Comic Book Artist Mike Wieringo RIP

This article courtesy of Newsarama.com.

The comics industry lost a luminary this weekend - Mike Wieringo passed away Sunday of a sudden heart attack. Details are still sketchy as of this time, but according to close sources, the acclaimed artist had chest pains at some point during the day and called 911, but the responders did not make it in time.

Wieringo was 44 years old. He was a vegetarian, and "one of the healthiest ones of us in the bunch," as his longtime friend and collaborator Todd Dezago described him. Currently, there are no details about services or a funeral.

Wieringo worked every day, updating his blog and website with a constant stream of sketches at MikeWieringo.com. His last sketch was posted on Friday.

Wieringo was born June 24th, 1963 in Venice, Italy, and first caught the attention of comic book fans when he joined writer Mark Waid on DC's The Flash with issue #80 in 1993. Together, the two co-created the character Impulse, the future speedster brought back to the present. Wieringo (or, 'Ringo as he was better known by then) moved on to Robin at DC, and then moved to Marvel, where he settled in on Sensational Spider-Man with writer Todd DeZago.

The pairing with DeZago was something of fate, as the two co-created and launched their creator-owned property Tellos, which saw several projects and miniseries published over the years. Ringo moved back to DC for a run on Adventures of Superman, and then, in 2002, reunited with Waid for a run on Fantastic Four that was perhaps best known for fan outcry when Marvel announced that they were going to replace the team. Marvel quickly reversed their decision, and the two completed their run on the series.

Ringo then moved to Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man with writer Peter David, and most recently, completed a Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four miniseries written by Jeff Parker. His next project had not been announced, although, as readers of his blog knew, he was very excited at the prospect of doing more Tellos work, with an eye on being able to debut something at next month's Baltimore Comic-Con.

UPDATE from Newsarama

We do not have funeral arrangements finalized yet but will have those by this afternoon or early tomorrow. We are definitely having a service here in Durham this week- most likely Thursday or Friday.

I do know that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to two charities that Matt [Mike’s brother] has decided on. I believe that Matt had mentioned The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund before, which is fine but he thinks this one below is actually more of what Mike would have wanted.

THE HERO INITIATIVE- www.heroinitiative.org They have a direct link on their homepage for you to donate. Matt said that Mike loved the old guys that blazed the trail for him. He would love to know that he's helping out in a small way.

ASPCA- www.aspca.org Mike donated regularly to the ASPCA. Anyone who knew Mike knew how much he loved animals, especially his cat Charlie. The ASPCA is the national chapter. If you go to their homepage you can click on the "Memorial Giving" button near the lower right and follow the directions.

I got this sketch from Mike Wieringo some years ago at a local comic book show. I used to make my own sketch cards and have the artists draw a small picture on them. Mr. Wieringo was a great talent and will be greatly missed by all comic book fans. Rest In Peace 'Ringo.