DC Animation
While
Bruce Timm and
Paul Dini are often viewed as the "Godfathers" of DC Animation, Dwayne McDuffie has contributed just as much, if not more, to the brand. Coming onboard to the
Justice League animated series in the 2nd season and continuing through till the end of the revamped
Justice League Unlimited, McDuffie infused the show with more intricate plots, deeper characterization and a blockbuster scope. He was the writer, producer and story editor on over 60 episodes of the show and was without a doubt a fan favorite. His crowning achievement on the show was the season long
Cadmus story arc that took place during the 1st season of
Justice League Unlimited and received ravenous praise from fans and comic insiders. McDuffie proved so popular on the cartoon that DC had him write some Justice League comics in the late 2000's.
Duffie’s next work for DC Animation was writing the scripts to a series of direct-to-DVD films such as
Justice League: A Crisis on Two Earths and
All Star Superman, which was released on the day of his death. Both of these works were well regarded among fans and critics alike and helped propel these DC properties to new heights.
Milestone Media
McDuffie’s greatest achievement wasn’t writing about the Justice League stopping an alien attack or editing the script to a Batman cartoon, it was how he created awareness of stereotyping in comics. McDuffie co-founded Milestone Media in 1992 so African-American writers and artists could have their voices heard and portray the diversity of their culture from an insider perspective. McDuffie always felt that minorities were portrayed poorly in comics and even took Marvel to task for it in a
satirical letter to the company. McDuffie’s work for Milestone Media is best known for giving birth to the
Static Shock and
Xombi, popular minority characters, the former of which became an animated series that he helped write and produce.
Dwayne McDuffie was a comic book creator who looked beyond the capes and masks and focused on the humans underneath. During his career he entertained us and helped make the comic culture more accepting and better educated towards minorities. We here at Complex send our deepest condolences out to the McDuffie family.