar the last air bender which was being aired on Nickelodeon, Hell Boy, G.I Joe, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Invincible, and The Walking Dead. They were home to these comic series and so much more.

Although almost all of them had their own standalone universe without having a crossover, it did not mean they were not good. Owning them all gave me a lot of possibilities in the future.

"Yeah, they are. That is why the talks are going to talk a long time, but some are already starting to budge a bit. I see this being finished within thr next year or so. I would have gotten my hands on Milestones but WarnerBros doesn't want to give it up yet."

"Jesus! What are you going to do with them all Alex?"

"Because I'll own them, I'll have the rights to the works the artists produce. This will make it easier for me to make adaptations of these comics in the future. I just wanted to tell you this first."

Dwayne rubbed his chin as he did some thinking.

"Although you don't own the company, you do have the rights to the characters in the Dakotaverse. So you in a way do own us." Dwayne said.

I laughed and nodded. "That's only true if these characters belong and stay in the Dakotaverse. If your company decides to launch a new universe, then I won't have access to these characters anymore."

"I can see where you are going with this. But how would you even adapt all these comics? Will you divide them onto different broadcasting stations? Some are centered around adult topics as well. I think it will be easy to make, but harder to sell to a broadcasting network."

I was astonished that Dwayne could already see the problem with having these series in my pocket. Although I could make films about them, if I did not have somewhere to show them then I'd just lose money. But, he did not know that I was already planning on buying a TV network. A failing one, but one nevertheless.

This was already in my plans once I acquired YouTube. To let YouTube have its own network to broadcast TV shows, and films. As well as host all of my companies own adaptations.

"I'm working on that. But it's all part of my plan to corner Marvel and DC."

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