The Spirit of Michael Turner Lives On The Hero

The Spirit of Michael Turner Lives On The Hero

Michael Turner was one of the greatest graphic novel creators ever to live, and it was a great tragedy when he died. 2 months before his death from terminal cancer I waited for hours in line hoping he would show up at the Wizard World Los Angeles, not because I wanted him to sign my comics (even though he did) but because I wanted to tell him something. I simply told him "Thank you. Your work is the reason why I got into comics." People were getting impatient with me for saying anything at all to him because of the hundreds of people in line, but I had to say it. I had to thank him. I used to call him the Walt Disney of modern comics and if you had read the Shrugged (which seems to have inspired Monsters Inc) and Soulfire (which HEAVILY inspired this film's world) you would understand why. While most people will probably remember him for his work drawing amazingly beautiful people, for his jaw-dropping comic covers, and perhaps for his masterpiece Fathom, I primarily will always remember him for his endless stream of amazing ideas and creative genius. It's a shame that more people failed to recognize it. This film is loaded with influences from all kinds of science fiction. You've got battling robots from Real Steel, powered body-suits from Bubblegum Crisis, and a super-hero team that seems like combination of The Incredibles and Stars and Stripes (Star Girl and her robot-suit-wearing-dad from the JSA). But what stuck in my mind as the credits rolled was something like...thank goodness someone still remembers Michael Turner and J. Scott Campbell (Wildsiderz). Seriously, read the parts of Soulfire completed before Turner's death. It's like the city in this film is that world breathed into life.

The Spirit of Michael Turner Lives On The Hero