A giant in the comic book industry has died.
I’m not talking the about the Human Torch or some other cape who will be back in a year or two. I’m talking about a flesh-and-blood human being whose life was very much mortal.
Dwayne McDuffie passed away on February 22 after complications from a surgical procedure.
McDuffie could arguably be called the godfather of black comic books. Although his work arrived years after Black Lightning, his Milestone characters provided us with some of the best black superheroes of all time. Hardware, Icon, Blood Syndicate and Static were all co-created by McDuffie and left a lasting impression on me. I have a special attachment to Virgil Hawkins - a geeky teenager, once the target of bullies and object of ridicule for hot girls, who gains electromagnetic powers from experimental tear gas and becomes the crusading avenger known as Static. Who wouldn’t?
McDuffie’s characters weren’t simply black versions of popular mainstream superheroes Superman, Iron Man and Spider-Man. They were very tied in to the culture, history and struggle of African-Americans. Comic book writers have used superheroes to act as metaphors for real social and political causes, most notably in X-Men, but McDuffie’s characters confronted these issues head on. You didn’t need symbolism to address racism and poverty in Blood Syndicate. The writing was bold and in your face. We never saw a group of super-powered gang bangers before and probably never will again.
Milestone was a welcome change in the comic book industry, providing us not only more realistic and positive portrayals of people of colour, but a multicultural writing and art staff as well. Ho Che Anderson's Wise Son miniseries is a particular favourite of mine.
McDuffie’s passing thus marks the end of an era in many ways. There aren’t a whole lot of black comic book writers out there (Anderson and Aaron McGrudder are the only ones that come to mind). Along with Milestone, McDuffie went on to write for the DC animated series Justice League Unlimited, as well as some direct-to-DVD features like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and the recently released All-Star Superman.
He also brought back his Milestone characters Icon, Hardware and Static (re-christened Static Shock) to mainstream DC continuity a couple of years ago, and they’re still kickin' it in Justice League and Teen Titans respectively. Let’s hope DC will honour McDuffie’s legacy by not killing them off needlessly.
R.I.P. Dwayne. I hope your legacy will inspire other black cartoonists and writers to follow in your very large footsteps.
