Today should have been a day full of celebration and reflection- a day where comics creator Dwayne McDuffie could look at his past achievements in retrospect and feel proud of himself and of everything he has accomplished. Right now, Mr. McDuffie and those closest to him should be celebrating his most recent achievement, the completion and release of McDuffie's latest project, the DC Animated adaptation of All-Star Superman. Unfortunately, on the heels of the film's highly anticipated release comes the tragic news of McDuffie's passing. Earlier this morning news broke that comics creator Dwayne McDuffie recently passed.
His time working in comics is a true testament to his incredible talent. Having started Milestone Comics (which was later absorbed by DC) and creating iconic characters such as Static, Icon and Xombi- McDuffie will always be remembered for bringing new characters to mainstream comics. Some of McDuffie's recent works include many of DC's animated film adaptations- "All-Star Superman," the "Justice League Unlimited" animated series, as well as his run on Fantastic Four and the Justice League comic series. However, McDuffie's influence in the comics industry goes well beyond the characters he created. His struggle to bring awareness of minority characters to comics, and his fight against the stereotypes will never go overlooked. Comics creator Bryan Edward Hill said it best- McDuffie brought awareness of racial stereotypes to comics because he didn't write "black stories," he simply wrote stories.
== TEASER ==
"I only met Dwayne briefly, but his work left an undeniable impression on me as a comic fan, a storyteller and a person of color. Frankly, there just aren't a lot of writing role models out there if you're an African-American and you love genre work. Dwayne's work meant so much to me, not because it saw genre through a cultural prism, but because it didn't. He didn't write "black" stories. He just wrote stories. Some of them had black characters, many of them didn't. That taught me that I didn't have to work inside of a box. That it was okay to be a creator that wanted to tell universal stories. His work, his presence in the industry was a lighthouse for me and I'm sure many of my peers who love genre work. His death leaves a gap, and I don't think any one writer can fill it, but it certainly adds a layer of responsibility to the rest of us to respect, and promote his legacy." -Bryan Edward Hill, "Broken Trinity"
"First time my name appeared in a comic was because of Dwayne McDuffie. I was the intern on a Damage Control comic and just to be a nice guy - and because he knew I'd get a kick out of it, he included my name in a fake movie credit sequence. I'd no idea if I'd ever get to work on-a comic as an editor, writer, or anything-- and just seeing it was so amazing to a geek like me. And he knew it. I'll never forget that. :)"- Dan Slott, "Amazing Spider-Man"
"Your work touched countless lives, Dwayne. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world. Ave atque vale." -Sterling Gates, "Supergirl"
"Suddenly, all the things that are stressing me seem very trivial. Dwayne McDuffie was a terrific writer and terrific guy and I'll miss him. I'm really heartsick about Dwayne. Such an unbelievably talented man, and a true guardian of the DC Universe. -Mark Waid, "Incorruptible," "Kingdom Come"
"I only met Dwayne a few times, but it's a testament to his character that people who only knew him from afar understood he was a man of not only great integrity, but immense talent." -Phil Hester, "Wonder Woman"
"An entire generation of kids that know Green Lantern as a strong, heroic, African-American man."- Matt Fraction, "The Invincible Iron Man"
Today should be a day of reflection and appreciation for one of the greatest names in comics, and one where we can look at all of the amazing influence that Dwayne McDuffie has had on this industry, Today, take a moment to read a comic by Mr. McDuffie or go out and buy your copy of All-Star Superman. Celebrate his life, work and legacy, and let him not be forgotten.
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