WASHINGTON – The comic book superheroes of Dwayne McDuffie’s childhood were all tights and flights, blond hair blowing in the breeze, blue eyes twinkling from behind a mask.
The few black characters that existed then were cast as foreign-born, or former thugs, or criminals who changed their ways. One company even thought the “Black Bomber,” a white racist who would turn into a black superhero when under stress, was a good idea.
Today, the worlds where the battles for truth, justice and the American way are fought are chock full of superheroes of all ethnicities and genders. This is due in large part to McDuffie, who championed diversity during a comic, animation and television writing career that spanned more than 20 years.
The sudden death of McDuffie this week at age 49 has sent comics aficionados, as well as the multimillion-dollar comics industry, reeling.
McDuffie was just beginning to crack the Hollywood market, writing animated movies for DC Comics and spearheading popular TV cartoon series. His animated movie adaptation of the comic book series “All-Star Superman” premiered last week.
“He was an incredibly successful writer and editor of comic books. And this is regardless of color,” said film director Reginald Hudlin, a friend of about
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