A MILESTONE OF AN INTERVIEW WITH DWAYNE MCDUFFIE

[Z. Julian Cenac]

A Milestone Of An Interview With Dwayne McDuffie

Interview conducted by Z. Julian Cenac.

As well as being a founder of Milestone Media (which saw the introduction of numerous African-American characters such as Static), Dwayne McDuffie was also a producer/writer on Justice League Unlimited and has written various titles for Marvel and DC Comics. You may also know of him as a creator/writer of the Static Shock animated series. He is currently penning the Justice League of America comic. With Milestone characters returning, but in the DC universe, it was time for an interrogation.

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Comixfan: Why are the DC and Milestone universes being merged?

Dwayne McDuffie: Over at Milestone, we've been looking to get our characters back in print again for quite some time. DC was looking to expand their universe with fresh characters and situations. Dan DiDio suggested that we bring the Milestone characters back within the DCU as a way to achieve both of our goals. It took a while to put together a business and editorial structure that satisfied both sides, but we got there.


CXF: Could new Milestone characters be created, or would they now automatically be DC characters?

DM: New Milestone characters could be created, but we've got a couple of hundred old ones to introduce, so it'll probably be a while.


CXF: Will the Milestone characters keep their histories intact or will there have to be some edits here and there (like not knowing the identities of Superman, Batman and co.)?


DM: Both, actually. Although I can't reveal how just yet, ALL of the old Milestone comics are in continuity, but a very small number of the stories aren't remembered by any of the inhabitants of either the Milestone or DC Universe, except for one character, who will be revealed as responsible for the continuity implant in a story that won't appear until sometime next year.

The upshot is that everybody in the DCU remembers Dakota as the Midwestern city where a bunch of superpowered beings started showing up about two years ago, comic book time. Almost everyone's heard of Icon, but most of the other Dakota guys usually work locally, and seldom make national news (with the exception of the Shadow Cabinet, who work internationally, but in secret).

This should all be seamless for readers, who won't need to have read any of the old Milestone books to follow their new adventures, but the Milestone characters' histories and personalities remain intact, informing their behavior as we go forward. The good news for me is that the old stuff will be coming back into print in remastered trade paperback editions, so interested readers can catch up on the excellent work of the many creators (Denys Cowan, Chrisscross, J.H. Williams, John Paul Leon, Robert L. Washington, Ivan Velez, Matt Wayne, John Rozum, Humberto Ramos, Mark Bright, Jimmy Palmiotti, and many, many more) who contributed to Milestone.

CXF: Is Static going to meet the Justice League?

DM: Eventually, but for the near future, Static's going to have all he can handle with the Titans.


CXF: A criticism of comics has been that black characters don't have the big time powers. Vixen got a considerable power boost during Brad Meltzer's JLA run and you have continued with that plot. Do you feel that it is necessary to power-up black characters in order to make them stand out?

DM: Not at all. It isn't power alone that makes characters popular. Batman is my favorite DC character, but he's not the strongest. That said, Milestone will be introducing characters of many colors who are as powerful as anybody in the DCU.


CXF: DC seems to be fond of legacy heroes (The Atom, Question, Blue Beetle). Is it too late to write a sustainable new character from an ethnic minority without them having to be in the shadow of a predecessor?

DM: No more so than the many successful white legacy characters like Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Ray Palmer, all of whom were the second characters to wear their heroic mantles. It takes time for people to get used to change.


CXF: After Final Crisis, will JLA be *the* place to go for DC superhero action?

DM: Nope, but it will be *a* place to go. DC has lots of great titles, Justice League of America is just one of them. The one where the big boys play.


CXF: A criticism of the current JLA run has been that it is frequently used as a promotional vehicle for other titles. How do you respond to this?

DM: That's a fair critique, but the entire DCU has been knee-deep in a huge story for the last three or four years. The Justice League's membership is deeply involved with this story, so it's only natural that a lot of it has unfolded in the Justice League of America's pages. After Final Crisis, it's back to business as usual and our storylines will begin and end in JLA. I'm looking forward to it.


CXF: Wonder Woman (a symbol recognized across the world) is arguably undermined by her appearance. In comics, is it hard to write female characters who can be taken as seriously as their male counterparts?

DM: Not for me. The foundation of Milestone has always been to find the common humanity in people, despite their ethnic, social, racial, religious, class, or sexual differences. That's a tradition that I've brought with me to my Marvel work, and to my work on Justice League of America. I enjoy writing female characters, and I think they're taken just as seriously by our readership as our male characters.

CXF: JLA #27 introduces some Milestone characters into DC. How does it feel to be using these characters again?

DM: Like going home after a long time away.


CXF: Has it always been a dream to see your characters standing side by side with the creme-de-la-creme of DC Comics?

DM: Not at all, but it's a lot of fun.


CXF: Characters like Blade and Spawn may have too mature a tone for young children. Wolverine, Batman, Superman etc. are more readily accessible and more popular than the likes of Sunfire, Luke Cage ... Lady Deathstrike etc. Is it really that essential to have characters from ethnic minorities in today's comics as role models?

DM: Comics themselves aren't essential. That said, it's important for fiction to reflect the world we all live in. And while all of us are comfortable identifying with characters of other races, it's equally important that people to see heroic images of themselves in comics and other media. It creates a powerful sense of validation.


CXF: Outside of comics, outside of TV work, outside of receiving the Humanitas Award, what do you get up to?

DM: That's all I have time for! I'm story-editing the third season of Cartoon Network's Ben 10: Alien Force. I'm writing the story and script for a video game I can't mention yet, but I suspect will be of interest to anyone who bothered to read this far. I'm writing a major mini-series for DC Comics that will impact continuity across the line in a big way. Most importantly, I'm writing the Justice League of America comic, where, post Final Crisis, we've got some huge surprises in store.

And you forgot to mention my Writer's Guild Award and (two) Emmy nominations. What are you thinking? My mom might be reading this!

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