It is important to recognize one figure in the black comic book community that we lost way too early. For this blog for my #BlackHistoryMonth series, I would like to spotlight Dwayne McDuffie. Creator of the animated series about a Black superhero, Static Shock, he also wrote and produced Justice League Unlimited and Ben 10.
We have Dwayne McDuffie to thank for initiation of Marvel’s first superhero trading cards. After working for Marvel, McDuffie became a freelancer in 1990, which freed him up tp write for Marvel. DC, Archie comics, and Harvey comics, in particular writing Monster in My Pocket. Feeling there wasn’t enough cultural representation in the comics industry, he formed a partnership to open Milestone Media. McDuffie also had a stint writing for cartoon television series; Teen Titans, What’s New, Scooby-Doo, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Ben 10: Alien Force. He also wrote for straight to DVD films for DC, like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Justice League: Doom.
McDuffie returned to comics, first writing Marvel’s Beyond!. He also was a regular writer for Fantastic Four and Justice League of America. He also wrote the ending comic for his character Milestone for DC Comics called Milestone Forever. Dwayne McDuffie passed away in February 2011, days after his 49th birthday. He had a great impact on the comic book industry, giving us some of the greatest canons in story lines.
There is a lot more information about Dwayne McDuffie, his career and contributions to publishing comics. Here are some links that are definitely worth checking out: