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In 2021 DC Comics launched the Milestone Initiative, a talented development and mentorship program. Inspired by the legacy of Milestone Media, the program sought to train and empower the next generation of Black comic creators. Some of the program’s graduates went on to work for DC. For example, Morgan Hampton, who came to DC via the Milestone Initiative, is currently writing Green Lantern Corps. Despite the success of the program, DC Comics publisher Jim Lee says there hasn’t been another one because they lost their sponsor.

“I don’t know if we’ll do [another] Milestone Initiative,” Jim Lee says during a panel at MegaCon 2026. “We had an outside sponsor that came in and bankrolled that whole initiative. I think we brought in 20 different creators from around the country.”

That outside sponsor was the massive banking institution Ally Financial, a Detroit-based company that specializes in car financing. Their sponsorship underwrote DC's Milestone Initiative, funding dedicated training, travel, housing, and more for remote and onsite events at DC's California offices. 

“It was really cool. It was done in coordination with sponsorship, because those kinds of things cost a lot of money," Lee continues. "Out of that, we got some really good creatives that are still working for us today. I think it was a cool thing to do. It was successful.”

If any companies have some extra cash lying around, I have some ideas for what you can do with it.

Need more? Here's our picks for the best DC Comics stories of all time, and here's a list of all the free DC comics you can look forward to as part of this year's Free Comic Book Day 2026 and Comics Giveaway Day 2026.