Cover: Denys Cowan & Jimmy Palmiotti

Static #1

Jun 1993 · DC · 1.50 USD; 1.85 CAD; 1.00 GBP

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“Trial by Fire, Chapter One: Burning Sensation”

★ 1st appearance — Static★ 1st appearance — Virgil Hawkins★ 1st appearance — Frieda Goren★ 1st appearance — Sharon Hawkins★ 1st appearance — Jean Hawkins

About this Issue

Static #1 marks the full debut of Virgil Ovid Hawkins — a fifteen-year-old African-American teenager who becomes the electromagnetic hero Static after surviving the 'Big Bang,' a mass-mutagenic event in the fictional city of Dakota — making it one of the most significant first appearances of a Black superhero in the Bronze-to-Modern Age transition. The issue launched as one of four simultaneous titles from Milestone Comics, an independently operated imprint founded by a coalition of Black writers and artists specifically to address the severe underrepresentation of minority characters and creators in American comics. Designed deliberately as a contemporary Spider-Man archetype — a scientifically gifted, quip-prone teen who struggles with bullying and adolescent life even as he figures out his powers — Static carried a weight of social realism that set the Milestone line apart from the superhero mainstream of the early 1990s. The character's endurance across a 45-issue run, a Warner Bros. animated series, DC Universe integration, and a Milestone revival decades later demonstrates how thoroughly this debut planted roots in the medium.

writer Dwayne McDuffie · writer Robert L. Washington III · artist John Paul Leon · inker Steve Mitchell · colorist Noelle C. Giddings · letterer Steve Haynie · cover Denys Cowan, Jimmy Palmiotti

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $8

CGC 9.8 · 1183 in census $100*

CGC 9.6 · 814 in census $78*

CGC 9.4 · 452 in census $39*

CGC 9.2 · 239 in census $39

CGC 9.0 · 219 in census $39

CGC 8.5 · 146 in census $39

Show all 15 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 89 in census $39*

CGC 7.5 · 28 in census $33*

CGC 7.0 · 17 in census $33*

CGC 6.5 · 15 in census $30*

CGC 6.0 · 6 in census $26*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

NM $3.99 VF/NM $5.98 NM · 1:25 variant $9.99 NM · Variant $12 Direct $12.99 NM · Direct $19.95 NM $19.99 NM/M $20

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 84 total · seen 29 days ago

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History

Milestone Comics was founded in 1993 by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle, and Christopher Priest, who struck an unusual deal with DC Comics that allowed Milestone to retain full copyright ownership of its characters while DC handled publishing and distribution. Before a single issue was released, McDuffie and early collaborators constructed an extensive shared-universe 'bible' establishing the Dakotaverse, with Denys Cowan producing original character sketches as a visual guide for other artists. Static had originally been developed as a character concept for Marvel Comics before becoming a cornerstone of the Milestone launch; the character's superhero name was specifically suggested by Christopher Priest, inspired by a James Brown song, while the civilian name Virgil Hawkins was chosen as a tribute to a real historical figure — Virgil D. Hawkins, a Black man denied entry to the University of Florida's law school because of his race in 1949. The first issue's script was co-written by McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III, with interior art by John Paul Leon and Steve Mitchell, and a cover by Denys Cowan and Jimmy Palmiotti.

Trivia · 8 facts

First full appearance of Static (Virgil Ovid Hawkins); a 3-page preview had appeared one month earlier in Icon #1 (May 1993), making Static #1 the character's first complete story.
Written by Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III; interior art by John Paul Leon and Steve Mitchell; cover by Denys Cowan and Jimmy Palmiotti.
Published June 1993 by DC Comics under the Milestone Comics imprint — one of four titles (Hardware, Icon, Blood Syndicate, Static) launched simultaneously to establish the Dakotaverse.
The story, titled 'Burning Sensation' (Part 1 of the 'Trial by Fire' arc), introduces Virgil as a 15-year-old high school student in Dakota City who gains electromagnetic powers after police deploy experimental chemical tear gas — 'Quantum Juice' — during a gang confrontation at Paris Island, an event known as the 'Big Bang.'
First appearance of Hotstreak (Francis Stone / Biz Money B), the pyrokinetic Bang Baby villain who serves as Static's primary antagonist in the opening arc; the issue ends with Static's first defeat at Hotstreak's hands.
The direct-edition Collector's Edition was polybagged and included a Skybox trading card, an exclusive cover poster, and four panels of a giant 16-panel Milestone mural — consistent with the debut packaging format used across all four Milestone launch titles.
The character's civilian name honors real-world civil rights figure Virgil D. Hawkins, who was denied admission to the University of Florida's law school on racial grounds in 1949; the superhero name 'Static' was inspired by a James Brown song, as suggested by Milestone co-founder Christopher Priest.
The series ran for 45 issues (1993–1997); the animated adaptation Static Shock (Kids' WB, 2000–2004) was the first broadcast animated series to star an African-American superhero as its titular character, and its success prompted a 2000 trade paperback reprint of the first four issues under the title Static Shock: Trial by Fire.