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 w...