Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 7, 2024 | 1 comment

Dig this SNEAK PEEK at the new high-end book, plus a tribute to the late artist by his Aspen partner, Frank Mastromauro…

By FRANK MASTROMAURO

The doorbell rings. It’s the delivery guy with a pizza for me and Bolognese for Mike. The driver knew us well since that was our usual order during many of the countless work nights at Mike’s house during deadlines. Being nearly 20 years ago, I cannot imagine how many of the DoorDashers or Grubhub drivers would have Mike’s address memorized nowadays. May seem trivial, but it was always key that Mike had the right meal to elevate his mood while drawing. It ensured the creative juices remained flowing throughout the night. That was never more important than the years Mike was illustrating covers for Marvel.

Known for his exquisite linework and attention to detail, Mike took tremendous pride in his drawings; getting the right look and feel, proper character attitudes and costumes, interesting layouts with high amounts of detail, and presenting the fans with images unlike anyone else could illustrate. Many times though, the skill outweighed the knowledge. Mike loved drawing comics, but it’s not a stretch to say that his expertise in the field was of the more general kind. That’s certainly not a dig at my best friend, he just didn’t have a comic book store in his hometown growing up. His introduction to all of the incredible superheroes and characters we’ve loved forever didn’t start until his life in comics began. Thankfully, that’s why he had people like me around.

Surely Mike could draw his creator-owned characters like Fathom’s Aspen Matthews and Soulfire’s Grace just from muscle memory, but from the beginning of Mike’s legendary career, opportunities to draw the heroic women and men of comic history were few and far between. There was a crossover between Marvel and Image Comics in the mid-’90s in which Mike drew two issues, but his style matured and developed greatly in the years since, and his newest take on those within the Marvel Universe was something everyone was excitedly looking forward to. This is where all of those familiar dinners come into play.

As Mike would be working on cover layouts for us at Aspen Comics to submit to Marvel, we would talk about the characters in detail. I’d tell him about classic stories such as Secret Wars, Kraven’s Last Hunt, or countless others that helped shape and form the Marvel heroes and villains into what they had become. I’d also look up more recent costume references and covers I felt would assist Mike in drawing his definitive version of the character(s) he was putting to paper. Battling cancer (and through the pain) for most of the time that the Marvel covers were being done, Mike carefully crafted pieces that he hoped the fans would truly appreciate, just in case he didn’t get a chance to draw them again. For him, seeing those fan’s reactions when the covers came out, provided all the reassurance he could ever need.

For the better part of six to seven years, Mike was able to work on cover after cover for Marvel. Peter Steigerwald then provided the breathtaking colors for every single one, each produced at Aspen with much respect and appreciation. We’re so excited to now present the entirety of those covers plus so much more in our brand new The Marvel Art of Michael Turner deluxe hardcover book, live on Kickstarter. In collaboration with Marvel and Clover Press, this comprehensive hardcover showcases the many landmark covers and iconic imagery Mike brought to the Marvel Universe.

I was fortunate enough to watch Mike draw each Marvel cover we did; provide information and intel, give direction and advice, and help bring each one to life. It was an immense honor, not simply because he was my friend and it was our job, but like all of you, I’ve loved so many of these characters since I was a kid. I definitely have my favorites which you’ll read about below, and picking just 13 for this article was tough; I hope each and every one of you find a favorite you love and appreciate as much as the extraordinary man who drew them. Enjoy my selection of covers!

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The Incredible Hulk #100. Starting with the strongest there is, and my personal favorite! Mike only drew the Hulk a few times (one more Hulk cover will be popping up later in this list), but each cover got better and better! Peter Steigerwald’s “incredible:” colors on the main cover and variant make it very difficult to choose which one I like the most!

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Civil War #1. We were flying to a convention when this book was coming out and this image was in the magazine on the airplane! That’s how impactful this cover was. It was simply everywhere and Mike’s rendition of many of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Universe was a huge reason why. This was the first time Mike had drawn many of the characters on this cover but you would have never known!

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Ultimate X-Men #75. This is one of the covers featuring Mike’s firsts and lasts, but easily one of his best! The only time Mike drew Cable and a few of the other X-Men gave so many a glimpse of what an X-title by Mike would have looked like. Stuff that dreams are made of for sure!

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Fantastic Four #546. This was one of those discussion covers, explaining to Mike what the significance of a battle between Silver Surfer and the Black Panther meant. He liked both characters a lot and though Panther wasn’t quite as known as he is now, between Mike’s stylish pencils and Peter’s rich colors, this image was a standout from our FF run of covers!

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Thor #1. Right from the inception of the layout, Mike knew he wanted Peter to really make this cover come alive. The intensity of the lightning made this cover really pop and is a perfect example of how far Mike and Peter’s creative relationship had grown over the years. The perfect combination of lines and colors to create an unforgettable cover image!

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Wolverine #66. Mike really enjoyed drawing Old Man Logan. When we received the assignment for this cover and the short description of the concept Marvel requested, Mike drew close to half a dozen layouts because he couldn’t decide which one he liked the best. All were really great (and all showcased the horse!) but the one he settled upon was surely a huge favorite!

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The Amazing Spider-Man #15. One of Mike’s very first Spider-Man covers and his first ever Black Cat! Mike somewhat fell back into “classic” Mike territory, putting much of the cover’s emphasis on Black Cat as he was still figuring out his version of Spidey. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to find his groove on the webslinger and he soon graced us with some more “amazing” Spider-Man covers!

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Civil War #3. Speaking of Spider-Man, this isn’t your classic web-head costume, but easily, undoubtedly, without question, one of the COOLEST renditions of the Iron Spider-Man suit to ever grace a comic book cover! Whether on purpose or not, how cool was it to see Spidey sit like this for a moment in the movie?! So awesome!

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Sub-Mariner #1. A very cool homage to what had come before in Mike’s career! Being the creator of a character that spends her time as much on land as in the water, Mike designed this cover in the same way he had built Aspen Matthews of Fathom fame, a being of two worlds, one above and one below. That shines through in spades on this very cool Sub-Mariner #1 cover!

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Hulk #7. I’m running with my favorite again! This drawing was actually a birthday present Mike had drawn for me one year. He had NEVER drawn the Hulk prior to this and as you can maybe tell, his jade giant isn’t quite as giant as he could be. That doesn’t at all diminish the amount of love I have for this cover and it was so great of Marvel to use it as the cover to Hulk #7!

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Captain America: Fallen Son #4. We were offered the chance to draw all of the covers to this significant Cap storyline. Each book showcased Captain America along with another character that was the lead of that particular issue. This cover was the first time Mike drew Black Suit Spidey and he certainly didn’t disappoint as this was one of the most popular of the series!

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Black Panther #18. This cover was another Peter Steigerwald special! Mike went to town illustrating a beautiful Storm, the first time he had drawn her on a cover, and left the rest to the magic of Peter. The intense storm she’s conjuring up, the lightning and atmosphere, all compliments of Peter. This was also one of our first Marvel covers and one of Mike’s favorites!

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Wolverine: Origins #1. We’ve reached lucky Number 13 on our list, but it also happens to be the first-ever cover assignment we were given from Marvel! Mike had a great time drawing Wolverine, and actually spent a lot of time coming up with creative layouts utilizing Wolvie’s claws and overall look. This cover has been recolored and used by Marvel several times but the original is still the best!

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For more info on The Marvel Art of Michael Turner, featuring an enormous array of bonus packages, click here.

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MORE

— CAPTAIN AMERICA WEEK: Our 13 Favorite CIVIL WAR Covers. Click here.

— The Gorgeous MARVEL ART OF RUSSELL DAUTERMAN. Click here.

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Frank Mastromauro, along with fellow creators Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald, founded Aspen Comics, a comic book publishing company focusing on critically acclaimed entertainment in comics and multimedia. As Aspen president, Mastromauro handles all company matters, is the creator of the hit comic series Shrugged, Dellec and Overtaken, and has also overseen the publisher’s largest endeavors, such as the Heroes graphic novel adaptation, the award-winning Axe Body Spray Anarchy campaign, and Aspen’s newest multimedia ventures with partner company Mythos Studios.