I remember my first couple years as a professional artist. Doing the convention circuit, sketching and signing for fans. I sat by Mike many times and was in awe of his beautiful sketches, not only were they awesome he’d also do them so fast! I’d look and struggled along drawing one face as he’d drawn 3-4. So I asked him “hey Mike how do you draw the faces so accurately but so fast?” He broke down the profile shot for me with five simple lines. At this point in my artistic endeavor there were many things I struggled over but when Mike showed me this technique it blew my mind with it’s simplicity and is something I still use today. Every profile shot you see me draw, those are Mikes lines.

This past Friday the industry lost an amazing talent. He gave everything he had to this industry we love even though the steps were painful he did it all with a smile. He truly was a hero and someone to look up to in every sense of the word. His outlook on life and positive attitude was something we all wished we had a bit of. This past Friday the industry lost an icon, a lot of us lost a friend.

We miss you Mike.

In honor of Michael Turner, Artsenal still went on this past weekend in Chicago. Mike was definitely there watching as David, Francis, and Talent all put there artistic hands to his character, Aspen Matthews. The results were nothing less than phenomonal, as all three out did themselves! So without further ado we give to you, in Mike’s honor, Artsenal Round 3, Aspen Matthews!!!

The largest comic book artist sketch-battle competition in history continues as the ARTSENAL 2008 moves into round 3 at Wizard World Chicago 2008 with the teams neck and neck in points! TEAM KIANI currently leads the pack with 61 total votes while team Aspen isn’t too far behind with 52. Team Grace started round one strong with a W but has since slipped into third with 42 points. But no team is safe in the ultimate battle of lead and paper, so without any more delay here are your round 3 gladiators:

Talent Caldwell’s made his name in comics on the hit titles Fathom, Gen13, and Wildcats–now he’s looking to brand his name on the ARTSENAL 2008 Round 3 trophy! Tal’s been steady training with a diet of vodka and HGH to strengthen his mind and wrists in order to drop his sweet science on his unlucky competitors!

Dave Finch is a superstar in the biz working on titles like Fallen Son and the New Avengers-and he’s one hell of a nice guy also! But now he’s cashing in his nice-guy smile for a can of ass whoopin’ deluxe that he’ll serve chilled to his Artsenal Round 3 foes!

Team Grace needed a pick-me-up after falling into third place in the voting, but now they’ve reloaded with the greatest sketch-battle competitor in history! The sketch battle legend himself–Francis Manapul! When asked about his legendary battle reputation on the streets, Francis humbly replied: “Aint no myth–it be fact, I’m the Great One.”

*This quote or his obscene Latin mustache cannot be verified for authenticity

You know the deal folks! Cast your TOPIC SUGGESTION in the comments section below to help determine what these three awesome combatants will be drawing. If your suggestion ends up as the WINNING TOPIC, you’ll win an exclusive 11 x 17 inch print of the winning team’s round three entry. It’s free to cast your vote, so DO IT NOW!!!