In Memoriam: Mike Wieringo

Mike Wieringo, who passed away August 12, 2007, at age 44, was one of the comic industries most beloved contemporary artists.

Also known as "Ringo," Mike was best known for his work on DC Comics, The Flash, Marvel Comics, Fantastic Four, and Tellos; his creator-owned fantasy series with Todd DeZago.

His art work was refreshing to the comic world, when so many other artists rely on contemptible shock effects to maintain their edge, Mike as an artist understood the personas that made super heroes amicable in the first place.

"He was one of the good guys," stated Mark Wheatly. "He was someone I was going to be good friends with. He was able to communicate emotions through gestures, form, and simplicity with his art. If he were to be judged by his peers, he would be top on the list. It's a big loss, and not just a loss of a friend, but the loss of potential."

Wieringo was born on June 24, 1963 in Venice, Italy. In 1993, he joined writer Mark Waid on DC's The Flash with issue #80. The two co-created the character Impulse, the future speedster brought back to the present. Wieringo then moved on to Robin at DC, and then to Marvel, where he zeroed in on Sensational Spider-Man with writer Todd DeZago.

Finding that Todd DeZago and he worked so well together, the two co-created and introduced Tellos, which saw several projects published over the years. Wieringo then returned to DC Comics for all but one issue of Adventures of Superman #592-600. From there he reunited with Mark Waid on Fantastic Four.

Wieringo penciled the interior art on issues #1-5, #8-10 of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and was the cover artist on #1-19. He and writer, Jeff Parker, then began the miniseries, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, in April 2007.

Many fans not only looked forward to his next project, but also his consistent blog entries he maintained on his website which filled those interested in with updates on what he was doing and also sketches he posted that he seemed to so effortlessly create. Fans also respected him, as he had always spoken out against mainstream comics' movement away from kid-friendly material.

He is known as being humble, honest, and real. But most importantly, he loved what he did. The comic world has lost one of their best, and he will undoubtedly be missed.

There will be a public viewing today, August 17, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, 1113 West Main Street, Durham, NC. This will be followed by a chapel service at 2:00 PM. This will be open to any of Mike's friends and colleagues who'd like to attend. A private service for family will be held in Lynchburg, where he grew up.

"Please come prepared to share a Mike story. I plan on putting you on the spot. It would really help our Mom and Dad through this," Wieringo's brother, Matt, posted on MikeWieringo.com.

The Baltimore Comic-Con, where Wieringo was a regular and had been scheduled to attend again this year to debut his new Tellos hardcover collection, will offer programming (to be determined next week) about the artist at their September 8-9, 2007 show.