We'll Miss You Michael

I just heard Michael Turner died last night. He was only 37. CBR reported that Mike passed away Friday night at 10:42 Pacific Time at Santa Monica Hospital in Calfornia after a long battle with cancer. The only thing that cheers me up is I know Mike lived more in those 37 years than most people do in 73 years. Ever since the first day he walked into Top Cow as Marc Silvestri's background assistant, we all knew he was destined for big things. Needless to say, that only lasted an issue or so, and Mike was soon off penciling books on his own, then co-writing and co-creating Witchblade and onto super stardom, going beyond Top Cow and creating his own company, Aspen Comics. All this before the age of 37. It's like he knew exactly what he wanted to do and made sure he had time to do it all. Mike always had a smile, a joke and contagious energy. He was so enthusiastic in everything he did, just tackled it head on. Even when he got sick, we all thought if anyone can beat it, Mike could. After all, he had overcome every other obstacle in his path with ease. We'll miss you, Mike. Thanks for the friendship and inspiration. Your time with us was too short, but you made it to heights most people only dream of.
UPDATE: I found this photo of the Top Cow gang from our first big signing at Golden Apple. Must be circa 1996 0r 1997. From left to right, the back row is boy wonder and editor Tim Hernandez, J.D. Smith and Nathan Cabrera. The front row Peter Steigerwald, Duy "D-Tron" Tron, Michael Turner, Brandon Peterson and Matt "Batt" Banning. I'm not in it because I took the photo! Damn, we look young! Those were good times. We'll miss you, Michael.

Accepting Commissions

OK, I usually don't have time to do commissions, but Upper Deck was nice enough to send me 10 Artist Proof cards (see above) for just that purpose. So what the heck, it'll be fun. But I only have 10 cards, so first come, first serve. Email me at aaronsowd@mac.com with your request. There's also a few rules I have to follow (see below) before emailing me. Thanks!

IMPORTANT NOTE on the AP (Artist Proof) cards- they must be scanned and sent in for approval before sale. They have both the Marvel and Upper Deck logo on them, and are considered licensed material. So the same rules as to what can be drawn on the regular sketch cards will apply to the artist proof cards. The last date these cards can be sent in for approval is November 20th. If for some reason your requested sketch is not approved, I will refund your money in full.

Rules* for the cards :
NO Nazi symbology (this includes Iron Crosses, Iron Eagles, swastikas, etc.)
NO zombie iterations of any Marvel character
NO nudity
NO gore or over the top violence
NO licensed characters (Rom, G.I. Joe, Transformers, or any other licensed property)
NO shots of any Marvel character smoking
*Marvel's, not mine!

Hulk Cover/Kirby Tribute

The Hero Initiative is putting together The Ultimate 100 Hulk #1 Cover Project. They picked 100 of the best comic book artists like Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlene, Dale Keown, Jae Lee, Bill Morrison, Joe Benitez, George Tuska, Bob McLeod, Sean Phillips and many more (yeah, I don't know how I got on that list, either!). Each artist did an original, one of a kind sketch in pencil, ink and marker (or some variation thereof!) on a blank variant sketch cover of Hulk #1. I think only 100 variant covers were printed especially for The Hero Initiative. A rare collectible if you can get one! They will be actioning them off a few at a time at comic conventions and on ebay. I'll try to post a link when mine goes up for auction. Please bid if you can, it's for a great cause! You can see a bunch of them on Marvel's site.

The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $200,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. They are a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to helping comic book creators in need of emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

I decided to go old school with my sketch, I love the original gray Jack Kirby Hulk most of all. He was huge and more of a creepy Frankenstein's monster than a straight-up super hero. I went back and looked at Kirby's original cover and decided a homage to The King was in order!

Thanks to Jim McLauchlin for getting me involved! It was a blast!