Mike Wieringo was a fine comic book artist and, from all accounts, a great guy. His relaxed, cartoony style went great with Mark Waid’s writing on Flash or Fantastic Four, his creator co-owned Tellos, and in recent Peter David-written Spider-Man. I used to follow along his online sketch book, enjoying his art and his stories (and the stories he wanted to tell with his art). When I ran across ‘Ringo’s art, it was always a pleasure.
He died of a sudden heart attack yesterday at age 44. He was a vegetarian, in good health, and it came completely out of the blue. (Insert cautionary note here.)
It’s one thing when one of the “Old Masters” passes away after a long career and retirement. To lose someone at the top of his game — especially such a nice guy — is a sad shock even for those of us who only knew him from his work.