Sad and shocking news - Dwayne McDuffie has passed away.

[icon_uk]

Breaking news from Newsarama

Writer Dwayne McDuffie, famous for his creation of Milestone and runs on Justice League in both comics & animation, has passed away. No cause of death or exact details have been released, but the creator's death has been confirmed by multiple independent sources.

Addendum: Apparently Mr McDuffie died from complications due to a surgical procedure performed on Monday evening.

McDuffie was the co-founder of Milestone Media, a coalition of African-American writers and artists formed with fellow creators Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle in 1993, whose output was published through DC Comics. Characters he co-created through that imprint include Static (who inspired the 2000-2004 animated series Static Shock) and Icon.

McDuffie worked extensively in the field of animation, as a writer for Static Shock and also Justice League and Ben 10: Alien Force. He contributed the screenplay to 2010's DC Animated feature Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and his latest project, the direct-to-video animated All-Star Superman film, went on sale today.

As a comic writer, McDuffie had runs on high-profile Marvel and DC Comics titles in recent years, including Fantastic Four, Justice League of America and the six-issue Marvel miniseries Beyond. His earlier comic book work includes co-creating and writing several miniseries of Damage Control, about a construction company that repairs property damage resulting from superpowered conflicts in the Marvel Universe.

His output was extraordinary, his creativity astounding, and I'm sure I speak for the entirety of the scans_daily community I say that our thoughts and sympathies are with Mr McDuffies family and friends at this sad time.

An additional comment from Dan DiDio on the DC Blog

“Dwayne McDuffie left a lasting legacy on the world of comics that many writers can only aspire to. 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.”

And for legality, one of my favourite out of many McDuffie stories



May I suggest that some selected posted from his many, many works might be a nice tribute?

And for those more creatively inclined, Project Rooftop has announced a special week in honour of Mr McDuffie where anyone can submit redesigns for perhaps his most high profile creation; Virgil "Static" Hawkins. Details can be found here (other McDuffie characters are also eligible if you so wish)

Comments

[cypherfdp]

It's saddening that this had to happen on the same day of All-Star Superman's release.

I'll always remember Dwayne for his work on Justice League Unlimited, the first series to introduce me to DC, and I am seriously going to buy every piece of animated work he's ever worked on.

[curlyjo1]

I was watching JLU when I heard the news.

[kamino_neko]

Sad...he was, I think, relatively young (not a single bio actually includes a birthdate, but, judging from his career, it seems he was in his mid-50s), and was clearly healthy, right up until today.

He was 49

[karmakaze]

I don't even have words. This guy made the comics world a better place.

[aaron_bourque]

Stuff like this always feels like an emotional sucker-punch.

[cuntfucius]

He was a voice that was needed in comics and wasn't actually redundant. I always enjoyed talking to him. This is... really upsetting and sudden.

[icon_uk]

I never had a chance to meet him alas. I imagine he would have had a great deal to say on a wide variety of subjects of interest.

[omgwtflolbbqbye]

It would be great to have an official week or so of memorializing for him on SD.

The guy already had my eternal gratitude and admiration simply for the work he did on JLU, but I'm sad to say I'm not entirely familiar with his 80-90s comic work, especially the Milestone stuff.

I'd like to see his 'greatest hits' as selected by the SD community so I could pick out stuff to add to my comic collection.

[adze]

Yeah, we should do have a memorial week.

[ian_karkull]

Holy shit, what? I.. I'm seriously at a loss for words.. This is perhaps the saddest piece of comic news since the death of Mike Wieringo.
Dwayne McDuffie was responsible for some of my favourite comic book stories when I was a kid and no matter what project he was working on at any given time, he always brought something unique and universally entertaining to the table. His Damage Control is a prime example for his ability to create brilliant and simple ideas and turn them into something truly special.
Working in animation, he's shaped the mainstream perception of classic comic franchises considerably and is responsible for introducing an entire generation to this hobby we all love and cherish.
Dwayne McDuffie was a great writer, a strong positive influence and above all, a good man. He will be missed.

[calvision]

Oh God, this is like missing a step in the dark. I did not see it coming.

May he rest in peace, and may the family and friends he left behind be all right. This is quite a loss.

[frostedone]

This is really dad news.

I did not know him personally but am eternally grateful for his excellent work on JLU and Static Shock. He was one of the forces that made the DC Animated Universe so great. He was a talented man.

My heart goes out to his family and friends. You will be missed. Rest in Peace.

[lencannon]

fuck the entire earth

[blackruzsa]

Oh my god
NO.
NONONO.

at a total loss of words

[sleepymax]

An amazing writer. A legend in my eyes and many others. A great writer and a great man. Best wishes to his family and friends.

[sir_mikael]

It's really sad. I just flipped through the Beyond! hardcover I bought the other week and the whole thing is just so awesome, he was a very good writer.
Funnily enough I read the Deahtlok series when I was a kid simply because I thought it was cool and recently I reread it and was amazed at all the issues he was actually tackling in those issues.
He was a great writer who actually, so to speak, used his powers for good. RIP Dwayne.

I don't have a sad icon, why do I not have a sad icon?!

[stubbleupdate]

Beyond!

Somebody should (re)post Medusa vs. Gargan

[proteus_lives]

That sucks.

RIP and godspeed to Mr. McDuffie.

[autumn_lily]

Dwayne McDuffie
- 2011
We salute you sir!


Also: http://homepage.mac.com/dmcduffie/site/mcduffieindex.html

[ruhig_knight]

Wow...
All I can manage to say is RIP Dwayne McDuffie, thank you for all your contributions to comics and animation, and my condolencesto your loved ones.

[flidgetjerome]

This breaks my heart. He was one of the few writers I could always have faith in to not let me down just in the sheer quality of his work and like other posters have said he also was a champion for under-represented viewpoints in comics.

[julian]

Fuckin' A. He was damn good. Completely too soon.

I think all of my Icon's at my folks' house, but if I can find any at my house, I'll see about posting some. (No guarantees.)

[julian]

Not that anyone was actually looking for it, but all my stuff is in fact in storage. Meh.

[dejadrew]

WHAT?!?! No! Oh, damn it, no...

[nevermore999]

McDuffie always stuck me as smart, funny and kind in any quotes I heard from him, and he was a great champion of minorities in comics. He wasn't always treated the best by DC and co. either, but his efforts were always sincere. I've loved his stuff on JLU and the Crisis of Two Earths movie etc. I'm really saddened by this, and my heart goes out to his loved ones.

[benicio127]

I just did a Tumblr post about this not too long ago, but I think one of the best comments about Dwayne McDuffie is that he never settled for mediocrity and thoughtlessness in a medium he loved.

And he always challenged others' perceptions and brought an incredible voice for diversity in comics. Here's a memo he wrote back in 1989.

The type is small, but it reads:
“In the past year, 25% of all African-American super-heroes appearing in the Marvel Universe possessed skateboard-based powers. In an attempt to remain on the cutting edge of comics, I hereby propose a new series that will fully exploit this exciting new trend… Teenage Negro Ninja THRASHERS

When a group of teen-aged negroes find cosmic-powered skateboards, their lives are forever changed! A team of distinct characters join together, swearing an oath to use their powers for good.

ROCKET RACER: A black guy on a skateboard.
NIGHT THRASHER: A black guy on a skateboard.
DARK WHEELER: A black guy on a skateboard.

And their leader, the mysterious black guy on a skateboard known only as “that mysterious black guy on a skateboard.”

This is a sure-fire hit as it contains all of these popular elements:

Circa 1974 clothing and hair-styles
Bizzare speech patterns, unrecognizable by any member of any culture on the planet.
A smart white friend to help them out of the trouble they get into.
They’re heroes who could be you (if you were black, I mean…)
They’re on Skateboards!
They have an attractive, white female friend to calm them down when they get too excited.
Face it Pilgrim, this one’s got it all!!!

Have I made my point?”

[icon_uk]

I'd forgotten that memo! :)

[auggie18]

Oh, jeez. Poor guy. He was a really good writer and the industry is really gonna miss him...

[long_silence]

Damn, this is really depressing. He will be missed.

[kd_the_movie]

wowwwwwwww.....This is really shocking and tragic........man this sucks.

[joasakura]

This is utterly heartbreaking. :(

You will be missed, Dwayne.

[big_daddy_d]

I said it on my twitter and facebook. The man was on a level few can measure up to and brought to life one of my all time favorite heroes, Static. He is someone I admire and is someone to look up to. He will be deeply missed.