It’s still hard to believe that Mike Wieringo has passed away. On Mike’s website, his brother Matt has posted a message that includes information on donations in Mike’s name:

On behalf of our family, I’d like to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support and sympathy. It means a lot, particularly to our Mom and Dad. Mike had so many friends and admirers, a fact I had to continually remind him of. He was so humble and unsure of himself. I think it would really surprise him to hear all the love being expressed here and elsewhere. I haven’t had the time or the heart to read everything posted but I plan to. So I ask that everyone share their favorite Mike story. It will help us through this trying time and you would have our gratitude.

Though we haven’t ironed out the details of how we plan to honor Mike, I’d like to suggest that, in lieu of cards or flowers, anyone who is so inclined please donate to the ASPCA or the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in his name. I have a feeling Mike would like that.

Some pros have posted about Mike on their blogs, including Humberto Ramos:

There are no words when you try to describe the influence of a good person in your life, he IS an inspiration to me, and will always be.
Mike, I miss you already buddy.

Sean Galloway:

I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Wieringo at Heroes con in June for the first time. Although, I’ve been a fan of Mike’s work for years we’ve communicated through different art forums and through emails. He’s been a mega-influence to me, and to alot of people, so this news of his passing was a shock to me.

Skottie Young:

I don’t have to tell most of you what Mike meant to the art and comic world. He’s probably a big reason that some of us are doing this today. But over the years, Mike had become a very good friend to me and spent many hours on the phone talking about art, bitching about…well everything, and just flat out trying to find away to keep pushing this medium. Mike was a veteran in this game and was always there to show his support to a young newbie like me. When the “cartoony” art that I draw wasn’t floating with some people, Mike would be the guy to call me up and say “fuck em!” “they don’t get it”…haha. He was a lively guy and had so much love for creating. Even here, some of you might have noticed his posts about trying to inspire new artists to come along and show us how to do it.

Scott Kurtz:

My good friend Mike Wieringo died yesterday. I got a call from his brother this morning and I still just can’t believe it. I feel like I should tell you all about Mike and everything he did for me, as a means of remembrance and tribute, but I just can’t right now.

I can’t even bring myself to say goodbye because I just don’t want to believe this is really happening. I just talked to him Thursday. We’re all going to hang out and have drinks in Baltimore in September.

Marc Bernardin:

Found out today that comics artist Mike Wieringo died over the weekend. Massive heart attack, apparently. 44 years old. I’ve never met the man, but we sorta crossed paths a few years ago, back when we were looking for artists for Monster Attack Network. He was one of the first guys that Larry thought of, and we’d have been thrilled to have him.

The main site has the original announcement up, where many of Wieringo’s peers, friends and fans have commented on his passing. They’ve also posted thoughts from Mark Waid, Todd Dezago and Karl Kesel in a separate story.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 13th, 2007 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Creators, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.