Dwayne McDuffie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dwayne McDuffie |
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McDuffie in the late 1980s or early 1990s
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| Born | Dwayne Glenn McDuffie February 20, 1962 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | February 21, 2011 (aged 49) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, producer, editor |
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Notable works
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Comics: Milestone Media, Static TV: Static Shock, Damage Control, Justice League Unlimited, Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, All-Star Superman |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Relatives | Keegan-Michael Key (half-brother) |
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962 – February 21, 2011) was an American writer and producer. He was famous for his work on comic books and television shows. He helped create and write popular animated series like Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited, and Ben 10.
McDuffie also co-founded Milestone Media. This was a special comic book company owned and run by minority creators. It focused on creating diverse characters in American comics. Dwayne McDuffie was nominated for three Eisner Awards for his comic book work.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Dwayne McDuffie was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He went to the Roeper School, which is a school for gifted children. He finished school there in 1980.
He later talked about how few diverse characters there were in comics. He said that characters of color often looked the same or were shown in limited ways. He wanted to see more different and accurate characters.
In 1983, he earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan. He then got a master's degree in physics. After that, he moved to New York to study film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While working as an editor for a business magazine, a friend helped him get an interview at Marvel Comics. Years later, comedian Keegan-Michael Key found out that Dwayne McDuffie was his half-brother.
Amazing Career in Comics and TV
Marvel Comics and Milestone Media
Dwayne McDuffie started working at Marvel Comics as an assistant editor. He helped create the company's first superhero trading cards. He also wrote stories for Marvel. One of his first big projects was Damage Control. This was a comic series about a company that cleans up after superhero battles.
After becoming an editor, McDuffie wanted to see more diverse characters in comics. He left Marvel in 1990 to become a freelance writer. He wrote for many different comic companies, including Marvel, DC Comics, and Archie Comics.
In the early 1990s, McDuffie and three partners started Milestone Media. They wanted to create comic books that showed more cultures and people. The Plain Dealer newspaper called Milestone "the industry's most successful minority-owned-and operated comic company."
McDuffie explained that if you only have one character from a certain group, they have to represent everyone in that group. He wanted to show many different characters within each ethnic group. This meant creating many books and showing a wider view of the world.
Milestone Media launched its comics in 1993. They worked with DC Comics to distribute their books. Milestone created characters like Static, Icon, and Hardware. They also had the multi-ethnic superhero team called the Blood Syndicate. As editor-in-chief, McDuffie helped create many of these characters, including Static.
Movies, Television, and Video Games
After Milestone Media stopped publishing new comics, their character Static became an animated TV show called Static Shock. Dwayne McDuffie was hired to write and edit stories for the series. He wrote 11 episodes for the show.
He also wrote for other TV shows like Teen Titans and What's New, Scooby-Doo?.
McDuffie became a staff writer for the animated series Justice League. He was later promoted to story editor and producer when the series became Justice League Unlimited. During the show's run, McDuffie wrote, produced, or edited stories for 69 out of 91 episodes.
He also wrote the story for the video game Justice League Heroes.
McDuffie helped update and edit the popular Ben 10 animated series for Cartoon Network. He worked on Ben 10: Alien Force, which followed the main character as a teenager. He wrote or edited stories for all 46 episodes of this series. McDuffie also produced and edited stories for the next series, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien.
McDuffie wrote several animated movies based on DC Comics characters. These included Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and All-Star Superman. The All-Star Superman movie was released one day after he passed away. Another movie, Justice League: Doom, was released in 2012 after his death.
His work was also seen in Ben 10: Omniverse, where he shared story credit for the first two episodes.
Back to Comics
After his successful work on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, McDuffie returned to writing comic books. He wrote the Marvel miniseries Beyond!.
In 2007, McDuffie wrote several issues of Firestorm for DC Comics. Later that year, he became the main writer for Fantastic Four. He also wrote for Justice League of America from 2007 to 2009.
He married comic book and animation writer Charlotte Fullerton in 2009.
McDuffie wrote Milestone Forever for DC Comics. This two-issue series told the final adventures of his Milestone characters. It showed how their world combined with the main DC Universe.
His Passing
Dwayne McDuffie passed away on February 21, 2011, one day after his 49th birthday. He died in Burbank, California, due to problems from heart surgery.
Tributes and Legacy
Many people honored Dwayne McDuffie after his death. The 2012 film Justice League: Doom was dedicated to him. The movie's Blu-ray and DVD versions included a documentary about his life called A Legion of One: The Dwayne McDuffie Story.
In 2012, a diner named "McDuffie's" appeared in an episode of Green Lantern: The Animated Series. The Ultimate Spider-Man episode "Damage" was also dedicated to his memory. In that episode, a new character named "Mac" was the CEO of Damage Control, the fictional company McDuffie created.
The final episode of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien also honored him in its credits. The video game Ben 10: Galactic Racing did the same.
In the 2011 Static Shock comic series, Virgil Hawkins' new high school was named after McDuffie.
In 2015, the first Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics was given out. This award celebrates diversity in comics and is now an annual event. The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics is also given out each year.
In 2019, the DC Comics character Naomi's last name was revealed to be McDuffie, honoring him.
Awards and Recognitions
- In 1995, McDuffie was nominated for three Eisner Awards: Best Writer (for Icon), Best Editor (for Worlds Collide, Xombi, and Shadow Cabinet), and Best Continuing Series (with M.D. Bright for Icon).
- In 1996, he won the Golden Apple Award from his old school, the Roeper School. This was for using popular art to promote human worth and dignity.
- In 2003, McDuffie won the Humanitas Prize in Children's Animation. This was for the "Jimmy" episode of Static Shock, which was about gun violence.
- In 2003 and 2004, McDuffie and other Static Shock creators were nominated for Daytime Emmy awards.
- In 2005, he was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award in animation. This was for the "Starcrossed" episode of Justice League.
- In 2008, Wizard Magazine readers voted McDuffie as Favorite Breakout Talent in the Wizard Fan Awards.
- In 2009, McDuffie won Comic Con International's Inkpot Award.
- In 2011, after he passed away, McDuffie received the Animation Writers Caucus' annual Animation Writing Award.
Screenwriting Work
- series head writer denoted in bold
Television Shows
- Static Shock (2000-2004): Head writer for season 4
- What’s New, Scooby-Doo? (2002)
- Justice League (2002-2004): Head writer for season 2
- Teen Titans (2004)
- Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006)
- Ben 10: Alien Force (2008–2010)
- Ben 10: Ultimate Alien (2010–2012)
- Ben 10: Omniverse (2012)
Animated Movies
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
- All-Star Superman (2011)
- Justice League: Doom (2012)
See also
In Spanish: Dwayne McDuffie para niños
