Comics Creator And TV Writer Dwayne McDuffie Dead At 49

Dwayne McDuffie, former writer of several Marvel and DC titles, co-founder of Milestone Media, co-creator of Static, and  a writer of several animated projects including Teen Titans, Ben 10, Justice League, the recent All Star Superman, and the animated adaptation of his own character in Static Shock, died 21 February, one day after his forty-ninth birthday, after complications related to a surgery he underwent the previous day.

I'm not even close to having read everything he's written, but I've long been a fan of his, and I'm glad I still have quite a bit ahead of me.  Oddly enough, I finished reading a collection from his Fantastic Four run the day before this news hit the internet.

In a tribute to McDuffie, Dean Trippe over at Project:  Rooftop put out a call for artists to submit their redesigned versions of Static. This is a great way to celebrate McDuffie's diverse body of work and his brilliant character.

Submissions should be sent to projectrooftop@gmail.com by Friday, March 4th with the subject line “McDuffie Week.” Be sure to include your name and website with your attached submission. We’ll showcase the entries throughout the following week. (If you’d like to send in fan art or redesigns of other characters you associate with Dwayne’s work, feel free. We’ll round those up in a separate post.)

Dwayne’s work in the field of comics and animation was near-universally respected. His knowledge and understanding of the DCU heroes in particular, always meant a lot to me. He worked for Marvel, DC, founded Milestone along with Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle, achieved more respect and admiration as a screenwriter for Justice League Unlimited and other DC animated projects, faithfully bringing the light of our heroes to the non-comics-reading public. Dwayne has left us far too soon, with too many wonderful stories left untold.

The passing of one of our own always leaves us with that feeling, unbearably aware of the unfairly stolen future. So now, that friendship, those kindnesses, and all those stories fall as new responsibilities to us. Please join us in celebrating Dwayne McDuffie’s life and work here at P:R.

If you have yet to watch any of the Static Shock cartoon, I highly recommend it.