Unsung Heroes Of Black History: Dwayne McDuffie
In honor of Black History Month, VIBE is saluting influential figures who may not appear on any stamps but have made significant contributions to American culture. This week, we place a spotlight on Dwayne McDuffie, a comic-book writer known for diversifying the pantheon of superheroes.
If you've checked out our 20 Black Superheroes We'd Love To See In Film list, then you know this man is responsible for quite a few on it. The Detroit born-and-bred animator pioneered the minority-owned-and-operated comic book company Milestone Media—and rewrote the game on what it means to be a connector of the dots.
Here, we list five things that celebrate the life and legacy of Mr. McDuffie.
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1. Diversifying The Justice League —
"You only had two types of characters available for children," Mr. McDuffie told The New York Times in 1993. "You had the stupid angry brute and the he's-smart-but-he's-black characters. I've never seen anyone that's gray or purple before in my life." After successfully bringing his own characters to the small screen, McDuffie was handed the production reigns for several mainstream animated series for TV. Under his stewardship of the Justice League of America, the Detroit animator added new Black and female faces (Green Lantern's John Stewart and Hawkgirl) to what was seen as predominantly an old boys' club.
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2. Creating A Lane In Comics —
After becoming a freelancer in 1990, McDuffie wrote for dozens of various comic titles for Marvel, DC Comics, and Archie Comics. Through those developing relationships, he realized that there was a significant void for Black-and-Brown characters in the comic book space. With that in mind, he, alongside Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle, founded Milestone Media. The Plain Dealer described the company as "the [comic] industry's most successful minority-owned-and-operated company" in 2000, and their work was distributed with ethnically diverse casts by DC Comics. Mr. McDuffie helped create all of Milestone Media's major characters with illustrators and other writers and signified the diversity Mr. McDuffie longed for.
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3. Static Shock Has A Dual Place In Black History —
Static, perhaps Mr. McDuffie's most famous creator, is the alter ego of a mild-mannered teenager, who uses his secret electromagnetic powers to do valiant things. The late illustrator named Static's alter ego after a legend of Black History, Virgil Hawkins. The real life inspiration waged a battle with the education system to be admitted to law school at the University of Florida. The arduous process eventually led to the desegregation of Florida's public university system. The comic inspired the animated television series, Static Shock, which was the first broadcast of an African American superhero (with super powers) on the small screen. Mr. McDuffie served as the show's creator, story editor and writer.
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4. Dwayne McDuffie Helped Marvel To Be Marvelous —
When the late Mr. McDuffie was working at Marvel Comics, he was instrumental in developing the company's first line of superhero trading cards. The move was important to comic book fans and nerds who looked to own a piece of the company's history without having to buy a whole bunch of stuff. He also wrote for established series like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel. Mr. McDuffie also created a mini-series for Marvel called Damage Control, which was published at intervals from the late '80s to the present. His take on the series addressed a long-overlooked question: Who cleans up the comic-book universe after those messy battles take place between the forces of good and evil?
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5. Dwayne McDuffie Advocated For Social Justice —
Throughout his history, Mr. McDuffie aimed to make sure that "minorities" were represented in the medium he so loved. He aimed to make people think about their real world actions and speak truth to power against gun violence, which earned him a Humanitas Prize in 2003. To the many who thought that comic books were not vehicles for advancing social justice, Mr. McDuffie has this nugget for you to chew on. "You don't feel as real if you don't see yourself reflected in the media," he told The Chicago Sun-TImes in 1993. "There's something very powerful about seeing yourself represented." And represent he did.
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