Comic-Con 2008: Sunday Programming!

Sunday is Kids day! That’s good, because if it were a Saturday a lot of people would be pissed. Usually, Sundays has the fewer panels of the convention, but this year there are a lot of interesting ones to attend to.

Highlights include a Smallvile screening and Q&A, a Jack Kirby Tribute, Zuda Online Comics, Terry Moore, Dave Stevens Tribute, Supernatural screening and Q&A, Hamlet 2, Jeph Loeb, Len Wein, Mark Waid and Grant Morrison among others.

The one I’m not going to miss (and I’m sure it’ll be packed): The Life of Michael Turner Tribute Panel: — Celebrate the life and times of acclaimed artist, creator, and Aspen Comics president and founder Michael Turner, as Aspen Comics and a host of popular comic book creators pay special tribute to the creator of the best-selling titles Fathom, Soulfire, and Witchblade, and the cover artist behind the mainstream comic event hits Marvel’s Civil War and DC Comics’ Identity Crisis and Justice League of America. In honor of Turner’s tremendous spirit and body of work, as well as his countless contributions to the comic book industry, Aspen Comics will return the favor by remembering Michael Turner’s amazing life both in and outside of comics at this very special tribute event.

Check the complete lineup here!

Michael Turner Passes Away

From Aspen’s Vince Hernandez:

“Unfortunately it’s with great sadness that I must inform everyone that Michael Turner tragically passed away last night, June 27th at approximately 10:42 pm in Santa Monica, Ca. Turner had been dealing with recent health complications arisen in the past few weeks. More details concerning Turner’s passing, and services, will be given shortly.”

Anyone wishing to send their condolences to Michael Turner’s family is encouraged to send to:

Aspen MLT, Inc.
C/O Michael Turner
5855 Green Valley Circle, Suite 111
Culver City, CA, 90230

Aspen also encourages anyone wishing to make a charitable donation to please send to Michael Turner’s requested charities:

The American Cancer Society or The Make-A-Wish Foundation

Official Contact: Vince Hernandez

Fantastic Four #553 – Review

By: Dwayne McDuffie  (Writer), Paul Pelletier (Pencils),  Rick Magyar (Inks), Wil Quintana (Colors)

Dwayne McDuffie will never be known as crafting the best Fantastic Four stories of all time, but that’s not a slight against him. The Fantastic Four has wallowed in mediocrity for decades now. However, McDuffie has made the book fun and this has actually been enough for me to buy this book on a monthly basis; the last time I bought a FF book is when Jim Lee drew it for his Heroes Reborn stint. Michael Turner’s cover is atrocious, so please don’t let that detract you. He obviously has trouble drawing feet and middle-aged women.

A Dr. Doom from the future has come back to the past to prevent Reed Richards from enacting an idea called #101. What it is, we don’t know, but it’s got Doom’s panties in such a bunch that Reed decides to hear him out. When a Fantastic Four from the future arrives on the scene to detail Doom, things get hairy. McDuffie’s run on the book ends with this issue, and he caps his run with a standard, but fun story.

Issue #553 seems to have all the classic elements that make a good Fantastic Four story. You’ve got the wacky science fiction elements in the form of time travel. You have Reed Richards talking in a lot of techno-babble. You have Doctor Doom, the group’s arch-nemesis trying to mess things up. And you’ve got a family arguing amongst itself. Perhaps the only missing element is The Thing proclaiming that it’s “Clobberin’ Time!” I’ll miss McDuffie and Paul Pelletier’s work here, but I’m very eager to see what Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch have in store for us. (Grade: B-)

– J.Montes