Today should have been a day full of celebration and reflection- a day where comics creatorDwayne 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, Iconand 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.  

"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"

"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. 

Oh, thank you for bringing Ezio back. So awesome.  
 
  

Thanks to SUE at DC WOMEN KICKING ASS for this find. 
 
Tanit Phoenix auditions for Wonder Woman. She is one gorgeous lady...and unfortunately, that about sums up the video. 
 
  

Issue 52 of Hellboy is the second part of a two part series titled 'The Sleeping and the Dead.' Mike Mignola continues to weave wonderful tales of Hellboy's past that will enchant and delight fans of the character. With fantastic art by Scott Hampton, this conclusion to the two part story will keep you at the edge of your seat.

The Good 

At no point do I get tired of reading Mike Mignola's Hellboy, and this issue is no different. The second part of a two part story makes for really easy and light reading. Additionally, the creative team does a fantastic job keeping these stories self contained in well articulated and beautifully delivered little packages. There is a very smooth transition from issue 51 into this one. Hellboy picks up where he left off in the last issue fighting off a very dead and seemingly possessed zombie creature- rather unsuccessfully, I might add. In 'Hellboy fashion' he accidentally stumbles upon a solution, breaking the barrier that has separated the zombie creature from her enemy (a vampire) for years. 

The great thing about Mignola is the way he organizes his pages for the artist. For example: the first page contains four panels, each panel focuses on a specific object or theme that is somehow heavily tied into the overall premise of his story. The delivery is choppy and erratic- but not in a bad way. The four panels are tied together by a famous English nursery rhyme, 'Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary' (which with a little research you will discover was first published in 18th Century England. This style we see on the first page is consistently used throughout the story. Rather than using a narrator, Mignola uses English nursery rhymes, proverbs and poems to tell his story ('Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,' 'Who Killed Cock Robin,' 'As I Was Going To St. Ives.'). At least two of the nursery rhymes used in the story are were made popular in 18th Century England, so it is implied that the creature reciting them existed during that time. There is just something so intriguing to me about using these proverbs and nursery rhymes to tell the story. However, had Mignola not had artist Scott Hampton to tie the panels and narration together with his brilliant art, I don't think the reading experience would have been nearly as enjoyable. Not only do you have fantastic, gothic art; but you have panels that focus  specifically on objects important to the story's overall theme. This is a very well executed book. 

The Bad

I have no bad things to say about this issue. 

The Verdict

Sometimes you don't realize how good a comic is until you stop and think about the details of the story you have just read, and how the little things impacted your reading experience. Initially, I would have given the book a 4 out of 5, but I stopped, went back, and re-read the story. It is only when I did this that I realized how important the details in the art weighed on my reading experience. This is a brilliant story- not only because the premise itself is interesting, but more importantly in the way the story itself is told. It deserves nothing less than a perfect score. 

The Good

The Bad

The Verdict- 5 out of 5

As much as I absolutely love all the work that has been done on the Wiki pages at Comic Vine, I have to admit that some of them need a lot of work. So I want to reach out to all the members of the CV community and ask for your help on revamping the Comic Vine wiki pages. Check out Ethan (Red-Lamp's) blog for more information! :D