Dwayne McDuffie was a renowned African American comic book and animation writer, best known as one of the founders of Milestone Media, an imprint of DC Comics dedicated to promoting better stories and characterizations for minorities.
Born Dwayne Glenn McDuffie in Detroit, Michigan, he was the son of Edna McDuffie Gardner. Initially, he dreamed of becoming an astronaut and studied physics, but due to his 6-foot-5 stature, he was rejected from that occupation.
McDuffie then dedicated his energy to writing, following a stint as a copy editor for Investment Dealer's Digest. He later won an interview at Marvel Comics as an assistant editor to Bob Budiansky, where he cut his literary teeth on helping develop the company's first superhero trading cards and writing "Damage Control".
After becoming an editor for Marvel, McDuffie submitted the spoof proposal Ninja Thrashers in response to the company's treatment of its black characters. He then wrote Monster In My Pocket for Harvey Comics editor Sid Jacobson, whom he cited as a mentor.
Following his early 1991 divorce from his first wife, Patricia D. Younger, McDuffie and three partners founded Milestone Media, with McDuffie as editor-in-chief. The company's characters included the African-American Static, Icon, Hardware, the Asian-American Xombi, and the multi-ethnic superhero group the Blood Syndicate.
Milestone debuted its titles in 1993 through a distribution deal with DC Comics. After the discontinuation of Milestone Media's publishing, Static was adapted into the animated series Static Shock, for which McDuffie wrote 11 episodes, also serving as story editor.
McDuffie then joined the writing staff of Justice League, replacing longtime DCAU writer Paul Dini, later promoted to story editor and producer when the series became Justice League Unlimited. He wrote, produced, or at least story-edited 69 of the series' 91 episodes.
In addition to his TV animation writing credits, McDuffie also wrote for a number of direct-to-DVD animated films for Warner Brothers featuring DC Comics heroes, including Justice League: Crisis On 2 Earths, All-Star Superman, and Justice League: Doom.
During his return to comics, McDuffie wrote the Marvel miniseries Beyond! and the Fantastic Four, and Firestorm and Justice League America for DC Comics. He then wrote Milestone Forever, chronicling the final adventures of the Milestone characters he'd helped create before they were added to the regular DC universe.
Friends, family, and fans were devastated when McDuffie died on February 21, 2011, only one day after his 49th birthday, due to complications from emergency heart surgery at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center.
