US comic book writer dies

Philadelphia - Dwayne McDuffie, who wrote scores of comic books for Marvel and DC and founded his own publishing company before crossing over to television and animation, has died. He was 49.

DC Comics says the Detroit-native died on Monday, a day after his birthday. His cause and place of death weren't immediately known.

McDuffie wrote comics for the New York-based DC and Marvel, including runs on Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, the Fantastic Four and the Justice League of America. He also penned several animated features, including the just-released All Star Superman, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and animated TV series Static Shock and Ben 10: Alien Force.

He founded publishing company Milestone Media in 1992.