Mike "Ringo" Wieringo, 1963-2007

Comic book talk has been at a minimum around here these days because I’m way behind (haven’t bought an issue in a month), but this is just a tragedy: Mike Wieringo, one of my absolute favorite artists, had a heart attack recently and passed away. He was 43 years old.

“Ringo,” as he signed his work and was affectionately known, pencilled most issues of the short-lived Sensational Spider-Man, using a cartoony, light-hearted style that Spidey sorely needed in the late ’90s. Unlike the edgier anime influence that many were latching onto at the time, Wieringo’s happy-go-lucky style was unique; he would’ve been perfect to draw a teenage Peter Parker’s exploits in Ultimate Spider-Man had eventual penciller Mark Bagley (another favorite of mine) not gotten the gig. He had long runs on Fantastic Four and other titles, but I’ll remember him best for Sensational and Tellos, a short-lived title he created with Todd Dezago. See more of the man’s work after the jump, and be sure to visit his blog (the source of these sketches), which he updated regularly with sketches and an insider’s view of the industry. Wieringo seemed to truly love comics and approached them with starry eyes and a sense of excitment that translated seamlessly to his art. He will be missed. [Continue reading…]