ok, i can already tell some of you are confused by this. why is this 30something yr old woman writing about a cartoon? age ain't nuthin but a number, & my love for the animated medium knows no bounds. AND, didn't you read the part in my bio about how my husband & i work on comic books? wow, dude. try to pay better attention, yeah? then maybe next time i start spouting about something geekish you won't be caught off guard.
*ahem*
but "jl: doom" isn't really what i want this post to be about. it's suppose to be about the late, great dwayne mcduffie. if you bought the bluray version of "jl: doom", you got to watch a special tribute/mini-documentary on him. it told about mcduffie as a child growing up in detroit & basically being a genius. he attended college at age 10 (say wha???). started his own comic book company, milestone, in the 90s which featured mainly a cast of african american heroes (kid hero static shock, anyone?), practically unheard of at the time. then he went on to write for dc comics & their animation department. & that's where the justice league animated series came about.
this guy was a genius, & here he was writing stories for a cartoon. i'm not downing that at all, trust me. mcduffie was one of the best things to happen to dc. use to be that the regular joe on the street didn't know about vibe or booster gold or shining knight unless he was into comic books. thanks to him, kids AND adults from all over, non-comic book readers, got a chance to know each & every dc character. it was how he made them interact w/ each other, like they weren't cookie cutter heroes. he gave them depth & personalities. aside from them having super strength or an invisible jet, you could relate to them.
mcduffie passed away from complications during heart surgery last february. the script to "justice league: doom" was the last thing he worked on.
after it went off, my husband & i decided to call it a night. it was late anyways. i noticed how quiet we both were when we went upstairs. he went to take a shower; i went to put the boy to bed. i sat on the floor in my son's room, in the dark, & stroked his hair till he went to sleep. & i quietly cried.
i was sad as hell. i never even met the guy, & here i was crying because he was dead. why was that? because he was a creator who loved what he created. it showed. i couldn't help but feel like the world had lost a gift w/ his passing. i cried when i heard jim henson died, too. & aaliyah.
we're all put on this earth to do something, & do it well. could be you're here because you can teach children & open their eyes to their own potentials. could be you're here because you can paint such beauty that would make someone pause in reflection. could be you're here to be mother & nurturer to a kid that will grow up to change people's ways of thinking.
dwayne mcduffie was a storyteller. he wrote about human nature. how we can be our own worst enemies & greatest allies, where we fall short & how we rise above. just coincidence that the people he wrote about wore capes & tights.
