Hello friends, Mark here. Last night, an amazing artist, Kung-Fu master, L.A. resident and genuinely swell guy lost a long battle with cancer. I got to meet Michael a few times post-cancer diagnosis and he was always really excitable and pleasant to be around, even when he was pushing his way through a dense crowd while on crutches.

Excerpt from an article on Comic Book Resources:

Turner is an artist best known for his work on books like “Witchblade,” where he got his start in comics, moving on to titles such as “Black Panther,” “Superman/Batman” and his very own creator owned series “Fathom” and “Soulfire” through his publishing company Aspen Comics. A prolific artist, he’s done work for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and has provided covers to some of the best-known comics published in the last ten years, including Brad Meltzer’s “Identity Crisis.”

In 2000, Turner was diagnosed with cancer — chondrosarcoma in the right pelvis, which resulted in his loosing his hip, 40% of his pelvis and three pounds of bone. What followed was 9 months of radiation. The cancer has gone into remission and returned multiple times since he was first diagnosed.

We’ve lost quite few, young and seemingly able-bodied comic book artists lately. This high mortality rate causing my wife no small amount of concern. I reassured her that my general sloth and steady diet of puddings nearly guarantees me a long life as a grumpy nerd.

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