MICHAEL DAVIS WORLD

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Dwayne McDuffie, by Michael Davis – Straight, No Chaser #207

February 25, 2011 Michael Davis 0 Comments

The last time Dwayne McDuffie and I were at the Milestone offices in New York together we almost came to blows.  It surely would have been a short fight because Dwayne would have hit me and I would have hit the floor and more than likely I’d still be there.

That was years ago right before I left Milestone to run Motown Animation & Filmworks.  The next time I saw the Dwayne was a few months after at a convention in of all places Detroit.

When we saw each other it was like the fight never happened, we hung out and all was right in the world.  When Dwayne made the move to L.A. before he got a car, I drove him around to find places like supermarkets, malls and the like. That year Bill Duke was having a Christmas party and I was taking Dwayne as my guest. Before the party he wanted to get a haircut so I took him to where I got my hair cut which was in the hood.

I still get my hair cut in the hood. The best barbers are in the hood, that’s the good news. The bad news is, well, the bad news is you can get shot.  I’ve been going there for a while and pretty much knew everyone and everyone knew me.

Dwayne and I get to the shop on a Friday early afternoon.  Any black barbershop in any hood in any city will be packed on Friday, and this was Christmas week so it was SUPER packed.

I had told Dwayne on the ride over, that it took me months of sitting there silently reading ancient Ebony magazines before I dared to join in the barber shop banter. At a black barbershop in the hood, before you join the discussion you better have a pretty good grasp on what you are talking about and whom you are talking to.

Or you can get shot.

The second we sit down I hear Dwayne say to the entire barbershop, “So what are we talking about?”

I braced for the shot but it never came…

That’s just how Dwayne rolled. He was fearless. I told that story the other day at a tribute to Dwayne, for my money the greatest comic book store in the world, at Golden Apple in Los Angeles. After I told the story friends and strangers alike came up to me to tell me stories about Dwayne or to thank me for sharing the story I told.

I found great comfort in that.

Think about that for a moment, people you know and people you don’t know remembering Dwayne by telling stories about him. Telling stories about one of the greatest storytellers comics and animation has ever known. That seems so fitting a way to remember that big motherfucker.

‘Motherfucker’ was part of the way I used to describe Dwayne. The full description was, Dwayne McDuffie is the smartest motherfucker I’ve ever met.

I’m a smart guy, I’ve been to Ivy League schools and I have a PhD. Dwayne could destroy me without breaking a sweat on any subject.

ANY subject.

How in the world can we go on?

I mean it.

A world without that smartass motherfucker is a world I do not want to think about.  Denys Cowan told me that there is now a giant, GIANT hole in the industry not to mention the hole in our hearts, which we both mentioned because as badass as we act, we are really pussies.

How do we go on?

My best guess is we go on by honoring Dwayne for what he was, a fantastic writer a great friend and one badass motherfucker.

I’m sad. I’m angry. I’m pissed.

All that said, I’m going to try my best to live up to the standards that Dwayne set.

That standard is high and I can only hope to achieve it.  Shit, even NOW that motherfucker is smarter than me.

Somehow, I’m OK with that.

Goodbye Dwayne, I hope to see you soon…not to soon, but soon.

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Comments

  1. carlos franco
    February 25, 2011 - 3:16 am

    BRAVO, muthafucker!:)
    and you are right, Dwayne is smarter; he is now rejoicing in the eternal, unrelenting, immutable joy of Heaven – and we’re still here – w sarah palin!
    and if by some chance… he went… down to the hot south, he’s probably already MANHATTANED the devil out of hell!

  2. Doug Abramson
    February 25, 2011 - 3:32 am

    Carlos, there is no way that anyone that treated strangers clamoring for their time as graciously and patiently as I saw Mr. McDuffie treat his fans, on more than one occasion, could go anywhere other than a good place.

  3. Brian Rubin
    February 25, 2011 - 3:40 am

    Well said, sir. Hope you’re holding up okay.

  4. Doug Abramson
    February 25, 2011 - 3:47 am

    MOTU,

    I agree with you that celebrating what made Mr.McDuffie a special person is an excellent way to honor his memory. Another way is to continue your mentoring of creative people. If you and other friends of Mr. McDuffie encourage enough talented people to hone their skills and mentor them on how to operate in comics and animation, as professionals; eventually that huge hole that opened up on Monday, might begin to fill in a little. I can only imagine what you’re going through right now. You’re in my thoughts.

  5. David Quinn
    February 25, 2011 - 3:50 am

    Thank you… still trying to understand why the good go young. Talk to you soon, I hope.

  6. Martha Thomases
    February 25, 2011 - 6:39 am

    That was lovely, dear.

    Doug is right that mentoring creative people is a way to honor Dwayne. Another way is to continue his legacy of celebrating our differences, and enjoying people in all our diverse craziness. For example, if you’re a big black guy with advanced degrees in science, enjoy it! Revel in it! Share how much fun it is with the world through your genius stories.

  7. Mike Gold
    February 25, 2011 - 11:13 am

    Too many gifted people dying these days. It seems like we should be enduring a shortage.

    The same evening Dwayne died, British actor and author Nicholas Courtney died. A wonderful, kind and very talented man best known for his work on Doctor Who over 42 years, I got to know him about three decades ago and we kept in touch until he started getting seriously ill a couple years ago. I heard about Nick less than an hour after I heard about Dwayne. I stopped answering the phone, and I spent as little time at the computer as possible. It’s just too much.

    As always, my heart is with you Michael.

  8. R. Maheras
    February 25, 2011 - 4:21 pm

    About six weeks ago, while going through some old files, I found some 8×10 photos from 1974. They were of a one-time best friend of mine playing goalie at a pick-up hockey game at the long-since demolished Rainbo Arena in Chicago.

    Because I am older now and grimly note the all too frequent and sad passing of friends, acquaintances, or respected peers, I thought I’d try and find my old buddy — who I hadn’t seen or talked to in 32 years — and not just give him those photos, but thank him for being my friend those many long years ago.

    I found someone who I thought might be him and sent off an “are you the guy” e-mail. It was him, and it turns out that practically the same weekend I dug out those photos he had found some artwork and a letter I mailed him from Air Force basic training back in 1978, and he was wondering what I was doing.

    Last weekend, when I was back in Chicago, we met at a sports bar in Evanston and talked for three solid hours. Prescient, both of our wives bowed out of the reunion, knowing full well that this was an “old buddy” thing, and they probably would have been bored to tears. He was grateful for the photos, and, believe it or not, he still plays hockey, and he’s still a goaltender. And he still has the same deflector that I once painted a snarling hulk face on, lo those many years ago.

    It’s tough losing old friends, so whenever you have a chance to say “hi” to one, you may want to do so. Tomorrow may be too late.

  9. Marc Fishman
    February 25, 2011 - 6:19 pm

    My heart and Kathy’s goes out to you Michael. Dwayne’s work was amazing. His run on comics, and in animation is second to none. Had I ever the chance to have met him, I’d be in awe.

    It’s a terrible shame we as fans lost him, while was was in a considerable prime of his creativity. There will be a large hole where he stood that will not be filled.

    As you said, the best thing we can do is celebrate the man through stories. Though I have no stories ABOUT Dwayne… I own many of the stories BY Dwayne. I plan on immersing myself in them in tribute to a great creator, and by my estimation… an amazing man.

  10. pennie
    February 25, 2011 - 6:20 pm

    MOTU, you know if we are fortunate, our lives are graced by a few truly magical, transforming presences. Most people come and go but these few resonate in our lives through the years. I never knew Dwayne but, clearly, he was one. I am sorry for your loss but it sounds like Dwayne left you-and so many others so much to hold onto.

  11. Russ Rogers
    February 25, 2011 - 6:51 pm

    A good eulogy makes you remember the people you know fondly, or wish that you had known the people you’ve never been lucky enough to meet.

    Two and a half years ago, I had the chance to meet Dwayne McDuffie. I missed that chance. He was at a Comic Book Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. His table was literally surrounded by fans, standing at least two deep all the way around. I’m sorry I didn’t take the time to wait or wade through those fans to shake his hand and thank him for all the stories he wrote that I have treasured in long-boxes in my basement.

    I have appreciated Dwayne McDuffie’s stories for years. But it’s your writing (here and on ComicMix), Michael, that made me feel like a I knew the man, Dwayne McDuffie. It’s your writing that makes me realize that missed my one chance to meet him and thank him. So, thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance to know Dwayne McDuffie, even just a little better. And I’m sorry for our loss.

  12. John Rozum
    February 25, 2011 - 8:57 pm

    Thanks, Michael. That was a fitting tribute. My emotions are still too raw to attempt one, and I still can’t believe he’s gone. He’s been one of my closest friends for over 25 years and the person I always went to when I needed to know something. As you said, he knew EVERYTHING. Either that or he was the most persuasive bullshit artist on the planet. I just hope that his legacy is a living one and that his ideals are continued to be carried out by everyone who was touched by him in person or through his work.

  13. Jeremiah Avery
    February 26, 2011 - 8:34 pm

    I’ve enjoyed Dwayne’s work for years. It was honest and not riddled with cliches. In his interviews, he always came across as someone who had both a seriousness and enthusiasm for what he does. Truly missed.

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