Like everyone, I was shocked to learn of the sudden death of writer Dwayne McDuffie, who died yesterday due to surgical complications.McDuffie had numerous comic book and animation credits to his name, and he was an avowed Aquaman fan: of the six episodes of Justice League Unlimited that the Sea King appeared in, McDuffie wrote or co-wrote four of them. In addition, he apparently wrote some sort of spec-Aquaman movie treatment, and even had a chat with James Cameron about it.
After I learned of that, I contacted Mr. McDuffie asking if he'd be interested in doing an interview with the Shrine about his love of the Sea King, his JLU episodes, and his script. He said he'd be up for that, but asked me to write back in a month or two. I did, and not too long after he gave me the go ahead, and I sent him my questions. That was the last contact I had with him.
Dwayne McDuffie was a talented man, a classic example of the Fanboy Made Good: a guy who loved comics growing up and got to play with those same characters as an adult. Who among us hasn't dreamed of that, if only for a moment?
Rest in Peace, Mr. McDuffie.
Post Script: My long time friend, fellow artist, and comics nerd Doug Slack had a personal encounter with Mr. McDuffie, which he relates over on his blog.
9 comments:
This is truly tragic. Rest in peace, Mr. McDuffie. You have brought joy and entertainment to many of your fellow fans.
Very sad news, indeed.
How sad life's unfinished business can be...imagine if he had been able to respond to you rob!
Dwayne will be missed!
I became a Static fan because of him. Met him in person a few years ago. Very nice and professional. We're going to miss him.
Thanks for sharing and personalizing this Rob. I'm still miffed Paul Norris never got any kind of mention on DC's site when he passed.
I'm still pissed at how DC left him dangling on his JLA run with the revamp. So much potential for a GREAT JLA run.
RIP, Mr. McDuffie.
We enjoyed your work immensely.
You will be missed.
What a shock. I watched All-Star Superman (which he adapted to the screen) and then hit the net to find he had passed.
He made a huge contribution to comics, and to DC in particular, especially through Static and JLU, on which he was a major mover.
RIP.
Chris
No! I can't believe this. This is so, so sad, for many reasons. His scripts for JL and JLU are some of the best-written pieces you'll ever find for comic book characters. "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" really stands out as a well-done example of the form. He had a gift for making "cartoon show" stories that were intelligent and mature as well as action-packed. He will be missed.
What a shock. I'm extremely saddened to hear this. We've all enjoyed Mr. McDuffie's talent and professionalism in dealing with our favorite characters. His death leaves quite a void.
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