Aspen Comics editorial director Vince Hernandez has announced that studio founder Michael Turner has passed away at the age of 37 after a long courageous battle against bone cancer.  Turner was one of the most talented of the second generation comic book artists to come out of Image Comics.  He rose to prominence with his work (as artist and co-creator) on Top Cow’s Witchblade, a property that has demonstrated its longevity in many incarnations in different media including television, anime, manga, and an upcoming live action film.

After Witchblade Turner came up with another sexy female comic book icon, Fathom, a creator-owned property that debuted with Top Cow in 1998 and was one of the top periodical comics of the year.  Turner took Fathom with him to Aspen Comics, the company he founded in 2003.  In addition to his work at Aspen, which resumed publishing the Turner created titles Fathom and Soulfire after the settlement of a lawsuit with Top Cow in 2003, in recent years Turner worked on a number of projects, often covers, for both Marvel and DC Comics. 

Turner was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2000 and later had surgery that removed over three pounds of bone including his entire hip and 40% of his pelvis.  Turner underwent over 9 months of radiation therapy and battled his disease courageously over the past eight years before succumbing to complications on June 27th.

Turner was a talented creator whose properties have resonated through other media and a stylish artist whose work has been immensely influential on the current generation of young comic book artists.