Weekends like this, the time of a major comic book convention (specifically Wizard World Chicago), are supposed to be times of big news and big announcements for the comic fans in the world. Nobody expected to wake up to the news we got today. Michael Turner, the artist who made Witchblade big, helped resurrect Supergirl, and created and co-created such diverse books as Fathom, Soulfire and my personal favorite, Shrugged, has passed away at the age of 37.
Turner, one of the true comic book “superstars,” has had a very public battle with cancer for several years now. In a statement released this morning his friend Vince Hernandez says that Turner has beaten the disease, moving on to a better place. I rather like that way of looking at things, and the way Hernandez talks, it sounds like that is how Turner himself would want to be known.
I only met Michael Turner once, at the Wizard World Dallas convention in 2004, and I was just one of a thousand faces looking for autographs that day — but he was very polite and careful to double-check and make sure the names he was personalizing the books to were all spelled correctly. From all accounts, he was a very nice, kind man. Aren’t those always the ones that go early?
I’m not going to pretend I was his biggest fan — I liked his work, but I often felt like he was getting a bit overexposed. There was a period last year where it seemed he was drawing the covers on every other book Marvel and DC published, and I would have liked to see more old-fashioned covers done by the interior artists. Now, though, seeing that his work is done, it almost feels like his intent was to get as much out there as he could before it was too late. Now it seems the day of the Michael Turner cover is over, and that saddens me.
While he’ll be remembered for Witchblade, Fathom and Supergirl,my favorite work of his was a title he co-created and co-wrote with Frank Mastromauro, a fantasy/comedy called Shrugged. This was a book that featured a teenager with the classic “angel” and “demon” sitting on his shoulders, trying to give him advice — but then he begins communicating with these two abstract creatures, and the world of his conscience begins to bleed into the real world. For my money, it was the most original and creative thing Turner ever did, and while I hope it continues on without him, it’s a shame that his contribution to the title is over.
I wanted to post some of my older reviews of his work as a tribute of sorts (poor a tribute as that may be), and was doubly saddened to realize that the vast majority of the reviews I’ve done of his work were just of comics he drew covers for. I wish I had more. Still, I posted a few at the Back Issue Bin, and I’d encourage any other LiveJournal members out there to do the same.
Thirty-seven years is far too brief a time in this world, but Michael Turner made the most of what he had. He produced a vast wealth of work and inspired a whole new generation of artists. For anybody, that’s a pretty good run. Rest in peace, Mike.
Reviews this week..
I neglected to do this last weekend, mostly because I had very few reviews to share, but I made up for it this time. Here are the reviews I’ve posted since the last time I updated. and don’t forget, you can see all of my reviews at the Comic Reviews Archive right here at the ‘Realms.
- Captain America #39: Good
- Daredevil #108: Very Good
- Fantastic Four #558: Poor
- Final Crisis #2: Very Good
- Immortal Iron Fist #16: Good
- PS 238 #32: Great
- Runaways #30: Average
- Superman #677: Very Good
- Thor: Reign of Blood #1: Good
- Thunderbolts #121: Below Average
- Ultimate Spider-Man #123: Good
- Uncanny X-Men #499: Average
- Wolverine: First Class #4: Good
- Wolverine: Origins #26: Below Average
- X-Men: First Class #13: Very Good
- X-Men: Legacy #213: Good
- Done-In-One Reviews for June 21, 2008: including my reviews of American Dream #4, DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar #3, Gemini #2, George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards: The Hard Call #3, Love and Capes #7, Sparks #1, Star Wars: Legacy #25, Superman/Batman #49, Tangent: Superman’s Reign #4 and Zorro #4.
- Done-In-One Reviews for June 28, 2008: including my reviews of The Clockwork Girl #4, Contract #0 and The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #3.
This week, Blake decides it’s high time the Showcase got a new coat of paint, a slightly amended format, and a much snazzier archive page. Welcome to the first episode of the All New Showcase! In this episode, Blake explains the reasons for the change before sitting down with Kenny and Erin to talk about all the news from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International. Witchblade Vs. the Darkness, the Simpsons meeting the Griffins and the Planet Express crew, Riverdale swaming with zombies, JMS taking on the Twilight Zone, new series for Harley Quinn, the return of Nightcrawler, Avengers 2 gets a title and Man of Steel 2 gets a guest-star! This and much, much more in the first All New Showcase! Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!
Once again, I thought I would regale you with some of my recent reviews over at Comixtreme.com. As prolific as I am here at Evertime Realms, I also write a ton of stuff for CX, including mucho comic book reviews, and the occasional movie and DVD review. In fact, after I catch Star Trek tonight with the guys, I’ll be reviewing that one for CX. I also recently reviewed the DVD of 
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