Michael Turner 1971-2008
One of my favorite comic book artists, Mike Turner, has recently passed away. Mike's art was known for its attention to detail and sexy female characters. Turner was discovered by Marc Silvestri at a convention, and hired by Silvestri's Top Cow Productions as an artist. He initially did background illustrations for Top Cow titles before co-creating Witchblade. In the summer of 1998 he debuted the creator-owned Fathom, having also worked on his new series Soulfire. As well as an artist, Turner was an award-winning water skier, held an instructor level red sash in martial arts, and was an avid video game player. In March 2000, Turner was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a form of cancer, in the right pelvis. He was treated at UCLA Medical Center with surgery in which he lost a hip, 40% of his pelvis, and three pounds of bone. The surgery was followed by nine months of radiation therapy. Despite his medical condition Mike continue to produce top quality art. His rapid growth as an artist was "mind-boggling" to watch, as was his upbeat approach to life, even while fighting cancer, said Silvestri of Top Cow. "His pages made you want to fly through the air, and that's how he lived his life." His death was a huge lose to the comic book industry, Mike, Thanks for the wonderful artwork.
