On Thursday I learned that the famous comic book artist Michael Turner passed away due to cancer at only the age of 37.  I honestly felt sad by the news of his passing.  Obviously I didn't know him, but I've been a big admirer of his artwork.  Turner is the guy who is famous for his work on Fathom and Witchblade, and for his ability to draw very hot women.  My first Michael Turner comic was Witchblade #14 and I've followed his stuff ever since. 

I've always found him to be inspiring, not only in his artwork, but also in his life story.  He's one of those people who succeeded in making his goals happen, despite battling cancer for eight years.  Turner got into Image Comics during the mid-1990s and became VERY successful VERY fast.  He was multidimensional as well, being an accomplished athlete and martial artist in addition to his success as an artist.  By all accounts, he was also a nice guy who never developed a huge ego.   

On one hand, I always thought that his anatomy was a bit awkward at times, and he sometimes relied just a bit too much on headshots and collages in his storytelling.  Yet at the same time, I was just totally attracted to his art.  He was a very solid artist first of all.  He was also one of those rare artists whose characters had a real sense of character to them, with an instantly recognizable style of drawing people and faces.  When an artist knows how to do this, it is a powerful way of creating his or her own universe, and viewers are drawn into that universe.  Turner's stuff in general had a sort of sexiness to it, but a classy type of sexiness.  Everybody looked cool and glamorous, and they were always hanging out in cool and glamorous places.

It is said that some people are not on this earth for very long, but their light shines very brightly.  In Michael Turner's case, it is definitely true.  He had a vision and impacted the comic illustration field very strongly.  Reading about his life and appreciating his art makes me think about how I should conduct my life and approach my art.  Michael Turner, thank you for showing how to not let the bad stuff in life get in the way of your goals and thank you for your awesome artwork. I will keep enjoying it for years to come.

from www.aspencomics.com: