Another Star is Lost: My Tribute to Mike Wieringo
Fellow comic book fans, I’m sure by now you have heard that we have lots an incredible talent in the world of comics. Mr. Mike Wieringo passed away on Sunday, August 12, 2007 at his home due to a heart attack. This comes as a total shock to me and I’m sure other Wieringo fans are also stunned and sad upon hearing this news.
Instead of reviewing one of his books, I just want to take a moment to pay tribute to this incredible illustrator. I became aware of Mr. Wieringo’s artwork during his two year run on the Sensational Spider-Man.
Along with writer Todd Dezago, Mr. Wieringo got to pencil part of the “Revelations” storyline that concluded the two year clone saga. When the real Peter Parker returned as Spider-Man, Wieringo got to draw a plethora of heroes and villains during his Sensational run. Among the heroes and villains brought to life by Mr. Wieringo were: Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, the Incredible Hulk, Stergon, the Prowler, Swarm, the Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange, Spidey’s temporary slinger identity the Hornet, and even the beautiful Black Cat (if only for the covers during that arc). His final issue was issue 33 I believe, where the Rhino was on a rampage and Spidey had to stop him once more.
Mr. Wieringo also did a lot of work for DC comics. I never read his Flash run with Mark Waid, but my friends tell me it was awesome. I believe Mr. Wieringo also penciled some issues of Superman, but I’m not sure on that. What really excited me was his run on Fantastic Four with Mark Waid. I hadn’t been picking up the FF books since Jim Lee did his Heroes Reborn year long story. But when I heard Mr. Wieringo was geared up to tackle the adventures of Marvel’s first family, I was very very happy with the news. Over their FF run, Wieringo proved he still had the talents to tackle the wild and weird settings and themes of any good FF story. Not only did he show the family aspects of the FF, he also got to draw the Negative Zone, outer space, Latveria, and other classic FF settings. During this run, Waid and Wieringo told one of my all time favorite Doctor Doom stories, “Unthinkable” which concluded in the legendary FF #500. Mr. Wieringo also got to play with the classic FF characters and villains, including the just mentioned Dr. Doom, Galactus, the Silver Surfer, and more. He also got to illustrate some familiar heroes during this run, most notably Spider-Man and Dr. Strange.
One of the most touching stories during their run was a three part story where the FF travel to heaven itself to bring their friend Ben Grimm back to life. When meeting with God himself, it was none other than Jack Kirby. It was a lot of fun reading that issue and Mr. Wieringo’s work simply shined throughout each and every page.
All in all, everyone take a moment to pay your respects to a wonderful creator. I had the chance to meet Mr. Wieringo at Wizard World Philadelphia 2003 and he was a very generous person, signing books and sketching for fans. While I didn’t get a sketch, I did watch him draw an awesome Black Cat sketch for the person in front of me. Mr. Wieringo never complained and took the time to talk with each and every fan. So here is to you Mr. Wieringo, thank you for everything. You were taken from us to early, but know that your work has inspired many comic book fans.
Thank you.
