Michael Turner Tribute

I was in a movie theater watching Disney's WALL*E when it happened. Like most of the world I did not feel the change. I did not sense a great void or feel the loss. But we all lost something... someone very special that night. That was the night that Michael Turner died.

Turner was a great presence in the comic book community. Personally, I was not a huge fan of his artistic style, although I will admit that I use some of his tricks in my own art. There was a great energy that emerged from his work... no doubt it was the energy from his soul. What Turner brought to the world was beyond the literal understanding of his drawings. It was more than the pen and the ink on paper. Michael Turner brought an excitement to a dying industry and gave life to old characters for a new generation.

In March of 2000 Turner gave us something new: HOPE. It was the hope that this remarkable man could beat the cancer that had already taken his hip, 40% of his pelvis and three pounds of bone. It was hope because despite all of this he did not abandon his work... his life... his art.

As a matter of fact, the last eight years of his life were quite productive. In 2002 he left Top Cow Productions, where he had made a name for himself drawing Witchblade (which he co-created) and formed his own comic book publishing company: Aspen MLT, Inc. He also did work for industry giants, Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

In interviews he did not curse God for his misfortunes. As a matter of fact, I don't recall seeing a quote of him cursing anything or anyone. His career left nothing but a positive image and many, many scantily-clad buxom women in the comic book industry.

As I was watching WALL*E get put back together with spare parts, doctors were trying to put Michael Turner back together as well. But unlike the robot, there were no spare parts to save Michael. At 10:42 Pacific Daylight Time, Michael Turner died at the Santa Monica Hospital. He was 37. But like WALL*E, the story of a robot that saves humanity, Turner saved comic books with a very polite and kind approach to life.

Thank you Michael Turner. You will be missed.