The First Dwayne McDuffie Award Winner Announced

Professional animator and comic creator Nilah Magruder is the winner of the first Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity for her web comic M.F.K., as announced at the Long Beach Comic Expo Saturday, February 28.

"I'm still in shock," Magruder said to the Washington Post's Michael Cavna. "I think this award is the start of something great, and I'm truly honored to be a part of it in its first year."

Dwayne McDuffie

Magruder's M.F.K. was one of five comics finalists nominated for the Award, intended to celebrate the legacy of comic writer Dwayne McDuffie, whose body of work includes co-creating Milestone Media, whose Icon line of heroes was distributed through DC Comics, as well as work on several series from Marvel and DC and was nominated for two Emmy Awards for his work on the Static Shock animated series.

"The nominees for the first ever Dwayne McDuffie Award reflect the best of what a comic book can be," said Matt Wayne, the Director of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity. "These five titles, as different as they are, reflect Dwayne's aspirations for the comic book industry. They are diverse, inclusive and forward looking."

The other four finalists for the first Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity were:

HEX11 by  Lisa K. Weber and Kelly Sue Milano (HexComics)
MS. MARVEL by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona (Marvel Entertainment)
THE SHADOW HERO by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew (First Second Books)
SHAFT by David F. Walker and Bilquis Evely (Dynamite Entertainment)