Michael Zulli, Sandman and The Puma Blues Artist, Dies at 71

The prolific illustrator passed away on July 8th.

By Jenna Anderson

Michael Zulli, a beloved artist known for his work on titles like The Sandman, The Puma Blues, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has passed away at the age of 71. Born on December 20, 1952, Zulli had a decades-spanning career as an artist and illustrator, both on mainstream comics and on cult-favorite work such as The Puma Blues.

"Just heard that Michael Zulli passed away," writer J.M. DeMatteis wrote on social media. "Michael and I worked on a number of projects together in the late 90s/early 2000s. He wasn't just a brilliant artist, he was a brilliant man: deep, passionate, philosophical. Condolences to his family. Safe travels, Michael."

Zulli's first published comic work was with Dave Sim on The Puma Blues, working on the series' entire initial run from 1986 through 1989. Beginning in 1988, Zulli also wrote and illustrated a trio of issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dubbed the "Soul's Trilogy" arc, which controversially rendered the iconic characters in a realistic style.

"The only training I ever had in comics was, believe it or not, I'd gone to the local bookstore and bought How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way," Zulli told The Comics Journal. "Which was a complete disaster, but I did learn a few things that I found technically appropriately. To this day I still cannot draw a comics page with blue pencil. I tried but I just hated the damn thing. The learning curve was daunting to say the least."

A year later, Zulli first joined Neil Gaiman on The Sandman #13, which introduced the beloved supporting character Hob Gadling. He then illustrated a total of seven issues of The Sandman, including the series' original finale "The Wake." Zulli's work on "The Wake" earned three Eisner nominations in 1996, for Best Serialized Story, Best Penciller/Inker, and Best Comics-Related Item. Zulli and Gaiman also collaborated on the 1994 adaptation of Alice Cooper's album The Last Temptation, and an unfinished Sweeney Todd story for Taboo. His other notorious unpublished work was an issue of Swamp Thing, which would have seen the character cross paths with Jesus Christ. 

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Zulli continued to work on comics into 2011, working on titles such as The Sandman Presents: Love Street, Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man, and Star Wars Tales.

Our thoughts are with Zulli's family, friends, and fans at this time.

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