“Comic, cartoon writer created new multicultural heroes - Chicago Sun-Times”

Comic, cartoon writer created new multicultural heroes - Chicago Sun-Times

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Comic, cartoon writer created new multicultural heroes

By MATT MOORE Associated Press Feb 23, 2011 02:08AM

PHILADELPHIA — Dwayne McDuffie, who wrote comic books for Marvel and DC and founded his own publishing company before crossing over to television and animation, has died. He was 49.

The Detroit native died Monday, a day after his birthday, DC Comics said. His cause and place of death weren't immediately known.

Mr. McDuffie wrote comics for the New York-based DC and Marvel, including runs on Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, the Fantastic Four and the Justice League of America. He also penned several animated television shows and features, including the just-released "All-Star Superman," as well as "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" and the animated TV series "Static Shock" and "Ben 10: Alien Force."

News of Mr. McDuffie's death was first reported Tuesday by the website Comic Book Resources. Just last week, McDuffie attended the premieres of the new "All-Star Superman" film in Los Angeles and New York, and was scheduled to appear at an event this week at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles.

Mr. McDuffie's work for Marvel included "Damage Control," which took a serious but fictional look at a company whose job it was to clean up the damage resulting from battles between superheroes and supervillains. In 1992, however, he formed the comic book company Milestone Media Inc., which gave him the freedom and leeway to create his own characters, many of whom were of differing ethnic backgrounds.

Milestone Media focused on creator-owned multicultural superheroes such as "Hardware," "Icon," "Blood Syndicate," "Xombi" and "Static," which was turned into the children's cartoon "Static Shock," on which he served as a story editor.

Mr. McDuffie wrote for other titles and characters, too, including Black Panther and Deathlok.

His work at Milestone set a new tone for the use of multicultural characters in the pantheon of heroes, something that lent itself to his television work, too, where characters of color became part of interlocking teams.

Besides comics, Mr. McDuffie was a producer and story editor on Cartoon Network's "Justice League Unlimited," and wrote and produced episodes of other cartoons, including "What's New, Scooby Doo?" and "Ben 10: Ultimate Alien."

Christopher Chambers, a journalism professor at Georgetown University and author of the graphic novel "The Darker Mask," said Mr. McDuffie's influence resonated in animation and comic books.

"For minorities in this mode of entertainment ... he was a hero, he was a pioneer," Chambers said Tuesday. "Not just for we who are fans but also for content creators. He spilled over into other media."

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Heroes Series

Wednesday, February 23, 2011