ENTERTAINMENT

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Michael Turner, a comic book artist who drew covers for major titles such as Superman/Batman, The Flash and Civil War died June 27.

Mr. Turner, 37, died at a Santa Monica hospital of complications related to cancer, said Vince Hernandez, editor in chief of Aspen MLT, the Santa Monica publishing company Mr. Turner founded in 2003. Mr. Turner had battled bone cancer for eight years.

Through his company, Mr. 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.

"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 Mr. Turner's name was synonymous with special-edition covers. The milestone 500th issue of Uncanny X-Men, due out next week, will feature a special-edition cover by Mr. Turner.

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, Mr. Turner co-created Witchblade, a comic about a 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 Mr. Turner's future work. The Associated Press