Since comic book artist Michael Turner passed away in June, his friends have been offering to help out with his unfinished projects at Aspen MLT, the company he founded in 2003.
One of his unfinished projects is the first volume of Soulfire,
Turner's original series about a futuristic world without magic, which
had three issues left. As Aspen's Editor-in-Chief Vince Hernandez told Newsarama last month, the company wanted to finish Turner's story with one artist, so picking the right person was important.
We followed up with Hernandez and found out the artist chosen to finish Turner's Soulfire
story is Joe Benitez. Other artists and writers who have been offering
to help out are donating their work for a graphic novel titled Michael Turner: The Tribute, which has been solicited for November.
We talked to Hernandez about the selection of Joe Benitez, as well as
what fans can expect to see in the upcoming tribute book dedicated to
one of the comic industry's most beloved and popular artists.
Newsarama: Vince, last time we talked, you made it clear that
Aspen Comics would not only continue without Mike, but that you had
some exciting things coming up. One of the things you had yet to
announce was the artist who would finish Soulfire. Are you ready to announce the artist's name?
Vince Hernandez: Absolutely. We thought long and hard about it,
and we went over all the names. We didn't want to go the route of using
a lot of different artists like DC did with Superman/Batman. We
wanted to go with one artist because we thought it would fit his vision
more. We wanted someone who would fit his style, and we wanted it to be
somebody who had a connection -- not necessarily a professional
relationship with Mike, but somebody who knew him and would understand
the importance of this project and finishing the last two-and-a-half
issues.
We ended up picking Joe Benitez. We're excited because we think he's
one of the best artists out there. And in terms of style, his is really
close to Mike's. They're not the same, but we thought it was a good
fit. We were getting offers from all kinds of artists. People wanted to
help out and complete those last two issues. But after going over it
with [President] Frank Mastromauro and [Vice President] Peter
Steigerwald, and everyone in the company, we wanted to make sure we
picked the right person. We talked about it, and we didn't necessarily
want a mega-star or some new person, although those were possibilities,
but it was more important for us to just get the right fit. We wanted
the best option for Soulfire, because that's how Mike would have wanted it. And after we talked about it, it became clear that Joe was that person.
NRAMA: Joe worked with Mike at Top Cow years ago, didn't he?
VH: Yeah. They worked together at Top Cow almost 10 years ago.
Mike was starting out and I think Joe was starting out at the same
time. So their careers have that intertwining element to it. And Joe
really respected Mike and still does. Obviously, he took it hard when
Mike passed away. And Joe's a good friend of ours. He hasn't worked
specifically with us on anything yet, although he's doing characters
for us for an upcoming project we're doing. But we haven't had the
opportunity to work with him, but we thought the timing was right for
him to come in. We think he just fits perfectly.
NRAMA: Once his three issues are finished, Soulfire's second volume will launch with a story by J.T. Krul and artist Marcus To. Is that still the plan?
VH: It is. And they're already on issue #5 of the second volume, so it will start coming out on a steady schedule at that point.
NRAMA: Let's talk about this Michael Turner: The Tribute book. How did this come about?
VH: You know, I don't think it was ever something that we sat
down and decided. It was just something we all knew we were going to do
anyway. We knew we wanted to do something to remember his name and his
legacy. We did a lot to remember him at San Diego Comic-Con, since it
was close to when he passed away, but we wanted something more tangible
that fans could have forever. And this is a good opportunity for all of
his colleagues and friends who have the opportunity to pay tribute to
him with art or through their words. We wanted to give them the
opportunity, because after San Diego, we got so much support. All these
artists came up to us and everybody wanted to pay their respects in
their own kind of way. It seemed like the obvious thing to do.
I'm excited, looking at the list of names we have attached to this
book, it's going to be one of the biggest books, I think, in comics
this year. Every day, I just keep thinking, wow. This includes pretty
much anybody you can think of in comics.
NRAMA: Can you share any of the names of creators who are participating?
VH: Well, a few of the names people would know, there's Joe
Quesada, Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Alex Ross, who is doing the cover, and J.
Scott Campbell, Joe Benitez, Randy Green -- most of the artists you can
think of. We have people outside of comics too.
NRAMA: For the writers, how are they contributing?
VH: It's really up to the creators how they want to do it. Most
artists are doing their own pieces of art, while writers are writing
remembrances or something like that. We gave them the decision to do
what they wanted, so each artist is going to go with whatever route
makes sense.
We've gotten a few of the pieces in, and they're all different. A few
of them are Aspen characters, and some people have commented that they
wanted to do something separate from comic book characters. So we're
going to have a wide variety of original pieces from creators. It's up
to them.
NRAMA: Is this a hardcover?
VH: No, it's a softcover trade kind of book. It's planned right now to be 80 pages. It will be like our Aspen: Extended Edition,
if people remember the size of that book. We've been working on it for
the last month and a half. It's in this month's Previews for release in
November.
NRAMA: And is this book attached to a charity?
VH: Proceeds from the book are going to be going to the American
Cancer Society and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. So we hope that this not
only gives Mike's friends in the industry a way to create something in
his name, but it will also give his fans a way to remember him while
helping out these causes.
NRAMA: Is there anything else you want to tell Aspen fans?
VH: Just to stay tuned. The only thing that's changed for us as
a company is that everything we do going forward is done in Mike's
memory. We're still delivering the same kind of quality our fans have
come to expect. But we have some really exciting announcements coming
up, with new writers and artists coming on board with new properties.
So just stay tuned.
