One Year Ago today, @popversesays.bsky.social broke the news announcing my company, ILLUMINOUS and its mission of empowerment for people and their original ideas. Today, they announced one of my biggest clients, illustrating the company's purpose in action. That's a good anniversary in my book!

A benefit of bringing Centaur Riders on board as the first graphic novel project for my company ILLUMINOUS is an editorial credit with a portrait of yours truly as a wizard, courtesy of artist @marcoturiniart.bsky.social The story at @popversesays.bsky.social www.thepopverse.com/comics-centa...

ILLUMINOUS, the creative services company founded by Joseph Illidge is leading development of CENTAUR RIDERS for creator Danny Potter. The first step will be launching the series’ @kickstarter.com campaign with a 64-page book drawn by @marcoturiniart.bsky.social www.thepopverse.com/comics-centa...

Bringing on Centaur Riders as the first project for my company ILLUMINOUS was perfect because of the worldbuilding and character-building possibilities. The opportunity to acquire a project with @marcoturiniart.bsky.social was the final piece of the puzzle! www.thepopverse.com/comics-centa...

Thanks to @popversesays.bsky.social for the exclusive announcement of my company's new project with @marcoturiniart.bsky.social concept designer and artist for X-MEN, THE HULK, and STAR WARS! www.thepopverse.com/comics-centa...

Excited to be a part of the Comics Camaraderie event at SAN DIEGO COMIC CON courtesy of @monibarre.bsky.social and @creators-assemble.bsky.social Join yours truly and a group of amazing humans in comics as we talk about your ideas and the science of stories! JULY 25TH! 4-6 PM! Bring sunscreen!

Finally saw it today. LOVED Ruthye to bits, and I hope we see her again as the DC Studios Universe grows and expands. Milly Alcock's Kara grew on me. I would love to have a conversation with James Gunn about Black families.

...and someone who could Kick Your Damn Ass With Two Sticks While Seated. RIP and thank you, KIM YALE.

Depending on which database you go to regarding THE BATMAN CHRONICLES #5, the name "Kim Yale" is either not mentioned or at the bottom of the list. Kim Yale's work and perspective were integral to the reemergence of Barbara Gordon as the most heroic form of herself, an inspiration for many...

I ignored him because of KIM YALE and John Ostrander, the authors of a story in THE BATMAN CHRONICLES #5 which revealed how Barbara went from being a victim of a shooting to regaining her sense of self and purpose. One of her mentors was Richard Dragon, a martial artist who taught Babs to fight.

This cover from BIRDS OF PREY #15, one of my all-time favorite comics I've edited, is a perfect example. Oracle is using Escrima sticks, utilized in Filipino martial arts, to fight off her enemy. A high-ranking editor questioned the merit of having a wheelchair user in such an action hero mode.

THROWBACK THURSDAY and BARBARA GORDON, who as the wheelchair user hero called ORACLE was a character I had to protect when she was under my editorial purview, because she was a disabled woman character. I had to protect her from colleagues who had a limited view of both women and wheelchair users.

Comic books are one of the story vehicles, and when I look at this page portion from Brandon Thomas, Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Chris Sotomayor, and AndWorld Design, I know it speaks a truth beyond entertainment, and I know there will never be another company quite like Milestone.

The stories we tell are the messages to those who are our allies, to say we see you, and those who are our enemies, to say we see you, too. Either out of an idealism to change things, or a reaffirmation of things we feel and know to be true. Or both.

At this moment in history, "The Great Experiment" reveals itself as a sham, endangering the lives of many within its borders. When I think about Nolan Xavier Wells, I need no reminder that there are particular forms of danger for people from various communities, and for being a Black Man in America.

...who along with JLA Editorial and the artists changed it to the published version. No gun. Not in Batman's hand. And that's the job when you're a caretaker of corporate IP in the form of beloved characters, people. Thanks, Mr. Wein for writing stories that went under the skin, and thanks, Denny.

That series left an impression on me about Batman's character at the psychological level so as an editor seeing an action for Batman which looked so very cool but was antithetical to the character, I informed Batman Group Editor Denny O'Neil, who informed the JLA Editor, who spoke with Morrison...

LEN WEIN, writer of 1980's THE UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN, which I read in my tween years. In that miniseries is a scene where a criminal pulls a gun on Batman, and Batman slaps him multiple times across the face, letting the criminal know to never. Ever. Point a gun at HIM.

Guns are anathema to Batman. They are evil as invention. He has sharpened his mind and body, created an arsenal of objects, all in part so as to never have to resort to picking up or using a gun. Who taught me this?

THROWBACK THURSDAY to a lesson in Intellectual Property protection and my days as a DC Comics Batman editor. Grant Morrison wrote a seminal run of JLA and in issue #26 which is where the double-page splash came from, Batman attacks The Shaggy Man with explosive bombs in order to save The Huntress.

I've been a part of a huge filmmaking endeavor for about a year now, and the rollout to the announcement has begun! My continuing journey in comics and graphic novels started at Milestone Comics in 1993, and it's fitting that I'm holding THE SHADOW CABINET, the Milestone book I wrote in my hands.

Taking time to water the garden. Literally and figuratively.

This is the origin story of my fight for a better comic book industry, and the straight line to the here and now where the mission continues. youtu.be/UBCNh-iO4qM?... The video was shot, edited, and co-produced by @lulufriesdat.bsky.social See you in San Diego next month!!

Special thanks to Michael Uslan and Bill Finger, neither of whom are recognized enough for their part in the global power and impact of the intellectual property that is The Batman.

A naturalistic drama of scale, scope, and consequences. The clear connection between the groundbreaking film and the groundbreaking comics event that is still being admired and imitated to this day always reminds me that a life path of twists and turns is actually a straight line in disguise.

...and I would unknowingly be in the film's debt 9 years later when I began my tenure as a DC Comics Batman editor in June of 1998. The first book I worked on was BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND #1, the start of a year-long storyline about the fall and rise of Gotham City, and its costumed champion.

Dear Gym Owners: It's not motivational for a workout when you play a movie in which the titular hero gets his ass kicked in 95% of his fights. Next time, try CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER.

Happy Juneteenth! One Year Ago, FairSquare Graphics launched the NOIR IS THE NEW BLACK SEASON 2 campaign with THE WINTERFIELDS by myself, @chriscross.bsky.social @adalhouse.bsky.social with stories by Ernest Dickerson, Rose Geddes, Julian Shaw, @gregburnham.bsky.social @quinnmcgowanart.bsky.social

"The world is not going to give you a hug. No one is coming to save you." My interview about BLOODLETTER, the critically-acclaimed SPAWN UNIVERSE series from @mcfarlanecomics.bsky.social and @imagecomics.com BLOODLETTER is available in comic book shops and bookstores! youtu.be/uA7Okba2V0Y?...