SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Michael Turner, a comic book artist who drew covers for major titles such as "Superman/Batman," "The Flash" and "Civil War,'" has died. He was 37.

Turner died June 27 at a Santa Monica hospital of complications related to cancer, said Vince Hernandez, editor in chief of Aspen MLT, the Santa Monica publishing company Turner founded in 2003. Turner had battled bone cancer for eight years.

Through his company, Turner created online comic adaptations for the NBC series "Heroes" and published his own titles, including the best-selling "Fathom," a deep-sea story about a female superhero.

He also drew covers for large projects such as DC Comics' "Justice League" and Marvel's "Civil War" and was a regular cover artist for "Superman/Batman" and "The Flash."

"He was definitely one of the most popular and influential comic-book artists working right now," said Andrew Farago, curator of San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum. "He was very, very much in demand as a cover artist on high-profile projects."

Ryan Liebowitz, general manager of the Golden Apple Comics store in Los Angeles, said Turner's name was synonymous with special-edition covers that often became collectibles. The milestone 500th issue of "Uncanny X-Men," due out next week, will feature a special-edition cover by Turner.

Turner was also known for drawing female comic book characters that evoked both innocence and sex appeal and exuded energy.

In 1994, the budding artist was hired by Century City-based Top Cow Productions after an editor saw his work at the Comic-Con convention in San Diego.

At Top Cow, Turner co-created "Witchblade," a comic about a voluptuous female detective who fights evil after discovering a mystical glove. The comic went on to make Top Cow's name and set the standard for Turner's future work.

My condolences go out to his family and friends, he was one of my biggest inspirations. He will be sorely missed.



Along with Iron Man: The Animated Series, X-Men will be coming to Nicktoons network in the first quarter of 2009. The first three episodes, which will air as the pilot for the series, are being written by Greg Johnson, who has contributed to several other Marvel animated features.



Dragonball is scheduled for release April 10, 2009.



The Los Angeles Times reports that “Spider-Man” producer Laura Ziskin said the fourth installment in the web-slinging superhero series is tentatively scheduled to arrive in May 2011.

In remarks Thursday to theater owners from California and Nevada, Ziskin said there was no finished screenplay, but that she and Sony Pictures were hopeful “Spider-Man 4” could be ready in three years’ time.

The first three movies comprise one of the most successful franchises in modern Hollywood history, grossing a combined $2.5 billion worldwide. Neither star Tobey Maguire nor director Sam Raimi is yet committed to work on the next installment. But Sony has paid Marvel to renew its rights.



Marketing research firm Intellisponse's inadvertent leak of multiple internal documents detailed a total of 14 new Spider-Man game concepts from publisher Activision.

Included in the list are Spider-Man: Agile Warrior (a Wii exclusive which will work with the Wii Balance Board), Spider-Man: Hero Evolved, Marvel Team Up: Spider-Man Meets the X-Men, and Spider-Man vs. Marvel Zombies.

Intellisponse helps test market response for products, so there's a chance some if not all could see light someday in some form or another. Should be interesting to see exactly which games will join the recently announced Web of Shadows.

Spider-Man: Agile Warrior (Wii) - Let's players control Spidey with the Wii Balance Board

Spider-Man: Hero Evolved (360, PS3, Wii) - Play as the son of Spider-Man in 2064 using spider powers and future tech to battle villains

Spider-Man: New Heights (360, PS3, Wii) - Upgrade Spidey's abilities as he moves from battling low level gangs to famous foes at New York City's skyline

Spider-Man: Gangs of New York (360, PS3, Wii) - Gangs take over the city and Spidey must pit them against each other

Spider-Man: Adaptation (360, PS3, Wii) - Spidey travels all over the globe, from Tokyo to Paris to Moscow to take out his foes

Marvel Team Up: Spider-Man Meets the X-Men (360, PS3, Wii) - Doctor Octopus and Magneto team up to take on Spidey and the X-men in locations like Manhattan and the Savage Land via two-player coop play

Spider-Man: Contest of Champions (360, PS3, Wii) - Destructable fighter for 2-4 players with Spider-Man, Venom, Wolverine, Electro, Doc Ock, Carnage and Green Goblin

Spider-Man: Mass Evolution (360, PS3, Wii) - Spidey's skills, from speed to strength to spider-senses are upgradeable as you play

Spider-Man: Chaos (360, PS3, Wii) - Spidey has 8 hours of frenetic action to save the city from certain doom

Spider-Man: Tactics (360, PS3, Wii) - A stealthy and strategic Spidey game

Spider-Man: Vision (360, PS3, Wii) - First- and third-person gameplay, Spidey style

Spider-Man vs. Marvel Zombies (360, PS3, Wii) - Spidey takes on the undead of the Marvel Universe in the future

Spider-Man: Webmaster (Wii) - Uses a web shooter game controller for third person action

Spider-Man: Webslinger (360, PS3, Wii) - Use precision web aiming to target enemies, build web slingshots and snipe enemies

Thanks 1up & Kotaku!