Remembering 'Ringo

Mike Wieringo 1963-2007

It's always such a shock when someone leaves us suddenly, or at an early age. As many of you know by now, illustrator Mike Wieringo passed away of a sudden heart attack on Sunday. He was 44.

I wanted to say a few because Mike was a huge inspiration... his lively run on Spider-Man in the 90's was literally the first reason I seriously considered working in comics. I remember reading a story arc about a villain called 'Swarm', and being blown away at how Mike captured the action in such a clean-lined, friendly style. As a long-time animation buff, my eyes were opened to a whole different path for telling stories.

It turned out Mike was an alumni of my college, and some classmates and I had the good fortune to be there when he visited to talk about his experiences in the industry. Mike was his typical self-- warm, modest and encouraging-- and I remember being really charged by the advice and encouragement he gave. Even with all the people he must have met over the years, he always remembered those friends and me when we ran into him at conventions. Later, when I was working on my first indy book with Howard Shum in 2002, Mike gifted us with a 'Ringo-style guest cover, definitely one of the highlights of my career so far. The original art for that cover traditionally holds a special place over my desk.

The comics industry as a whole has suffered a great loss with Mike's passing. It moves on now without his enthusiasm for comics as a positive medium, his ever-willing mentorship, and some intriguing story ideas of his that were just beginning to evolve. His take on famous characters was both classic and fresh, and even 'extras' in the background seemed to have their own life and story behind the scenes. That subtle, appealing style of his was still growing and being refined-- though in my opinion, the trends of the industry never really gave him a chance to cut loose.

So tough to see Mike go... as humble and approachable as he was, I couldn't help feeling intimidated when we had the chance to talk; I wish I had gotten to know him better.

Here's hoping heaven has a little slice of Tellos waiting for you, Mike. Godspeed.

More People

Here's some new sketches for today!

Happy 30th, Star Wars!

I did this piece as a contribution to this year's Comic-Con Int'l Souvenir Book; commemorating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. The book prints black and white, so now that it's out I thought I'd offer up a nice big version of the color file here.
I know, the likenesses could have used a bit more elbow grease... pretty fun to attempt a huge group shot like this tho. 18 hours straight before coming up for air *

Enjoy before Lucasfilm sends me a C&D ;)

original:18x24 colors:Photoshop

Life Drawing 8-1 (2)

Here's a couple more life drawings, check out the whole set on my DA page!

http://mr-representational.deviantart.com/

Pencil on paper.

Life Drawing 8-1

Here's a few drawings from a life study workshop I went to in LA last week. The theme was "80's Slumber Party" More coming tomorrow!

You can also check out a few others on my DA page... http://mr-representational.deviantart.com/

Pencil and Conte on paper. (sorry 'bout the muddy images, still learning to get good photos of my larger work!)

A Guy's Gotta Make a Livin' Too, Y'know...

Hey Spidey, we all know you got bills to pay, but web that camera up and get to it!

This is done with Illustrator inks and Photoshop colors.

Comic-Con 2007

Man! Comic-Con International was on fire this year!

The exhibit hall was filled to the brink all four days, and thanks to some kind folks running Artist's Alley, I was able to get a table last minute and get set up there for the very first time. (Thanks for the help, Clydene!)

It was great seeing so many good friends at the show -- hanging out with Mez, Rachel, Gabe, Bill & Karen, Tod & Corey, Sean, Carlo, Jeff, Donna, Vic, Sonia, Sanford, and Jan -- and seeing Alberto, Tanya, Wardell, John & Shelley, Steve, Brian, Howard $, Barrett, Greg, and Randy again. Also glad to meet Tom, Koi, Alan, Howard, Gayley, Francisco, Christine, Bruce & Tracy, and Micah, as well as all the other cool enthusiasts, artists and colleagues who I ran into! (if I left you out, please forgive the ol' memory, it's smokin' trying to process the last few days)

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table, your encouragement means a great deal-- and especially those who took home a sketchbook or a print. You made the trip out possible.
_____

Yes, I've finally put together my first real sketchbook, "Tangent". It's 120 jam-packed pages of perfect bound life drawings, sketches and doodles from the last few years. If you missed the con you can still check it out and grab a copy here: http://stores.lulu.com/mr-representational
______

A big congrats goes out to my buddy, the ever-talented Sean 'Cheeks' Galloway, and the entire team on The Spectacular Spider-Man Animated Series-- they had a great panel on Friday. They introduced the show and even showed a short teaser clip, which looks... spectacular!

If you didn't get a chance to see, it's up online here [link] Check it out!

______

Anyways, I'm all charged up and inspired from CCI, so I'm pledging to share my work a little more regularly this year... keep watching, you guys!

~

Technorati Tags: art, art and photography, Joey Mason, Comic-Con, weblog