Rudy Vasquez phoned me Saturday morning with the terrible news, Michael Turner, long time fan-favorite comic artist died at 37 after his long bout with cancer. I admit, I was never a huge fan of Micheal Turner the artist as much as I was a fan of the man himself. Reading about all his trails and tribulations with the horrible disease, I was amazed that through it all he was able to get his own Comic Company off the ground (Aspen MLT), and even contributed work to Marvel and DC at the same time, as well as making as many Con appearences as he could. I only hope I can one day have half his deditcation, work ethic and passion for the craft. His Idendity Crisis covers for DC were some of his carrer's finest.

I just read this on Newsarama.com. [link] It was an article on industry creators remebering Mike in their own words. This one from Identity Crisis writer, Brad Meltzer, really stood out to me amongst the others. I just thought I'd share it with you all.

Rest in peace, Mike.

Justin Carmona and
the Project4 Crew


Brad Meltzer:

Mike Turner (cover artist on Identity Crisis and JLA) was always smiling. Always. And over the past few weeks – as I wrote to him and knew things were getting worse – I always tried to keep that in my head. He didn't have a cocky smile (and he'd earned the right to a cocky smile). It was a true smile. A real smile. But writing about smiles doesn't do him justice, so let me share the one story that does.

It was after we finished Identity Crisis. We knew we would be doing JLA together. That was always in the plans. And then he decided that he was going to start doing covers for Marvel. And so...man, I remember him telling me this story in L.A. like it was yesterday...he tells me that he's making this deal with Marvel. And then, the guy who he's negotiating with from Marvel says (as he should say): The only catch is, if you want this deal with Marvel, you can't do the JLA covers. You have to be just with us or the deal's off.

I choke inside because I assume this is where Mike tells me why he can't do JLA (and listen, I appreciate that that sometimes happens. That's the business).

And then Mike says to the Marvel guy, "Okay, then I'm out. Deal's off."

I can't believe it. As he tells me the story, it's clear he means it. He's fully ready to walk away from his entire deal and the crazy Marvel money.

And then Mike lets loose with this awesome smile – one of the best ever smiles and says, "One second later, they caved. I'm in for JLA."

I guess that's where the story was supposed to end, but of course, me being guilt-ridden me, I somehow feel guilty that JLA got in the middle of his negotiation, so I start telling him, "Listen, please...you didn't have to do that. I'd understand and..."

No, Mike protested. "I made a promise to you."

And right there...I can picture that moment...I'll never forget that moment. Right there, Mike wasn't just some guy who drew the covers and sold some copies. He wasn't the guy who could do that movie poster feel for your book (look at his first Flash cover), always making every 60 year old character suddenly seem brand new. He wasn't the guy who made every book we worked on jump off the shelf (think for a moment, he was the only true 'name' on Identity Crisis. Why do you think people picked it up from issue one?). And he wasn't just another superstar.

He was my friend. A good friend. And a friend who would've given up something he really wanted. For someone else. In life, those are the friends you treasure.

And I treasure Mike Turner.

I should also say, in all the time he was on JLA -- with all the sickness and all the crap he was going through, he was never late, never complained, never once did anything but be himself and smile.

He has no idea how much I'd taken his lesson to heart – long before today.

So forget the half-mast flag. Wear your smile loud and proud in his honor.

Rest easy, Mike.

ABOUT PROJECT4 STUDIOS:

We are Project4 Studios, a bunch of guys and gals hailing from El Paso, TX who got together because we love to create comics. We're not pretending to be a publisher. What we are is a collective of self publishers who all self publish under the same banner. And we do it with genuine love, passion and respect for the craft.

The difference is, we won't try to tell you what's hot and what's not, but instead work hard enough to create comics that are worth your time and money. Here, we are learning the craft, not just the anatomy of what's on a page, but the process of bringing that together which insists on some form of quality control rooted in structure.

We are preparing our talent, who are really just friends, to go out there and understand that to do this for a living means understanding the rules. No rush jobs here. Instead we are comitted to quality that stems from meeting deadlines, appreciating an editor's insight and accepting criticism because a lot of people are going to see the work speak for itself anyway. So why not put forth your best?

We are teachers, and students alike, all trying to raise ourselves to a level higher than what's normally accepted in small press. With that said, thanks for checking us out. Hopefully, you'll like what you see.

Project4 Studios

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