Obituary
Karl Michael Moline, 51, of Lakeland, FL passed in his sleep on September 11th of an apparent heart attack.
Karl, an Eagle Scout, graduated from South Lakes High School, Reston, VA and studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Karl always knew that he wanted to draw comic books for a living, and had a career that encompassed working with some of the top companies in the industry, including Marvel, DC, CrossGen, and Dark Horse. A couple of his most noteworthy creations as lead Penciller were the series Fray, working with Joss Whedon, and Route 666.
Karl was always the eternal optimist and the empathic soul of his family whom he loved profoundly. He will be deeply missed by his beloved daughter, Lily Moline of Lakeland, FL, her mother Anna, and sister Savanna; his mother, Denise Moline of Rapid City, MI; his sister Cat Evans of San Diego, CA; and many cherished aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his dearly departed father, Ted Moline.
Karl was the person who lit up any room he walked into. He would find a way to speak to every person there, and make them feel that talking to them had made his whole day. He loved with his entire heart, and did his best to spread that message in his daily life.
Karl found immeasurable purpose through helping out fellow artists, championing the people he knew and worked with, and supporting whatever causes his family and friends believed in. His presence at Comic Book Conventions earned him a following of regulars who all became friends, and his favorite thing to do were commissions for children, and helping them bring whatever their imagination could conjure to life.
While not a follower of any particular religion, Karl was a deeply spiritual person who saw the interconnectedness of everyone and everything. He always strove to put the kindness and faith in humanity that he saw in others back out into the world tenfold. A type 1 diabetic diagnosed as a teenager, his life held more health struggles than one person should have to bear, but it never soured his disposition, or his attitude, or his desire to live the most significant and full life he could. His wit and humor never wavered, and he devoted his life to always finding the silver lining of any situation.
Karl loved spending time with his daughter, the light of his life, his adored (and spoiled) cats, and he loved to be able to help out anyone he knew in need, whether with a pick up from the airport or a couch to crash on for weeks at a time.
He was a shining example of being the change you want to see in the world. His absence leaves a void in all of our hearts. We welcome all who knew him to join us in commemorating the remarkable life of Karl on Saturday, October 12th at 2:00 PM at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, 2425 Havendale Blvd. NW, Winter Haven, Florida 33881. Please arrive by 1:45 PM.
Arrangements are under the care of the Baldwin Brothers Funeral & Cremation Society. In lieu of flowers, donations in Karl’s name may be made to: The Hero Initiative – www.heroinitiative.org To send a message of condolence to the family, please view the obituary at https://Baldwincremations.com .
Rest in peace, Karl.
Kathie & Stacey Mitchell (Missy's mom & dad).
My heart is crushed. Everything written about him here is SO true. I worked with Karl at CrossGen comics. I'm a penciller and I also inked him on one project for Marvel. Karl was one of my favorite friends. He was a guest at one of my little events, slept on my couch, hung out in my studio, was a lunch buddy, phone buddy, just an all around buddy. There is a void in the world now, for sure. Karl understood me, and that put him into a rare category. Empathic, empathetic, understanding, and lovable. He did bare more than he deserved, and did it with a light heart.
I remember when we first met Karl, it was before moving to Delaware, as far back as when he and Pop Mhan were roommates in a townhome in Virginia. I myself was an aspiring artist, struggling to find my own style. Chris had already started working for DC Comics. We had this great idea to photocopy their artwork and put it in a binder for each other as a reference. He and Pop gathered up as much of their artwork as we could carry and we went to staples to run off photocopies of their work as reference. He was generous to a fault even then and I still have those copies to this day. I remember Karl was a funny man, even then, who made everyone laugh.
I also remember when he first moved to Delaware and we all hung out and went to Boarder's Book store. Outside the bookstore on the radio of Karl's SUV Michael Jackson's "who's bad" came on. Karl, being Karl sudden did the moonwalk, leg kick, with the pelvic thrust with the groin hold & even topped it off with Michael's signature "Yee Hee". We all bagged up laughing. I remember moving Karl into his 3rd floor apartment after a short stay at fellow artists & friends Chris & Mike's place.
Then as usual, with time we all started going our own separate ways. Karl moving to Florida with his girlfriend to start his new career at Crossgen, Chris moving on his own apartment with his then girlfriend/later wife, Mike purchasing his own home, Ed moving to California, and I buying my own home in lower Delaware with my wife. But somehow, even though the physical distance grew between us all, we all managed to keep in touch. We all fondly talk and laugh over old tales and exploits, take joy in each other's current exploits, and be there to talk when we needed the comfort of a friend.
I recently told my little band of friends that Karl's death is hitting hard, because he was such a kind soul, someone you could talk too, and always had a kind word for you.
Karl, you will be missed Brother, because everyone in "Ed's Basement" is family. For us, you are and always will be a brother and friend in Ed's Basement.
When I think of Karl and his energy and creativity, I'm reminded of an E. E. Cummings poem:
"you shall above all things be glad and young
For if you’re young, whatever life you wear
it will become you; and if you are glad
whatever’s living will yourself become...
...I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."