McDuffie on JLA for the long term.

Over at the Comicbloc forums JLA reader Starks was asking about Dwayne McDuffie’s future on the main title:

With him being a story editor for a new cartoon, will he be leaving the JLA title? We’ve already seen Burnett write the front half of a couple of issues, is the title already in transition mode for a new writer?

McDuffie popped-up to deliver a status update on his current work load and to refute the idea that the title was transitioning to somebody else.

I’m not leaving. Because they take so long to produce, by the time a network announces the staff members of an animated TV show, the story editor is almost always done with his work. I was story editor for Ben 10: Alien Force while writing Fantastic Four, Justice League and Damage Control. I’ve moved off of Fantastic Four and Dam Con, and I’m in-between seasons on Ben 10, so if anything, I’ve got more time than before.

My recent break on JLA had to do with giving me some time to catch up after having to write JLA scripts for 2 or 3 different artists pretty much simultaneously. Alan was kind enough to help me out by taking on the Salvation Run tie-ins, so I could move ahead to issue #21 (the Final Crisis tie-in) and the big arc that follows in 22-26 (Amazo, Red Tornado, Vixen and a brand new villain). Unfortunately, the reshuffling delayed the return of Flash (planned for #16, moved to #20), but Ethan rocked it, so it’s worth the wait.

In any event, we’re back in sync with the rest of the DCU now, and I’m in sync with the artist schedules, so starting with #20, for good or ill, I’m the writer for the foreseeable future.

McDuffie certainly hasn’t had a clear run on the title as it’s had to endure Tangent, Salvation Run, and Final Crisis tie-ins while he has only really done one arc of his own (even that was partially a set up for getting Luthor and co into Salvation Run). It’ll be interesting to see what he does with a clear road in front of him and can really accelerate.