I heard Saturday morning about Michael Turner’s passing, but didn’t repeat it to anyone because I didn’t have confirmation, was afraid of spreading rumors and, frankly, was hoping it wasn’t true.
I know that Billy Joel says that only the good die young, but honestly: an artist that good, dying that young?
Just not fair.
PAD
• 
this has hit me hard which is strange because i wasnt that big a fan of mikes work. i liked it but didnt have much exposure to it. my thoughts and prayers go out to his family
Bill
I met Mike on a signing tour. Total class act and he couldn’t have been a nicer guy. He was the one who inspired me to go to art school. I probably wouldn’t have my BFA in computer animation if it wasn’t for him.
I can’t tell you how many days I spent sketching his work and emulating his style.
We lost an extraordinary one with him.
http://neo-prodigy.livejournal.com/536475.html
I never loved his art, nor did I hate it. It is always sad when a generally good person dies at a young age, though. I hope for the best for his family and friends.
I found out about his passing at about 9:05 on Saturday morning. The rest of the weekend at the Chicago Con was rather surreal, as if all the air had been taken out of the building. And while I’m not a huge fan of his artwork, the few times I did meet him in person, never have I met a nicer, more jovial person.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time.
The man was a week younger than me.
[shakes head]
Completely unfair.
PAD,
Did you ever work with Michael on any books? Nothing comes to mind….
I loved his Civil War covers. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Garrett
Wow, this is tragic. I was a big fan of his artistic style.
I wasn’t a big fan of his work (though his portion of the jam piece he did with Jim Lee, which Jim Lee posted in his most recent blog) was nice.
Either way, dying at 37 just isn’t right.
I found out about Mike’s passing at Wizard Chicago. A whole comic book crew was at the Hyatt’s hotel bar on Friday night. A bit after midnight, Ralph Tedesco from Zenescope – who had been cracking jokes all evening – came up to me with a serious/shocked look on his face and said that Michael turner had just died. I was in shock. I was in denial. Then when I saw grown men and women tearing up at the bar I knew it was true.
I never got to talk to Mike very much but I do remember that when I saw him he always had a joyful smile on his face. ALWAYS. He was so happy, in fact, that it was hard to believe he was so sick. he really tried to beat it physically, but he dámņ sure refused to let it make him angey or bitter or less happy.
37 is way too young to die. It is a tragedy. Especially for someone who had such talent and enjoyed life and touched so many. At times like this you just have to remember that it would have been a far greater tragedy if he had never been born – or if he had succumbed to cancer sooner. Every day is a treasure. That seems to be why Mike was joyful as he was despite his sickness and pain. We can all take a lesson from that, i think.
At the 1st SDCC my wife & I went to, we met Michael Turner. We both had taken books to be signed. My wife, Maria, really liked his art. When we finally got to Michael to sign the books, after waiting in an eternally long line, Maria was excited to finally meet him and to have his signature on her favorite books she brought. She went back into the line to get the remainder signed, he would only sign so many per person.
Next time we saw Michael, he was attending the Baltimore Comic Con. I got in the line when it was short, to have Michael sign a small stack of books to bring back to Rome. My wife had felt slightly sick and had an upset stomach and mild headache and went back to the hotel room to relax for a bit.
I called her to tell her about the short line for Michael and to bring some of her books to have him sign them. She replied she’d bring them down later, she still wasn’t feeling good.
Evidently, Michael had over heard part of the conversation and had requested of me to tell my wife, Maria, that he hoped she’d be feeling better later in the afternoon as he would be there all day.
I went on to tell Michael how Maria was Rome’s #1 fan of all things Michael Turner. She had to have every cover and interior of each book he did.
Michael was flattered and asked me to bring her by as soon as she felt better.
About an hour later, Maria came down to the convention and I told her what Michael said. At this time, he was doing sketches only, no signatures, but he still met with her briefly and had her photo taken with him.
Michael asked her “as Rome’s #1 fan” how many books she brought to have him sign. 72 was her answer. Michael proceeded to ask Maria to bring them ALL to him and he would sign each and every one of them. She was in awe, in most cases very popular creators will have limits to signing.
She brought them to Michael, and he signed each and every one of them.
Last year, at SDCC, we saw Michael again, and while he didn’t remember her name he did remember her as “Rome’s #1 fan.” I’ve never seen her blush or smile like that before. Michael signed several of the books she brought with her.
Michael asked if she had more, which she did, and proceeded to sign all of them. During this time, our conversation with Michael covered the legal issues we were facing and how much help the CBLDF had been to our cause.
Before the day was out, ASPEN donated quite a number of prints and other items to the CBLDF, very possibly because he was understanding of what we were facing and could not get over the ridiculous situation. I made it a point to go back and thank Michael in person when I learned of his actions.
During the SDCC last year, my wife had commented to Michael about how she reacted when she saw Seth Green in the elevator the year before. And I told him the tale about her elevator incident. Basically, she did the geek-freak-out of “Do you know who you are?” as she saw Seth in the elevator. Maria thought that Seth quickly escaped the elevator due to the insane lady in there.
This became a running joke all weekend long at last year’s SDCC between Maria and Michael. Michael kept telling her that he knew Seth Green’s cell number and would call him and ask him to come by to meet his “Rome’s #1 fan.” Maria blushed each time. My arm was slightly red due to her punching.
Saturday, when I called to her the news of Michael’s passing, she wept, as I was choked up about it.
Michael’s pain has vanished.
SDCC will not be the same without Michael’s presence and we will miss him.
Somewhere in heaven right now, Jack Kirby is finally teaching him how to draw feet.
Thanks for sharing that Story, Gordon… puts how great of a guy he seemed to be in the spotlight….
I was at work when I read the news on newsarama. I was shocked to hear of his passing. I immediately texted my brother, and I even called my ex-wife, since we both read his books together. I was down the rest the of the day. I never met Michael in person, but I was always rooting for him to beat his cancer.
Now he is at rest. But do you really see him stop drawing in Heaven? Those people up there are really lucky. 🙂
I was not a major fan…in fact I was pretty tough on the guy’s work. But I can’t fault the guy as a person…at all. Everyone from friends to coworkers to fans have far to many stories to attest to his generosity and general kindheartedness. And most of those stories are from when the guy was struggling with a life threatening disease. The world needs more people like that…not less.
It saddens me he gone, and my sympathies and prayers go to his friends and family.
I read so few modern comics that I didn’t really know his work. But, strangely enough, I knew him as the artist that did a lot of work for Internet tie-ins of my favorite TV show (NBC’s “Heroes”).
My sympathies to his family and friends.
Thomas M. Disch | 1940-2008
Catastrophes blamed for author’s suicide
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 3:19 AM
By Douglas Martin
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
NEW YORK — Author, poet and critic Thomas M. Disch — who twisted the inherently twisted genre of science fiction in disturbing directions, including writing his last book in the voice of God — died Friday in his Manhattan apartment. He was 68.
His friend Alice K. Turner said Disch shot himself.
She and other friends told how his apartment had been devastated by a fire; then his partner of more than 30 years died; then his home in Barryville, N.Y., was flooded; and, finally, he faced eviction after he returned to the apartment.
“He was simply ground down by the sequence of catastrophes,” said his friend, novelist Norman Rush.
In addition to writing speculative fiction (his preferred term for science fiction), Disch wrote poetry; realist fiction, children’s fiction and historical fiction; opera librettos and plays; criticism of theater, films and art; and a video game.
One of Disch’s best-known works is The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances (1986), in which a toaster, a clock radio and an electric blanket come to life.
In The New York Times Book Review, Anna Quindlen said the book was more sophisticated than it seemed: “Buy it for your children; read it yourself.”
Copyright © 2008, The Columbus Dispatch