Comic Book Resources reported Tuesday that prolific comics writer and animation producer Dwayne McDuffie passed away as the result of "complications due to a surgical procedure performed Monday evening." The sad news comes on the same day that the All-Star Superman animated feature went on sale in North America. Based on the comic book series by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the screenplay was written by McDuffie, who considered the finished film to be his favorite piece of animation work and spoke with ComicsAlliance at the New York premiere.Dwayne McDuffie was a veteran storyteller respected by fans and creators alike. In comics, he is perhaps best associated with Milestone Media, the publishing company he co-founded with Denys Cowan to spotlight the work of African-American creators and characters. McDuffie's most famous creation for Milestone was the character Static, whose series was published from 1993 to 1997. Co-created by John Paul Leon, Static went on to appear in the popular Static Shock! animated series as well as many other books published by DC Comics, including a brand new ongoing series launching later this year.

For more than one generation of fans, McDuffie will always be beloved for his work as Executive Producer and head writer of Justice League Unlimited, the animated series that so perfectly expressed the action, humor and spirit of the DC Universe. Through the show, McDuffie is responsible for endearing viewers to the DC superheroes and to the genre in general, including many minorities and women, whom the writer always depicted with boldness and grace.

UPDATE: CBR is reporting that McDuffie died from complications having to do with "a surgical procedure" performed Monday evening.

The family and friends of Dwayne McDuffie are in the thoughts of everyone here at ComicsAlliance, whose very existence owes much to the man and his prodigious work.

Naturally, reaction from the comics community is profound. Here are some of them that have been shared via Twitter.