While watching the news this morning, I caught the back end of a news scroll saying that Dwayne McDuffie had died. Born in Detroit, the 49-year-old McDuffie wrote comic books for DC Comics and Marvel, where he was also an editor. McDuffie apparently died Monday following complications from surgery.
He legacy will probably be as one of the founders of Milestone Media, a company which wanted to bring diversity to superhero comics books, especially to introduce more African-American superheroes. Milestone Comics, an imprint of DC Comics, produced such series as Blood Syndicate, Hardware, and Icon, but the most famous Milestone character is probably Static, which gave birth to the animated series, Static Shock.
McDuffie was also a writer/producer of animated television series and features. His recent work included Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and the just-released All-Star Superman.
Yahoo Entertainment News via the Associated Press has this obit. Comic Book Resources broke the news of McDuffie's death and posted another article with statements from his colleagues and friends.
My story: Years ago, I saw McDuffie at a Mid-Ohio Con. I walked through the room where many of the creators had tables, including McDuffie. We did that head nod to each other a couple of times, but I was too afraid to speak to him. As someone who wanted to create African-American superhero comic books, he was like a prophet/spiritual leader to me. He intimidated me. How ridiculous of me. I wish I had at least said hello to him.
McDuffie was supposed to make an appearance at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles this evening. Now, it will be a memorial.
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