I have read thousands of comics in my life thus far. Lately, I’ve been buying and reading as many @DakotaUniverse comics as possible in preparation for the new wave coming this summer. Last night, I read Deathwish by the late Maddie Blaustein and her partner Yves Fezzani.

I expected the four-issue miniseries to be about Deathwish (Wilt Johnson), a character introduced in #MilestoneComics’ #Hardware comic series. I had mixed feelings about this character, so I was not prepared to have my world shaken. I was wrong, on two accounts.

For one, the central character is actually Marisa Rahm, a transgendered woman and police officer—one of the first transgendered leading protagonists in superhero comics. I cannot recall the last time I’ve learned to love a character as rich and dynamic as Lt. Rahm.

Marisa is a dedicated woman, both to her partner Dini Torres and to the serial murder case that brought them together and has left them both with trauma. While the plot is strong, it’s Maddie & Yves’ commentary (through Marisa) about being #trans that impacted me so thoroughly.

The heads of Milestone Media knew that they wanted to tell incredible stories that reflected real issues in respectful and thought-provoking ways. #socialchange #comics

Through these intentions, those going through these hardships feel represented while those who aren’t in these demographics can better understand the perspectives of those who are. Marisa taught me more about the social, emotional & mental challenges that come from being trans.

I wish I could directly thank Maddie Blaustein and Yves Fezzani for this emotional and riveting comic series that I will remember for years to come. Instead, I hope someone from @DakotaUniverse sees this and knows that their comics are making impacts even 25+ years post-release.

Having had seen the WonderCon@Home panel from Milestone, I know the company is relaunching Milestone with a new line of comics: Hardware, Icon & Rocket, and Static—all with an emphasis on continuing Milestone’s legacy.

That legacy includes a history of representation. I don’t know to whom I should tweet, but I would like to plead the case that Marisa Rahm deserves a chance to shine in the modern day. She was ahead of her time, but the need for characters like her still persists.

Thus, I hope that @reghud @DenysCowan @DTDingle and others involved in @DakotaUniverse will remember Marisa Rahm, what she represents and could be. In a time when trans rights are up in the air in some regards, Marisa has a place in the current comic world, given the chance.

I don’t expect those involved with Milestone to necessarily see this thread. But I hope they do. I want to thank them for the eye-opening experience they helped give me, and I want them to know that plenty more people out there could easily have similar experiences. Thank you.

And thank you @DCComics for giving Milestone your assistance all those years ago to make such differences as these. I hope @TheDCUniverse will add #Deathwish to its digital library. It could be one of the most important miniseries ever created. #DCComics #LGBT

I hope #MilestoneComics reaches so much success that they can put out as many titles as they did in the #90s. I’ll be buying every issue and variant of the “Season One”s for #Hardware #IconandRocket and #Static / #StaticShock. We need more mainstream comics that mean something.