Justice League, Ben 10 writer Dwayne McDuffie dies
Dwayne McDuffie, a leading comic book writer who later wrote several animated superhero features and TV series, died Tuesday.
His age and place of death were not immediately available. He died from complications from a surgical procedure performed Monday evening, the Comic Book Resources site said.
Last year, Mania.com, a science fiction-fantasy site, put McDuffie in seventh place on its list of "10 Most Influential African Americans In Sci Fi."
His last work was the script for the direct-to-video animated feature All Star Superman, which went on sale Tuesday across the United States. McDuffie wrote four days ago on his personal Web site that he was "taking a break from a script I owe" to attend its Los Angeles premiere.
McDuffie also wrote the screenplay for the video feature Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.
He was story editor and producer for the TV series Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. In addition, he was the story editor for Justice League, beginningin its second season, and during its two seasons under the title Justice League Unlimited.
McDuffie wrote episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo? and Teen Titans as well.
Before turning to TV and animation, he wrote scores of comic books for New York-based Marvel and DC, among them Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, The Fantastic Four and The Justice League of America.
In 1982, he founded publishing company Milestone Media. At Milestone, he created the superhero character Static.
In 2000, the character was adapted into the Saturday morning cartoon Static Shock, which he co-created, and which ran for four seasons (McDuffie was a story editor). "Jimmy," a 2003 episode of the Emmy-winning show dealing with gun violence in schools, won McDuffie the Humanitas Prize.
He was nominated for two Emmys for Static Shock and a Writers Guild Award for Justice League.
Born and raised in Detroit, McDuffie attended The Roeper School. Before entering comics, he studied in undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Michigan, then attended film school at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He also co-hosted a radio comedy program while moonlighting pseudonymously as a freelance writer for stand-up comedians and late-night TV comedy programs.
"Dwayne McDuffie left a lasting legacy on the world of comics that many writers can only aspire to," DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio said in a statement. "He will not only be remembered as the extremely gifted writer whose scripts have been realized as comic books, in television shows and on the silver screen, but as the creator or co-creator of so many of the much-loved Milestone characters, including Static Shock.
"The industry has lost a true talent. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family and many friends he leaves behind."
Re: Justice League, Ben 10 writer Dwayne McDuffie dies
[In reply to]
Sad news indeed. I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. McDuffie briefly a few years ago; he had an account on TV.com during the time I was a member of that forum. He was a friendly, affable and intelligent man.
About 2 years ago I had heard that there was talk of a possible new Static Shock series. I wonder if that project is still in the planning. In the first series, the execs at Kids' WB! opted to make the mother of the show's protagonist Virgil Hawkins deceased for some reason, though she was portrayed as alive and well in the Static comics. McDuffie fought to the bone to get his show done his way, to no avail. If this new series happens, I hope the producers will respect Mr. McDuffie's wishes this time.
A true talent and a wonderful person taken from us too soon. RIP.
Re: Justice League, Ben 10 writer Dwayne McDuffie dies
[In reply to]
Mr. McDuffie died Monday in Burbank, California, says the New York Times. He was 49.
He was born Dwayne Glenn McDuffie on February 20, 1962.
His first marriage, to Patricia Younger, ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife since 2009, Charlotte Fullerton, a writer of comic books and animated TV shows, and by his mother, Edna McDuffie Gardner.
The characters he created at Milestone included Static, Icon and Hardware, all of whom are African-American; Xombi, an Asian-American; and the crime-fighting Blood Syndicate, a group of men and women that includes blacks, Asians and Latinos.
We've got to give him credit for ensuring that American superheroes -- and their creators -- are no longer a white boys' club. R.I.P.
(This post was edited by eminovitz on Feb 23, 2011, 9:41 PM)
