Turner Top 5

Last time I posted about the untimely death of comics artist Michael Turner. Although I'm still saddened by the loss of such a great person, I also found greater appreciation of his work as I pored over my collection. I have roughly 200 comics that Mike drew covers for in my collection, and this isn't half of what he'd accomplished over the past 15 years. After admiring these books again, I've picked out my top five favorite covers from my collection. Click through for larger images. Enjoy!

#5 - Teen Titans #1

I really loved this cover when it came out, it was the first time I had seen Mike take on any DC characters. He's always been good at those massive collages of characters but I think this one really ties together well. Plus each character has a unique look, something he was criticized for not doing early in his career.

#4 - Aspen Sketchbook #1

This book was only released on the Aspen website, but it's definitely one of his most gorgeous pieces. Aspen (center character) has such striking features in this one, and I love the sketches in progress in the background. I think the color scheme compliments it well but it's always Aspen's eyes that get me when I see this cover.

#3 - Ekos Preview

Ekos was going to be Mike's next book after he completed Soulfire. Unfortunately, his cancer treatments kept him from finishing Soulfire as planned and Ekos will never be published with his pencils. But, we do have this excellent preview book to see what might have been. The main characer Grell is pictured here, and is a huge departure from the sexy women and reality based books he had always drawn. I love the texture in this piece and how unique it was from any of his other work.

#2 - Fathom #12, covers A&B

While this is technically two covers, they're both for the same issue and were drawn as one piece. The composition of this piece blows me away, I can't imagine how long it must have taken to draw let alone lay out. I've never been great at planning out a new piece, so I really admire the talent and hard work involoved in this drawing. Plus the many hot women don't hurt.

#1 - Witchblade #4

In my opinion, this is by far the best cover Mike ever drew. This has fantasy, sexiness, horror, power, beauty and badassness all in one piece. I'm a huge Gieger fan and this piece reminded me of him immediately. It's one of the few images of Witchblade that Mike drew with the blade actually extended, and they never really touched on this power later on in the series. The color scheme is excellent as well. If I could afford it, this piece would the grail in my original art collection. For now, I'll have to be content with the poster sized version I have framed in my basement.

So there you have it, my Turner Top five. He's drawn hundreds of other stunning covers and interior work and I encourage you to hit Google or the local comic store and find your own favorites.