tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19703412.post-74026502751191258392008-07-14T12:00:00.000-07:002008-07-14T12:47:52.506-07:00So this afternoon my mom <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">texted</span> me at work with this:<br /><div></div><br /><div><em>"Hi. I just saw that Michael Turner died. Wasn't he one of your favorite comic book guys?"</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div>My first reaction? <em><strong>NO WAY. Impossible!</strong></em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div>Unfortunately I was wrong. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/04/BAQJ11K0A9.DTL">It's true.</a></div><br /><div></div><div>Mr. Turner lost his battle with bone cancer at the age of 37. </div><br /><div></div><div>Michael Turner has been one of my favorite comic book artists since I realized that other companies existed beyond Marvel and DC. I was first captured by his art in <a href="http://www.topcow.com/cover">Top Cow's </a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Witchblade</span>. His stunning attention to detail captivated me. When I looked at his comics, I thought <em>this is what I want my art to look like</em>. Top Cow swiftly became my favorite publisher and I was quick to pursue series that featured Mr. Turner's art, and from there anything that Mr. Turner happened to have illustrated a cover for. At comic book conventions, the first thing I did was go searching for anything Turner related.</div><br /><div></div><div>It wasn't only his artistic ability that was hugely inspirational to me; in 2002 Mr. Turner left Top Cow, and by January of 2003 he had founded his own publishing company, <a href="http://www.aspencomics.com/">Aspen Comics <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">MLT</span></a>, which featured offshoots of the Fathom series and urban fantasy story <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Soulfire</span>. </div><br /><div></div><div>My most heartfelt condolences to Mr. Turner's family and friends. I never personally met Mr. Turner, but no artist has ever inspired me more. No artist has ever made me so excited to pick up a comic book. His journey through the comic art world, from Top Cow background artist to creating his own company, is... aw, hell, I know I've used this word too much already, but it's <em>inspirational.</em> His art and his comics will always have a special place in my heart.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222956908374911778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_AZMtL0PKISo/SHurosDb6yI/AAAAAAAAAjw/ejACUvcacGc/s400/06turner.190" border="0" /></div>Beccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08501322903995350785noreply@blogger.com