I’m saddened to learn of the (evidently sudden and unexpected) death of comic-book and animated-film author Dwayne McDuffie.
A longtime writer for both DC and Marvel Comics (among others), McDuffie also played the chief role in developing the “Milestone” line of characters and situations created by black artists and licensed (rather than sold) to DC Comics; the most famous of these is the teenage superhero Static.
McDuffie was also a chief writer for DC’s series of animated tv shows and videos, including the Justice League series and the recent followup, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and he served as producer, editor, and writer for Ben 10: Alien Force. By odd coincidence, his video adaptation of Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman was released just today.
Only a few months ago he was expressing his hope to script adaptations of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing or Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns; I suspect the (now posthumous) project he refers to as “scripted … but I can’t say what it is for about a year” is that Batman: Year One film that people are talking about.
McDuffie was a terrific writer, and an inspiring and effective spokesperson for a greater minority voice in the comics industry. He will be missed.
2012 Addendum:
Actually the scripted project was Justice League: Doom.
See also this.