I don't know what to say. I honestly don't. I know I should say something...I worked with the man. But just saying, "He was a terrific artist and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to co-create comic books with him" seems inadequate when faced with a 44-year-old vegetarian in great shape whose heart gives out.
Saying "My condolences to all concerned" likewise seems facile and insufficient.
No words.
PAD
Posted by Peter David at August 13, 2007 12:58 PM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingAm I the only one who doesn't connect "Ringo" with a comics professional? I had to go to Newsarama to find out who was meant by "Ringo", since PAD never used his full name in the article he posted.
Rest in peace, Mike Wieringo.
I always remembered him as 'Ringo because that's how he signed his covers.
Yeah. Just....yeah. :(
The word 'friend' is bandied about in myspace so much that it almost loses its meaning. Mike Wieringo is one of my 'friends' in myspace.
I could never claim to have the right to call him 'Ringo' but one day I looked him up and thanked him when (on the same day) he added me to his 'friends'. He had lived up to his reputation of being kind and approachable to fans. I even wrote him saying how sexy I thought his rendition of Sue Storm was and I'm so glad for the opportunity.
Many of my 'heroes' during the time when I read comics have passed on and I never had the chance, if not to get their autograph, to just shake their hand and thank them for many lonely afternoons spent enjoying their work.
How often we (fans) forget that creators, within the comics biz, are just regular joes (or janes) doing a job we secretly envy. So I hope they forgive me if every chance I get, eventhough my voice gets lost in a chorus of others saying the same thing, I like just to tell them say, "Thanks."
Thanks Mike Wieringo for the memories. My condolences to your close friends and family.
I don't really have any words either, other than various profanities and "It's not fair." Infantile, yeah, but that's all I can think of to say about a great artist and guy getting cut down in his prime.
Agreed. He drew one of the most attractive Sue Storm/Sue Richards out there. I also really liked his version of Ben Grimm.
It's impossible to believe. RINGO was "the man." We've lost one of the best human beings AND artists around.
In the corner of my home office is a stack of comics, internet and magazine interviews, original art, sketchbooks, and comics. All of them of/or created by Mike Wieringo.
You will never, ever be forgotten, RINGO! Rest in peace.
BEB
Wow. He has always been one of those artists that I followed, with very few exceptions, everywhere he went. ***Note to self: pick up Spider-Man/Fantastic Four mini***
His art was "cartoony", but more solid than half the work out there. Reminds me of when Mike Parobek died. The thought of no more issued with Mike Wieringo art...no good.
This news hit me hard.
As PAD is my favorite writer, so too was Ringo my favorite artist.
I would sit for hours defending him against Alex Ross, Michael Turner and Jim Lee fans, because he was always the clearest and best artist. If I knew he was drawing, I'd give the book a chance even if it wasn't something I would normally read or I didn't particularly care for the writer.
Rest in peace, Ringo.
Damn.
He was one of the few artists who seemed to be able to express the sheer joy he had for his craft in every line on the page. Everything he did was a joy to look at.
Damn.
Comic Book has lost a great artist and more than that, a great asset.
I work for the editor who publish Tellos in Spain and you cant imagine how easy is to sell that one at comic conventions here. Most fans would have it and most who didnt would give at least a thought about getting it when they saw it at the booth, but the good part always was when a kid came to the booth with his parents. I would show the books to the kid and his eyes would open wide at the colorful, basic-yet-detailed, rich art...Wieringo had them at first sight. And The parents would love what they saw in their kid's face, because its damm hard to excite a kid's imagination these days.
I've allways liked his art, as a fan... but it was when I started to sell his work when I realized what a tremendous asset he was to this medium.
I never met Mike Wieringo. I never spoke with him on the phone. I never e-mailed him nor had any exchanges with him on online message boards. But this new hit me like a blow to the gut.
Mike Wieringo? Gone? Please, someone tell me this isn't true.
Somone? Anyone?
Shit.
Mr. Wieringo was a supremely talented artist and from what I saw of his online interactions with his fans, a genuinely nice and generous guy to boot. We are all the poorer for his passing.
My sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
Also from Spain, this is a shock. Sad, really, really sad.
For me it's always sad when a writer or a comic-book artist dies because they get so little attention, you know? Tomorrow at work I could say something like "Mike Wieringo died..." and noone would know what the heck I was talking about. And I'm talking about an artist, no more no less, and a better one (EMHO) that many others who sell their material for millions...
It's also sad when they're taken away so damn young. Alex Toth or Will Eisner died, and it was sad; but this is a blow: 'Ringo had a lot of things to say left, a lot of pages to draw left, a lot of unused potential left... it's just a waste, sad, and tragic.
I'm really, truly, deeply sorry.
Forget being a great artist, he was a great man.
I only met him once (at the Baltimore Comic-Con last year), and he was a gracious man. I've read countless stories today about people who met him at conventions and how wonderful he was. I even read one account of him remembering a fan year after year.
He was a great artist and he will be missed.
I've been in shock and mourning all day today.
Mike Wieringo was one of the first artists I consciously chose to follow from one project to the next, from The Flash to Robin to Spider-Man to Tellos to Fantastic Four and beyond. He was an incredible talent and he'll always be up there as one of my favorite artists in the industry, just as Mike Parobeck remains such.
I'm deeply saddened by this. The industry has lost a giant, and the world has lost one, too.
Words fail. I met Mike at a convention here in Houston back the month his and Waid's FF ran began. 'Ringo,Waid,Kessel and Dezago were all there. I bought a Tellos trade, got my first con sketch by 'Ringo. It's my most prized one. I always looked for his name, the same way I look for PAD or Waid. Because I know it's gonna be a good ride. There is just too much left to tell for him to be gone.
Oh I call him 'Ringo btw because he actually told me to. I was asking him how to pronounce his last name because I hate to mispronounce names and sound foolish so I ask first. And he said "Call me 'Ringo. My dad was 'Ringo so it's good". Good indeed.
Damn is the only word that comes to mind. He was amazing.
Very sad news. I'd only met Mike at a few conventions, but my impression of him from those times was that he was a very nice guy who genuinely loved what he did.
His talent will be missed.
Bobby
WHAT?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's dead? WTF??!! What the hell did he die of? Christ.
Dead at 44? God, that's awful.
I hadn't heard ANYTHING until just now.
I've liked Mike's artwork ever since the Rogue miniseries he did years ago. I once met him at a convention, where he was kindly doing sketches for FREE. Can you believe that? Someone else in line was kind enough to rip a page out of his sketchbook for me to get a sketch done. Mike drew Rogue on it. It hands above my bed, the only piece of artwork from a professional comic book artist that I own.
May he rest in peace.
I only wish I could have told him in person how much I admired his art.
No words can feel adequate when talking about those we've lost and loved.
If you seek some words for Ringo, check Scott Kurtz's post at PVPonline.com. Mr. Wieringo was a close friend of Kurtz.
http://www.pvponline.com/blog/3480/friendly-dolphins is the best story about what Mike Wieringo was really like that I've read all day. Thank you, Ebonstone.
A few weeks back I started writing something about the backhanded way DC was handling one of my favorite characters - Bart Allen. I was just so mad and frustrated over how the character had developed over the last several years and how they had taken so much of the fun and innocence away.
Mike’s blog was a place to visit daily and I marveled with each new sketch he would put up. The incredible talent he possessed was simply astounding. One of the great things about his work is just how lively and emotive characters became when exposed to his prodigious talents. He bought life to Impulse, made the FF fun again and had such an incredible body of work.
This just sucks, doesn’t really sum it all up - he was taken way too soon.
What? I don't even know what to say. Ringo's website is one of the few that I would visit on a daily basis just to simply check out his fantastic sketches. I am speechless.
One of the few conventions we have out here in Richmond, VA, we were lucky to have Ringo be a guest. Nice man, great artist. I'm sad to see him go, but glad I got to meet him on his too short journy through life.
Still pretty shocked over this. A great artist and a really nice guy. Definitely one hell of a loss!
As PAD says, it's impossible to know what to say. I never met Ringo at a convention and I'm obviously the poorer for it.
This is very much a shock. I met him at this year's Heroes Convention. If memory serves, I think he's the lat creator I visited that day. I didn't know what he looked like and got him confused with someone else sitting in his spot while he was away. I waited and had him sign Adventures of Superman #400. Super-nice guy, and I don't remember what we talked about, if anything. I'm still a bit of a gushing fanboy when I meet creators and I get a little tounge-tied, but I really felt the love other fans in line had for him. I also recall him chatting with other creators while signing books and I felt some mutual love and respect there as well.
I really hate it when fans haul a truckload of books for creators to sign, so I usually only bring a handful. My only regret is not having a Marvel book on hand for him to sign, since he's done such great work over the past few years.
Change of subject: does anyone know if he was married or had any children? As a single person living alone, it's a personal nightmare of mine to be all alone when there is a health emergency.
wow. just really wow.
i've gotten out of comics lately, so i only hit this blog every so often. i hadn't heard the news.
there are really no words :(
i met Ringo at a con in Philly years ago (back when he was the new guy on the Flash).
what an absolute pleasure it was to meet him. he drew (pencilled and inked) a Flash for me, and we talked the entire time. So absolutely down to earth and really just had such a great time talking with him (it was a pretty detailed piece, so the conversation wasn't by any means a short one). not once did he make me feel like he was "humoring" me by "tolerating" talking to a fan. i'll always remember that.
i'm so very sorry to hear this. my thoughts are with his family and friends.
I never met Mike Wiernigo, but I Thought his work, especially his FF was awesome.This is really sad. I wish I could think of more to say,but this is just too depressing.
I thought the two issues of Ms. Marvel he did were fantastic. My favorite ones to date. And to have him on Spider-man and the Fantastic Four is a real treat I have yet to enjoy.
I can't believe he's gone. Not Mike, someone who loved drawing comics. You could tell just by looking at his stuff. We absolutely love his work. He will be missed.
Ack, now I feel sick. I DID meet him at a Heroes Con a few years back. He was doing $5 sketches to raise money for a children's burn ward. My wife got a number of sketches from him and we chatted with him and a writer he was working with at the time (Todd DeZago, I believe). Very nice, sweet guys, both of them, very much in love with comics and appreciative of the fans.
This has been bugging me for a few days now. On the one hand, I'm glad I got to meet him. On the other, now I feel even worse about his passing.
I just can't believe it. I'm in shock. I find out today, and I just... wow. He's one of my main inspirations for drawing every day. I hope his family is well.
Yeah, it's tragic. And Rove, Bush and Cheney still walk the earth. Some cosmic irony eh?
My God....Shows you where my head is
Rest in peace!
I think PAD expresses it as well as it can be done. 44 seems so young to me now, at 48. I certainly haven't followed every online discussion of his death, but every informed content I've seen stresses the same points: a nice guy who took excellent care of his health, truly enthusiastic about his craft, and abundantly talented. There have been many comments on eminent, well-regarded creators which devolved into "Yeah, but here's what he said to me at the 'con in 1988, and in panel 3 of page 12 his perspective was off, and a friend told me he had called her cousin's best friend's nephew a talentless hack..." In this case, everyone just seemed to remember a nice guy whose work and enthusiasm will be missed.
This is truly a shock and a tragedy. 44? My god! Too, too young
The only thing I can say is that this is yet another sad reminder that our time on this sphere to do what we want to do is extremely short, so don't procrastinate. If there's something you want to accomplish, something you want to say to
someone, then do it now. Today. tomorrow may be too late, or may never come at all.
This is truly a shock and a tragedy. 44? My god! Too, too young
The only thing I can say is that this is yet another sad reminder that our time on this sphere to do what we want to do is extremely short, so don't procrastinate. If there's something you want to accomplish, something you want to say to
someone, then do it now. Today. tomorrow may be too late, or may never come at all.