A great man died a year ago tomorrow. A man who was an inspiration and a kindred spirit. Michael Turner was taken from all of our lives after a losing battle with bone cancer. Never a man to let such things get to him, Turner lived his life to the fullest. He is the epitomy of a man with a dream. One that will never leave my heart.

When I was 12 years old, I used to go to comic book stores a lot for the latest Star Wars comic. One day a gorgeous comic cover caught my eye of a woman on the cover who looks like a mermaid. I still to this day cannot tell you what Fathom is about, but I used to collect the comic for the beautiful artwork.

Last year I was reading the news and looked over an article that said Turner had passed. I skipped over it in disbelief. When it sunk in, I was devastated. I don't nomally feel this way about people who have died who I didn't know on a personal level, but I felt as if something in the universe had collapsed. I always had Supergirl on my list of costumes to finish, but I knew that I had to finish it at this point. Many times while sewing, I had to stop because I would start tearing up. Typing this now, I can feel the sting in my eyes. I wore this proud at Dragon*Con 2008 and New York Comic Con 2009.

At NYCC I stopped by the Aspen booth. I was incredibly shy and I'm sure I came off as a nutbag. I needed something. Anything. The staff there was just so... amazing. Peter, Beth, Micah, Mark, Vince and Frank were everything I had hoped. To them, they hadn't lost a boss, they had lost a close friend. Peter gave me a "Michael Turner Remembered Always" button and in the end, I felt better. He left behind some amazing people to continue on in his place. All of them signed my Turner Tribute book and flipped through the book since they hadn't seen this edition yet.

I think the reason it hit me so hard is because I never realized he was my favorite artist until he was gone. I flip through the Michael Turner Tribute Edition often and smile remembered all the amazing covers he had done. I love reading the bits and pieces about his life. I even, for once, enjoy reading Jeff Loeb's writings on him.

Turner, you will always be missed. You were nothing short of a spectacular human being. May you rest in your eternal Avalon.

We miss you and we'll never forget what an impact you had in all of our lives.


Feel free to share your own thoughts and stories.





Photography: First photo-My husband Adam Last photo: Myself
Costume was made by me based off of Turner's version of Supergirl