Hubbry Logo
Milk WarsMilk WarsMain
Open search
Milk Wars
Community hub
Milk Wars
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Milk Wars
Milk Wars
Milk Wars
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

"Milk Wars"
Cover art of JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1 (March 2018), depicting Milkman Man, an alternate version of Superman, by Frank Quitely.
PublisherDC Comics
Publication dateMarch – April 2018
Title(s)
JLA/Doom Patrol Special
Mother Panic/Batman Special
Shade, the Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special
Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye/Swamp Thing Special
Doom Patrol/JLA Special
Main character(s)Doom Patrol
Justice League
Mother Panic
Cave Carson
Swamp Thing
Shade, the Changing Girl
Creative team
Writer(s)Steve Orlando
Gerard Way
Jody Houser
Cecil Castellucci
John Rivera
Artist(s)Frank Quitely
ACO
Sonny Liew
Ty Templeton
Mirka Andolfo
Langdon Foss
Dale Eaglesham

"Milk Wars" is a 2018 American comic book crossover published by DC Comics. It features the publisher's core characters—such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman—crossing over with the characters of their imprint Young Animal.[1]

Production

[edit]

According to Young Animal curator Gerard Way, the idea for a crossover between the main DC Comics line and Young Animal was proposed to him by DC. Way approved of the idea, saying he saw it as "a fun challenge, a way to reach mainstream readers, and hopefully a way to infect them with [Young Animal's] weirdness".[2] Way, who considers Young Animal "a big experiment", was interested in reinventing DC's icons in ways that were fun.[2] The inspiration for the series was how milk's wholesomeness could sometimes be a bad thing.[2]

The creative teams for each issue were balanced between some individuals known for their work in Young Animal, and others known for their work in DC's main line.[2] Each issue also features a backup story about the new character Eternity Girl by Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew. Frank Quitely illustrated each issue's cover.[3][4] JLA/Doom Patrol Special's cover references Grant Morrison's series All-Star Superman, which Quitely previously contributed to.[2]

Overview

[edit]
Title Writer(s) Artist(s) Synopsis Date
JLA/Doom Patrol Special Steve Orlando, Gerard Way, Magdalene Visaggio ACO, Tamra Bonvillain, Sonny Liew Retconn, an omnipotent corporation that steals stories and reconfigures them for new markets, meets with its latest client, Manga Khan. The Doom Patrol arrives in the 1950s-style utopia Happy Harbor, where they are shocked to discover that Superman has been twisted into Milkman Man and the Justice League of America has been twisted into the Community League of Rhode Island. March 2018
Mother Panic/Batman Special Jody Houser, Magdalene Visaggio Ty Templeton, Keiran Smith, Sonny Liew Mother Panic discovers that Gather House, the place that caused her to become a vigilante, has been restored. She goes in and discovers it is filled with boys wearing Robin costumes. To her shock, the boys are under the supervision of Batman, who Retconn has made a priest. Batman eventually reverts to his normal self and finds Cave Carson's eye, which contains a distress message. April 2018
Shade, the Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special Cecil Castellucci, Magdalene Visaggio Mirka Andolfo, Marissa Louise, Sonny Liew Wonder Woman has been twisted into Wonder Wife; she believes she is the hero of housewives, and only does things for Steve Trevor. She is only able to feel one emotion at a time and her emotions are represented by several versions of Shade, who does not know what has happened. The Shade representing happiness finds Cave Carson's eye and through it sees what Wonder Woman should be like. She breaks through a wall in the "Hall of Moms", merging with the other emotions to become a singular Shade. Wonder Woman also comes to her senses and the two set out. April 2018
Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye/Swamp Thing Special Jon Rivera, Magdalene Visaggio Langdon Foss, Nick Filardi, Sonny Liew Cave Carson goes out to lunch with his daughter Chloe and security chief Wild Dog. During lunch, Carson begins eating all the salad he can find before vomiting up Swamp Thing, who has discovered what Retconn is doing to the environment. Wild Dog and Swamp Thing fight drones while Carson and Chloe discover Retconn's plan to take all the heroes of the DC Universe and twist them into their puppets. April 2018
Doom Patrol/JLA Special Steve Orlando, Gerard Way Dale Eaglesham, Nick Derington, Tamra Bonvillain, Marissa Louise As Retconn attempts to sell the DC Universe to Manga Khan, the heroes attack. Khan's boss, Mr. Nebula, decides against the deal and Retconn attempts to trigger the Final Refresh Button, which will wipe out the continuity. Flex Mentallo uses his powers to stop Retconn and save reality, but causes some changes: Mother Panic is teleported to an alternate reality in which vigilantes have been outlawed, Cave Carson ventures into space, and Shade is reborn as an adult woman. April 2018

Reception

[edit]

The series holds an average rating of 8.0 by 86 professional critics on the review aggregation website Comic Book Roundup.[5]

Collected edition

[edit]
Title Material collected Published date ISBN
DC/Young Animal: Milk Wars JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1, Mother Panic/Batman Special #1, Shade, the Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special #1, Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye/Swamp Thing Special #1, Doom Patrol/JLA Special #1 June 2018 978-1401277338

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Milk Wars

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
"Milk Wars" is a American comic book crossover event published by DC Comics. It features core characters such as Superman, Batman, and crossing over with the more experimental Young Animal imprint series, including and . The storyline, written primarily by with contributions from and others, revolves around Retconn, a multiversal corporation that seeks to "homogenize" the by rewriting its heroes into wholesome, 1950s-style archetypes to exploit nostalgia for profit. The event consists of five one-shot issues released from March to April , illustrated by artists including and ACO, and explores themes of corporate control, reality manipulation, and the clash between mainstream superhero tropes and indie weirdness. Developed as a collaboration between DC's mainline and the Young Animal imprint curated by , "Milk Wars" served as a bridge between the two, highlighting interdimensional threats and character displacements that influenced subsequent Young Animal titles.

Background

Young Animal Imprint

The Young Animal imprint was launched by DC Comics in 2016 as a mature-reader "pop-up" initiative curated by and , positioned as an experimental banner akin to the earlier Vertigo line to revive obscure characters through innovative storytelling. Announced at , the imprint aimed to deliver boundary-pushing narratives unbound by DC's main continuity, drawing on Way's background in alternative music to infuse with fresh, transgressive energy. Key series under Young Animal included the relaunch of in September 2016, written by Way with art by Nick Derington; Shade, the Changing Girl by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone, debuting in November 2016; Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye by Jonathan Rivera and Michael Avon Oeming, starting in December 2016; and by Jody Houser and Tommy Lee Edwards, also launching in December 2016. These titles featured revamped takes on lesser-known DC properties, emphasizing personal and psychological depth over conventional superhero tropes. The imprint's stylistic approach centered on surreal, punk-influenced narratives that contrasted sharply with mainstream DC's heroic focus, incorporating elements of absurdity, horror, and to explore themes of identity and alienation. Designed to attract mature audiences seeking non-traditional superhero stories, Young Animal prioritized creative freedom and genre experimentation outside the core . This foundation later enabled a brief crossover bridge to DC's main continuity through the 2018 Milk Wars event.

Crossover Development

The Milk Wars crossover was announced at 2017 as a five-part event scheduled for release throughout 2018, marking a significant expansion of imprint into the mainstream . This initiative built upon the foundation of Young Animal's earlier series, such as and Shade the Changing Girl, which had established the imprint's distinctive style since its 2016 launch. DC's editorial strategy for Milk Wars emphasized revitalizing the Young Animal imprint by forging direct connections between its characters and core DC elements, including the Justice League and the broader multiverse lore. The crossover aimed to inject fresh energy into Young Animal by exposing its unconventional narratives to a wider audience through high-profile team-ups, thereby bridging the gap between the imprint's niche appeal and DC's established heroic framework. Central to the project's conception was Gerard Way's vision of merging indie comic aesthetics—characterized by , emotional depth, and subversive themes—with traditional tropes, drawing inspiration from the transgressive spirit of early Vertigo titles. Way sought to subvert expectations by reimagining DC icons in bizarre, '50s-inspired scenarios that highlighted themes of repression and homogenization, using the event's dairy motif as a for cultural . However, the development process faced challenges in harmonizing Young Animal's experimental, often chaotic tone with the more structured, heroic narratives of the , requiring careful narrative balancing to maintain the imprint's integrity while integrating mainstream elements. Creators navigated these tensions by emphasizing collaborative storytelling that preserved the imprint's weirdness, ensuring the crossover felt like an organic evolution rather than a .

Publication History

Release Schedule

The Milk Wars crossover event consisted of five one-shot special issues released weekly by DC Comics under the Young Animal imprint, beginning in late January 2018. These issues served as the core of the storyline, integrating characters from the main with Young Animal titles. The schedule was as follows:
  • JLA/ Special #1: Released on January 31, 2018, written by and with by ACO.
  • Mother Panic/Batman Special #1: Released on February 7, 2018, written by Jody Houser with by Ty Templeton.
  • Shade, the Changing / Special #1: Released on February 14, 2018, written by Cecil Castellucci with by Mirka Andolfo.
  • Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye/ Special #1: Released on February 21, 2018, written by Jon Rivera with by Langdon Foss.
  • /JLA Special #1: Released on February 28, 2018, written by and with by Dale Eaglesham.
Each special included backup stories written by and illustrated by Sonny Liew, contributing to the overarching narrative. The issues were published in standard format (32 pages, full color) and featured multiple variant covers, including retailer incentive editions to encourage higher order quantities from comic shops. Following the event, the five specials were collected into a single trade paperback titled DC/Young Animal: Milk Wars, released on June 13, 2018, comprising 224 pages in a mature-rated format priced at $19.99. Tie-in publications extended the Young Animal line post-event, including Eternity Girl #1 on March 14, 2018, and other relaunches such as Shade, the Changing Woman #1 on March 7, 2018, Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye #1 on March 21, 2018, and Mother Panic: Gotham A.D. #1 on March 28, 2018, which built on themes introduced during Milk Wars.

Creative Team

The Milk Wars crossover event was spearheaded by writer Gerard Way, who served as the creative lead for the overarching narrative arc, drawing on his experience revitalizing the Doom Patrol series within the Young Animal imprint. Way, an Eisner Award-winning creator best known for his work on The Umbrella Academy at Dark Horse Comics, marked his return to DC after a successful stint outside the publisher, collaborating closely with the imprint's roster to integrate Young Animal's surreal style with mainstream DC heroes. Co-writing the bookending specials—JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1 and Doom Patrol/JLA Special #1—alongside Way was , who handled the Doom Patrol tie-in elements and contributed to the event's chaotic, reality-bending tone, building on his prior Young Animal contributions like the of America series. The one-shot specials featured distinct writers from the Young Animal line: Jody Houser for /Batman Special #1, Cecil Castellucci for Shade, the Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special #1, and Jon Rivera for Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye/ Special #1, each adapting their ongoing series' protagonists to the crossover's multiversal premise. Additionally, wrote the recurring back-up stories across all issues, introducing the Eternity Girl concept and tying into the event's themes of existential disruption. On the art side, Nick Derington provided key interiors for the finale in /JLA Special #1, as well as variant covers throughout the event, leveraging his distinctive, expressive style from the series to capture the crossover's blend of absurdity and heroism. Other artists included ACO on the opening JLA/ Special #1, Ty Templeton on /Batman Special #1, Mirka Andolfo on Shade, the Changing Girl/ Special #1, Langdon Foss on Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye/ Special #1, and Dale Eaglesham sharing duties on the finale, with Sonny Liew illustrating the back-up stories. Colorists such as Tamra Bonvillain and letterer Todd Klein supported the visual team, enhancing the event's vibrant, otherworldly aesthetic. Editing was overseen by Molly Mahan as associate editor, with Jamie S. Rich serving as group editor, ensuring seamless coordination between the Young Animal imprint and DC's mainline titles during this experimental integration. Their oversight facilitated the event's "un-event" structure, allowing creative freedom while aligning with DC's broader publishing goals. The team's collaborative dynamics emphasized Way's vision for boundary-pushing storytelling, fostering a synergy that highlighted Young Animal's outsider ethos against DC's iconic lineup.

Plot Summary

Premise and Setup

Milk Wars is a 2018 DC Comics crossover event that pits the mainstream against threats from the Young Animal imprint, centered on an interdimensional incursion by the corporation known as RetConn. RetConn operates across the , stealing and reconfiguring narratives into commodified, nostalgic "perfected" realities designed for mass consumption, effectively suppressing the chaotic essence of heroism to make it more marketable. This establishes a meta-commentary on the genre, where RetConn uses radioactive milk produced by psychic cows as a tool to alter perceptions and realities, turning dangerous impulses into sanitized, consumer-friendly versions of iconic heroes. The story's setup begins with the detecting anomalies in their world, where familiar heroes are being reshaped into idealized, commodified archetypes—such as a dairy-obsessed version of called Milkman Man, raised by an evil farmer to embody repressive '50s-era stereotypes. and investigate a milk-themed breach in Gotham, uncovering how RetConn's interventions are embedding these altered realities into the DC multiverse, compromising the integrity of established continuities. This initial conflict highlights the corporation's goal of homogenizing diverse stories into profitable, nostalgic packages, forcing the League to confront versions of themselves stripped of their edge and autonomy. Young Animal protagonists, including the Doom Patrol, serve as early detectors of RetConn's multiversal tampering, blending their surreal, outsider perspectives with the DC Universe's more conventional heroes. Figures like Batman and members of the provide entry points into the crossover, as they navigate the blurring lines between realities where commodification threatens to overwrite authentic heroism with corporate . This setup frames the core tension: a battle to preserve the raw, unpredictable nature of tales against an existential corporate overwrite.

Major Arcs and Resolution

The Milk Wars storyline unfolds across five special issues, escalating from initial brainwashing to multiversal interventions and a climactic confrontation with RetConn, the interdimensional corporation behind the threat. In the first issue, JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1, RetConn deploys radioactive milk derived from psychic cows to brainwash the Justice League, transforming them into the sanitized "Community League of Rhode Island" in the idyllic town of Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, where they suppress their heroic impulses to fit a consumer-friendly narrative. The Doom Patrol arrives via Danny the Ambulance, discovering a mutated cow-like entity and clashing with the altered heroes, including a Kryptonian figure known as Milkman Man, who enforces RetConn's dairy-centric homogenization of reality. Subsequent issues expand the conflict through targeted interventions by Young Animal characters amid the multiverse war. In /Batman Special #1, confronts a brainwashed Batman, reimagined as Father Batman leading an orphanage of armed Robin-like orphans, as Milkman Man assaults the scene and converts bystanders into milk-based entities, highlighting RetConn's perversion of Gotham's archetypes. Shade, the Changing Girl/ Special #1 sees Shade, fragmented into her emotional aspects, battling a domesticated turned into the subservient Wonder Wife in a housewife role, dismantling RetConn's imposed stereotypes to restore her ally's agency. These arcs feature key battles against corrupted versions of , such as the fighting their own idealized, milk-influenced selves, underscoring the storyline's theme of corporate reality manipulation. The narrative builds to a direct assault in Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye/Swamp Thing Special #1, where RetConn promotes a "brand-safe" in an office-like multiversal hub, distributing milk and using Pop! figure proxies for heroes; intervenes, battling milk entities while Cave Carson is captured for interrogation. The climax occurs in Doom Patrol/JLA Special #1, as the full roster—including Robotman, , , , Space Case, and a returning Rita Farr—teams with the recovering to storm RetConn's headquarters, rescuing captives and confronting Milkman Man, revealed as a confused, god-like entity born from origins but twisted by dairy indoctrination. Resolution arrives through Flex Mentallo's muscle-based powers and Rita Farr's pivotal self-realization, shattering RetConn's foundation and reversing the brainwashing across realities, restoring the and to their original states. This victory includes a prophecy-like tease of the "Final Refresh," implying ongoing multiversal instability and larger threats from RetConn's remnants, while rebooting the Young Animal imprint with a reunited and hints of expanded crossovers. Post-resolution, the storyline leaves a shifted status quo with lingering reality fractures, setting the stage for future DC events.

Characters and Crossovers

DC Universe Protagonists

In the Milk Wars crossover event, the mainstream protagonists, primarily members of the , serve as the event's heroic backbone, rallying against the reality-warping corporation Retconn and its efforts to impose a sanitized, nostalgic version of the DC through addictive products. emerges as the central leader of this resistance, embodying unyielding moral fortitude as he coordinates the Justice League's efforts to expose and dismantle Retconn's corruption, drawing on his iconic role as a beacon of hope to counter the company's manipulative influence. Batman, leveraging his unparalleled detective skills, investigates Retconn's operations from the shadows, uncovering the interdimensional schemes that threaten the core DC reality and positioning him as the strategic mind piercing the event's surreal veil. stands as a symbol of unaltered heroism, her warrior ethos and proving instrumental in breaking through Retconn-induced illusions, allowing her to rally allies and affirm the value of authentic heroism amid the chaos. The event subverts these characters' canonical traits through Retconn's alternate realities, portraying Superman as a milk-addicted everyman in a twisted, dairy-obsessed that mocks his wholesome origins while highlighting his resilience in reclaiming his identity. This subversion is embodied by Milkman Man, a clone of created by Retconn as their enforcer. Batman appears as "Father Bruce," a brainwashed figure collecting orphans in a nightmarish , inverting his brooding into a paternal enforcer of Retconn's sanitized order. Wonder Woman is reimagined as "Wonder Wife," a subservient domestic ideal reduced to a queen of milk and household duties, subverting her feminist icon status to critique enforced conformity before she reasserts her independence. Throughout Milk Wars, these DC protagonists' interactions underscore the clash between their archetypal heroism—rooted in justice, truth, and protection—and the anarchic, experimental chaos of the Young Animal imprint, as the Justice League's structured teamwork collides with the unpredictable dynamics of characters like the , ultimately forging uneasy alliances to restore multiversal integrity.

Young Animal Antagonists and Allies

In the Milk Wars crossover, the serves as key allies to the heroes, aiding in efforts to counter RetConn's interdimensional manipulations by confronting the corporation's reality-altering schemes. Led by members including Cliff Steele, known as Robotman, the team participates in high-stakes battles against RetConn's forces, including rescues across altered dimensions where heroes are trapped in commodified narratives. Robotman's role highlights his personal struggle with existential erasure, as he grapples with the fear of being rewritten out of existence before contributing to the collective pushback against the invaders. Violet Paige, operating as the vigilante , emerges as a disruptor ally whose involvement underscores the event's themes of exploitation and identity. She confronts echoes of her traumatic past at the hands of the Gather House, an organization that children through experimentation, now intertwined with RetConn's milk-based control mechanisms in a surreal, church-like led by a distorted Batman figure. This confrontation positions as a fierce opponent to RetConn's of heroism, blending her personal vendetta with the broader interdimensional conflict alongside DC protagonists like Batman. Additional Young Animal allies include Eternity Girl, introduced through backup stories across the Milk Wars issues, who enters the as an immortal hero grappling with her powers amid the chaos, serving as a bridge to new narratives of resilience. Cave Carson provides critical interdimensional expertise, utilizing his cybernetic eye to infiltrate RetConn's systems and navigate their corporate strongholds, often alongside figures like to expose the invaders' operations. These characters embody the Young Animal imprint's unconventional ethos, acting as anti-heroic disruptors who challenge RetConn's sterile vision of heroism. While primarily allies, antagonistic elements within the Young Animal sphere manifest through RetConn's executives, depicted as surreal, corporate villains who peddle psychedelic derived from psychic cows to pacify and reprogram heroes. These executives, operating from interdimensional boardrooms, unleash bizarre threats like milk monsters—mutated, cow-like entities that embody the event's psychedelic horror and critique of consumerism. This flair amplifies the Young Animal style, turning corporate greed into nightmarish, reality-warping foes that the allies must dismantle. Milkman Man, Retconn's primary enforcer and a corrupted variant, further exemplifies this antagonism.

Themes and Concepts

Nostalgia Exploitation

In Milk Wars, the Retconn Corporation functions as an omnipotent interdimensional entity whose business model revolves around commodifying realities by transforming them into sanitized, retro-futuristic consumer products for profit. This includes pitching entire alternate universes as marketable developments or broadcast-ready television programs, where diverse narratives are repackaged into idealized, brand-safe environments appealing to corporate clients like Lord Manga Khan. For instance, Retconn demonstrates this by showcasing model homes in homogenized worlds, effectively selling "perfected" versions of the that erase complexity in favor of consumable . Central to Retconn's scheme is the use of radioactive derived from cows, which serves as a for the addictive, sanitized essence of mid-20th-century Americana, enforcing and suppressing the weirder elements of lore. This brainwashes heroes, turning them into stereotypical 1950s figures—such as a wholesome "Father Bruce" Batman embodying piety or reimagined as a submissive —evoking an era of repressed, ideals that mask deeper societal tensions. The motif underscores how such acts as a controlling agent, homogenizing the multiverse's chaotic potential into bland, marketable uniformity that addicts consumers to familiarity. The storyline draws explicit parallels to real-world comic industry practices, satirizing the cycle of endless reboots and retcons that DC and other publishers employ to perpetually refresh aging intellectual properties for sustained sales. Retconn's profit-driven alterations mirror the push toward merchandise-friendly adaptations, where characters are streamlined into toy-like, retro archetypes to maximize cross-media revenue, often at the expense of narrative evolution. By portraying these mechanics as corporate exploitation, Milk Wars highlights how nostalgia-driven strategies prioritize commercial repetition over innovative storytelling, effectively trapping the genre in a loop of self-referential familiarity that discourages boundary-pushing creativity.

Multiverse and Reality Manipulation

In the Milk Wars storyline, the is depicted as an infinite array of Earths and timelines that the corporation RetCo systematically harvests and restructures into "perfected" versions optimized for commercial appeal. Operating from beyond conventional space-time, RetCo targets vulnerable realities, such as Prime Earth, by identifying narrative flaws or "unmarketable" elements and overwriting them to create sanitized, nostalgic utopias. This process draws on the broader DC multiversal framework, where infinite possibilities allow for such interventions without permanently disrupting the core continuity. Central to RetCo's operations is the Sphere of the Gods, a higher realm overseeing multiversal structures, from which the corporation acquires and restructures realities across the to sell them. RetCo uses mechanisms like the Final Refresh Button to erase and rewrite continuities, imposing corporate ideologies to stabilize these alterations for sale to extradimensional buyers, such as Manga Khan. Manipulation techniques in Milk Wars revolve around as a primary vector for mind control and reality distortion, derived from cows whose radioactive properties embed RetCo's influence into the populace. This homogenizes societies, suppressing diversity and enforcing conformity by altering perceptions and behaviors on a mass scale, effectively turning heroes into archetypes like Milkman Man—a regressive enforcing 1950s-era repression. The technique allows RetCo to seed homogenized realities rapidly, using the milk to anchor changes in and prevent resistance from emerging. These elements integrate with established DC lore, portraying RetCo as an external threat akin to other multiversal manipulators. By operating within the Sphere of the Gods, RetCo's actions allow temporary reality shifts that heroes like the and can reverse through direct confrontation. This connection reinforces the storyline's place in DC's cosmology.

Reception and Impact

Critical Reviews

Critics generally praised Milk Wars for its innovative approach to blending the surreal, experimental tones of DC's Young Animal imprint with the more conventional superheroics of the main DC Universe, earning an average score of 8.0 out of 10 across 87 reviews on ComicBookRoundUp. IGN awarded the opening JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1 an 8.8/10, describing it as "a wacky team-up that captures the best qualities of Young Animal while being somewhat more approachable for readers who crave traditional superheroics." AIPT Comics gave the collected trade paperback a 9.5/10, calling it "one of my favorite events ever done by any publisher" and commending its absurdist storytelling and thematic depth in parodying homogenized corporate universes. Gerard Way's writing received particular acclaim for its and elements, with Graphic Policy noting how it "combine the and obliterating of Doom Patrol with the punching and posing of the ." The art was similarly lauded, especially in the finale, where described Dale Eaglesham's work as "oddly realistic compared to the art in the other issues... but it still looks great," while Nick Derington's epilogue pages were more cartoonish but better suited to the story's tone. However, some reviews highlighted criticisms regarding pacing and accessibility, particularly for readers unfamiliar with Young Animal titles. CBR observed that the opening special is "hard to follow" due to its experimental layouts and rapid jumps between ideas, making it "resolutely unclear by design" and potentially off-putting for those averse to "weird for weird’s sake." Later issues faced similar notes on convoluted plots, with AIPT identifying the Mother Panic/Batman segment as the weakest link in the crossover. The series demonstrated strong initial interest commercially, with JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1 ranking 91st with 25,090 copies sold to direct market shops in January 2018.

Legacy on DC Comics

Milk Wars significantly influenced the trajectory of imprint, serving as a pivotal crossover that extended its flagship series, . The event integrated Young Animal characters into the broader , allowing —written by —to continue publication until the imprint's wind-down in August 2018, when supporting titles like Shade the Changing Girl, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye, and concluded at issue #6 as planned. This extension highlighted the imprint's experimental style, blending surreal narratives with mainstream heroes, and contributed to the tonal influences seen in the Max television adaptation, which premiered in 2019 and echoed the series' emphasis on eccentric, psychologically complex team dynamics. The series ran for four seasons, concluding in September 2023. The crossover's multiverse manipulations had lasting ripple effects on DC's larger narrative landscape, particularly in reinforcing themes of reality alteration introduced in Dark Nights: Metal (2017–2018). By depicting Retconn—a corporation exploiting interdimensional "milk" to homogenize realities— Milk Wars directly referenced Metal's Dark Multiverse concepts, with Batman acknowledging those events during the storyline, thereby bridging Young Animal's metafictional elements to DC's ongoing multiversal arcs. These threads extended into Dark Nights: Death Metal (2020–2021), where Milk Wars' undoing of corporate-driven reboots paralleled the event's resolution of multiversal crises, including ties to Doomsday Clock and broader reality manipulations. In terms of publishing legacy, Milk Wars was compiled into a trade paperback edition titled DC/Young Animal: Milk Wars, released on June 19, 2018, spanning 224 pages and collecting all five special issues of the event. More broadly, the crossover encouraged DC to pursue additional imprint integrations, fostering experimental crossovers between mature lines and core titles, though Young Animal itself was effectively folded into the imprint by 2021 amid DC's restructuring of mature reader content. This shift absorbed Young Animal's stylistic innovations into Black Label's focus on creator-driven, non-continuity-bound stories.

References

  1. https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/milk-wars-2018/dc/young-animal-milk-wars
  2. https://www.comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/dc-comics/milk-wars
  3. https://www.polygon.com/comics/2018/2/1/16950640/justice-league-doom-patrol-milk-wars
  4. https://www.dc.com/blog/2016/04/07/gerard-way-introduces-dcs-young-animal-imprint-during-surprise-appearance-at-emerald-city-comicon
  5. https://www.wired.com/story/dc-comics-launches-young-animal-imprint/
  6. https://www.dc.com/blog/2016/09/14/young-animal-comics-for-dangerous-humans
  7. https://www.dc.com/blog/2017/05/24/jump-into-the-world-of-d-cs-young-animal-with-these-vol-1-graphic-novels
  8. https://www.dc.com/blog/2016/09/14/weirdness-finds-a-home-in-d-cs-young-animal
  9. https://www.dc.com/blog/2017/10/07/vertigo-and-dcs-young-animal-announce-compelling-new-series-at-nycc
  10. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/comic-con-gerard-ways-young-animal-staging-dc-crossover-1023548/
  11. https://www.gerardway.com/news/writers-behind-dcyoung-animal-milk-wars-reflect-weird-dairy-filled-crossover-un-event-21846
  12. https://www.altpress.com/gerard_way_young_animal_dc_crossover_milk_wars/
  13. https://www.howtolovecomics.com/2018/01/28/milk-wars-reading-order-checklist/
  14. https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?SeriesID=46111796
  15. https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/10/08/the-justice-league-and-doom-patrol-join-forces-for-milk-wars
  16. https://geekdad.com/2018/01/review-jla-doom-patrol-special-1-milk-wars-begins/
  17. https://geekdad.com/2018/02/review-doom-patrol-justice-league-america-special-1-milk-wars-conclusion/
  18. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/DC/Young_Animal:_Milk_Wars_%28Collected%29
  19. https://www.comics.org/issue/1815798/
  20. https://www.dc.com/comics/milk-wars-2018/jla/doom-patrol-special-1
  21. https://aiptcomics.com/2018/01/31/jla-doom-patrol-1-review-milk-wars-starts-here/
  22. https://aiptcomics.com/2018/06/21/dc-young-animal-milk-wars-tpb-review/
  23. https://www.cbr.com/milk-wars-justice-league-doom-patrol-crossover/
  24. https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/03/01/comic-book-reviews-for-february-28-2018
  25. https://www.cbr.com/batman-milk-wars-scariest-dark-nights-metal/
  26. https://www.cbr.com/milk-wars-wonder-woman-house-wife/
  27. https://www.cbr.com/recent-important-dc-events/
  28. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Milkman_Man_(Prime_Earth)
  29. https://www.cbr.com/milk-wars-young-animal-doom-patrol-robot-man-human/
  30. https://bleedingcool.com/comics/mother-panic-batman-special-1-review/
  31. https://www.youdontreadcomics.com/comics/2018/1/30/milk-wars
  32. https://www.comicsbeat.com/dc-round-up-the-milk-wars-conclude/
  33. https://www.dcuniverseinfinite.com/comics/series/milk-wars/f8a5c520-f3a7-4fb4-b9e9-e5b33266598c/details
  34. https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/dc-comics/milk-wars
  35. https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/02/01/justice-league-of-americadoom-patrol-special-1-review
  36. https://graphicpolicy.com/2018/01/31/review-jla-doom-patrol-special-1/
  37. https://bleedingcool.com/comics/doom-patrol-jla-1-special-milk-wars-part-5-review-deadpool-flavored-hipster-nonsense/
  38. https://www.cbr.com/jla-doom-patrol-special-review-2018-milk-wars/
  39. https://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2018/2018-01.html
  40. https://www.comicsbeat.com/exclusive-dcs-young-animal-winds-down-for-now-but-doom-patrol-will-return/
  41. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/dc-shutters-gerard-ways-young-animal-imprint-1110915/
  42. https://gatecrashers.fan/2021/09/17/doom-patrol-season-3-premiere-review-the-gang-is-back-and-stranger-than-ever/
  43. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Nights:_Death_Metal_Vol_1_7
  44. https://www.amazon.com/DC-Young-Animal-Milk-Wars/dp/1401277330
  45. https://www.multiversitycomics.com/news/dc-ending-vertigo/
  46. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Young_Animal
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.