Saturday, June 28, 2008

R.I.P. Mike




In 1998 I picked up a Wizard Magazine just through sheer curiosity of what was happening in recent comics. As I flipped through the pages towards the back of the magazine there was an advertising for an upcoming comic. That comic was FATHOM by an Artist named Michael Turner. I was so used to the way comics were done before that I was floored by what I saw. The lines he used were perfect and the women he drew were so beautiful that I knew I had to meet this man.

Fortunately at the time I was living in San Diego and I decided to attend the yearly Comic-Con. That year I was able to meet him and shook his hand. Unfortunately, being the person that I am I was never able to say what his work meant to me or how he inspired me to start a career in art. I left that first convention and bought a sketch pad and pencils. And that was also the start of a tradition I have had for over the last 10 years. Over the last years I have gone to comic-con hoping to have a full conversation with Mike. But over the years I have just become more and more like a teenage girl with a crush on a pop star. Each year that passed I stood in line to get an autograph and each year I was only able to muster a simple thank you. The closest I came to a full conversation was I really love your work and a giggle.

Now it is with great sadness and a huge lump in my throat that I have to say goodbye and final thank you. You have left too soon and you will be sorely missed by all of us. Your art meant the world to me and I shall forever be grateful and honored to have been your fan. Rest in Peace dear friend.