Saturday night at Emerald City Comicon 2011 marked a rather solemn occasion, that being the memorial for Dwayne McDuffie. Dwayne died suddenly and shockingly on February 21 following complications from surgery and colleagues and fans gathered to pay tribute to the amazing writer. On stage were Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek, Marv Wolfman, Bob Harras and David Walker. All five writers talked about their fondest memories of Dwayne along with how effortlessly talented he was. Everyone agreed that he was not only brilliantly insightful, but also a tireless proponent for breaking the horrendous stereotypical and sometimes downright offensive depiction of people of color in comics. The most poignant remembrance came from writer David Walker who talked about his first meeting with Dwayne many years ago and being surprised at how much Dwayne knew about him. This sparked a friendship that lasted many, many years. A couple of audience members also shared how Dwayne had inspired them, including Leverage co-creator John Rogers. At the beginning of the hour the below video was shown. This is a terrific tribute to the amazing career and work of Dwayne McDuffie and all credit should go to Thomas Nord, Brandon Jerwa and Troy Reeder for their work on putting this together.
Thank you to Mark Waid for arranging this very fitting memorial at the last minute at Emerald City, thanks to all who attended and shared their favorite memories of Dwayne and thank you to Tom Nord, Brandon Jerwa and Troy Reeder for the wonderful video.
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