| Mike Wieringo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Michael Lance Wieringo (1963-06-24)June 24, 1963 Vicenza, Italy |
| Died | August 12, 2007(2007-08-12) (aged 44) Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Area | Writer,Penciller,Inker |
Notable works | Fantastic Four The Flash Tellos |
Michael Lance Wieringo (/wɪˈrɪŋɡoʊ/; June 24, 1963 – August 12, 2007),[1] who sometimes signed his work under the nameRingo, was an Americancomics artist best known for his work onDC Comics'The Flash,Marvel Comics'Spider-Man andFantastic Four, as well as his own creator-owned series,Tellos.[2] In 2017, theRingo Awards were created in honor of Wieringo. They are presented at theBaltimore Comic-Con to recognize achievement in the comics industry.
Michael Lance Wieringo was born inVicenza, Italy, on June 24, 1963 to Cecil E. and Shirley Dean Wieringo, who live inLynchburg, Virginia. He had a brother named Matt.[3]
Wieringo became interested in comics through his father, who was an avid reader. Wieringo began drawing comics when he was 11. He studiedfashion illustration atVirginia Commonwealth University, though he began to consider drawing comics as a profession, and showed his artwork at comics convention during his college years. Soon after graduating, he determined that that field was "dying out". Realizing that he did not possess the fortitude for commercial illustration, he decided to draw comic books.[4]
Wieringo's first professionally published work wasDoc Savage: Doom Dynasty #1, published byMillennium Publications in 1991. EditorMark Ellis had to overrule his partner to give the fledgling artist his first assignment.
Wieringo took his samples to the 1992San Diego Comic Con, where he metDC Comics group editor of creative servicesNeil Pozner, who showed Wieringo's art to other DC editors. He was eventually given his first work for DC, a story inJustice League Quarterly #11. That was followed by a secondJLQ in issue #12.[4]
The Flash editorBrian Augustyn asked Wieringo to try out forThe Flash. After submitting some sample pages of the Flash running, Wieringo was offered the penciling duties on Volume 2 of that series, on which he was paired with writerMark Waid, and on which he rose to prominence in the industry, drawing all but two issues from #80–92 (Early Sept. 1993–July 1994), plus #0 (Oct. 1994).[4] He additionally penciled covers through #100, #118–124, and 128–129, and forThe Flash 80-Page Giant #2 (April 1999).[5] Wieringo and Waid co-created the young speedsterBart Allen, a.k.a. Impulse, inThe Flash vol. 2 #91 (cameo) and #92 (first full appearance).[6]
Wieringo followed this with a short run onRobin, another DC title, with writerChuck Dixon, while concurrently pencilingMarvel Comics'Rogue #1–4 (Jan.–April 1995),[4][7] aminiseries starring thatX-Men superheroine.[5] During this period, he also penciled occasional covers and small miscellaneous jobs for Marvel Comics.
Other work around this time included penciling the cover and co-penciling (with Rob Haynes) the lead story ofFirearm #0 (Nov. 1993) and penciling the back cover and one story inGodwheel #2 (Feb. 1995) forMalibu Comics. He penciled the cover ofExplorers #2 (1995) for Explorer Press.[5]
After having penciled theSpider-Boy #1 (April 1996) one-shot, which combinedSpider-Man (Ben Reilly) andSuperboy (Conner Kent) as part of theMarvel Comics–DC Comicsintercompany crossover series ofone-shotsAmalgam Comics,[8] Wieringo became the regular artist on Marvel'sThe Sensational Spider-Man, beginning with issue #8 (September 1996).[9] Teaming with writerTodd Dezago, Wieringo penciled all but eight issues from #8–31 (September 1996 – October 1998), and some covers on issues he did not pencil. Additionally, Wieringo co-plotted several issues and penciled the quirkily numberedflashback issue, # −1 (July 1997). During his run he signed a two–year contract with Marvel, beginning December 1997.
AfterSpider-Man, Wieringo's next major project was atImage Comics, where he reteamed with Dezago on theircreator-owned fantasy seriesTellos.[10] The comic, a coming-of-age adventure set in a magical,piratical world, ran 10 issues (May 1999–November 2000). The last three issues were released byGorilla Comics, a short-lived Image imprint co-founded by Wieringo and several other creators in 2000.[11][12] Following the demise of the series, Wieringo also penciled one 13–page story in a post-seriesone-shot,Tellos: Maiden Voyage #1 (March 2001).
Wieringo returned to DC Comics for all but one issue ofThe Adventures of Superman #592–600 (July 2001 – March 2002), with writerJoe Casey.[13] He then returned to Marvel and reunited with writerMark Waid onFantastic Four. Beginning with #60 (October 2002), Wieringo eventually drew 27 issues of Waid's 37 issues, wrapping up their run with #524, by which time the previously relaunched series had returned to its original numbering. The comics-hobbyistwebzineNewsarama commented that the Waid–Wieringo run "was perhaps best known for fan outcry when Marvel announced that [it was] going to replace the team. Marvel quickly reversed [its] decision, and the two completed their run on the series".[14]
Wieringo penciled the interior art on issues #1–5 and #8–10 ofFriendly Neighborhood Spider-Man[15] and was the cover artist of #1–19 (December 2005 – June 2007). He and writerJeff Parker began work on theminiseriesSpider-Man and the Fantastic Four in April 2007.[16]
Wieringo explained the philosophy behind his drawing style thus: "I just try to keep things fun. I like to do fun comics. It doesn't have to be realistic to be believable. In fact, I sometimes think that funny [material] might actually add something to certain books." When he began illustrating theRogue miniseries, he was intimidated by the dark tone of that book's story, but once he finished the first issue, the editors decided to lighten up the "grim and gritty" tone of the story.[4]
On August 12, 2007, Wieringo died of anaortic dissection at his home inDurham, North Carolina, at age 44.[1] He was survived by his parents, Cecil and Shirley Dean Wieringo, and his brother Matt.[3]
Mirage Comics'Tales Of TMNT #40,Image Comics'Elephantmen #11 andThe Walking Dead #42, andMarvel Comics'Spider-Man: Family #7 were dedicated to his memory.
At the time of his death, Wieringo had completed seven pages of aWhat If? story featuring the temporary"replacement" Fantastic Four ofSpider-Man,Wolverine, theHulk, andGhost Rider that had originally been assembled in a 1990 three-partFantastic Four storyline. Marvel Comics donated the script and Wieringo's art toThe Hero Initiative, a charity dedicated to assistingGolden Age andSilver Age comics creators who retired without pensions or benefits and require financial assistance. Wieringo's colleagues stepped in to complete the story. The completed 48-page book,What If?—The Fantastic Four Tribute to Mike Wieringo, features, in addition to Wieringo's art, artwork byArthur Adams,Paul Renaud,Stuart Immonen,Cully Hamner,Alan Davis, David Williams, Sanford Greene,Humberto Ramos,Skottie Young,Mike Allred, andBarry Kitson, and was released in June 2008.[17][18]
In June 2017, theBaltimore Comic-Con announced the creation of theMike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards (the "Ringo Awards"), to be held annually at Baltimore Comic-Con beginning in September 2017.[19]
The brainchild of writer Mark Waid and artist Mike Wieringo, Impulse burst onto the scene at quite a pace.
Rogue finally starred in her own four-issue miniseries, beginning in January [1995]. Written by Howard Mackie with art by Mike Wieringo.
It seemed that a whole host of bad guys were on a crime spree in this adventure, written by Todd Dezago and illustrated by the series' new regular artist Mike Wieringo.
| Preceded by | The Flash vol. 2 penciller 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Fantastic Four vol. 3 penciller 2002–2005 | Succeeded by |
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