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Dwayne McDuffie, Gone But Never Forgotten


There is no question Dwayne McDuffie was an important figure in modern comics. With his sudden death, fans and professionals alike will be considering his loss.

As a comic fan and a scholar, I try to be reflective when I consider the medium and what it represents. I will sit down and try to place his career in perspective, but at this moment I want to say I hope he knew.

He was a great writer, a great editor, and great businessman, but like many people, he probably spent more time doing than thinking about his place in the universe. You do that when you are old. Granted forty-nine was old fifty year ago, but thanks to baby-boomer cultural weight, forty is the new thirty. So he died really young (He would have appreciated that one).

I can talk about how he is dead and horrible people somehow manage to live and this calls into question the whole "merciful" god thing, but that would be pointless (it would be true, but pointless). Looking at McDuffie's excellent website, you can see he was still doing. He has plans and he was writing, indeed his latest work was yet another excellent WB direct to DVD animated feature. McDuffie wrote the script for All-Star Superman, which was released yesterday, the same day we got the sad news.

I guess my point right at this moment is that I hope someone had the chance to say to him, "If you quit tomorrow, you did good--you left your mark. You stood up for all that was good and right in your way and it mattered." I would feel better if I knew he got that message at some point. He did so much in comics and animation, how could someone not have said it......

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Unknown said…
Words can describe my sadness. I saw him as a beacon to a world where superheroes were of all colors and creeds and were written with all the nuances of real people. He demonstrated that people of color could write and impact comics and animation just as good as white people. He was a talent I admired. I read his blog and appreciated his insight. I am just stunned. He will be missed.
February 23, 2011 at 3:52 PM
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