CULLY HAMNER REMEMBERS MIKE WIERINGO

[MattBrady]

by Cully Hamner

There’s a coffee shop right next door to our studio, and I go in there just about every day. Usually it’s in the afternoon when I start to run out of steam a little, and I need to keep working, but sometimes it’s just to shoot the bull with the folks that run the place. Yesterday, I walked in, and the guy working the counter waved at me, and then he did a double-take. “Hey, man,” he said. “What’s the matter? You look like you just lost your best friend…”

It’s a cliché because people do always say it. The sad part is that he was pretty much right on target.

I’ll make no claim to being Mike Wieringo’s best friend, and I won’t claim he was mine. We both had people who were and are closer, and whom we saw more often. I will say, though, that we were special friends, and we had a special relationship. We had similar outlooks on a lot of things, had a lot of common occurrences in our two lives, and even though we never got be around each other as much as we both would have liked, we really cared about each other. To most people, he was either Mike or Ringo; to me, he was always Mikey. I can’t think of anybody right now who made me laugh quite as much, and as I write this, I can’t think of anyone who’s made me cry so much.

Back in 1990 (or maybe 1991, or so—I can’t be sure of the dates, so bear with me), I was just some long-haired kid who was trying to find an in to the comics business. I had become friends with the group that would soon become the first Gaijin Studios, and they were letting me squat on their table space at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. One of the first people I met was Mikey. He introduced himself in a humble, so-totally-him way: He asked me to review his portfolio. I was totally taken aback by this, because I wasn’t anybody. But I guess Mikey felt I had something to offer, and it was the first time anyone had ever asked me for such a thing, so opened up his book. And then I closed it. I didn’t have much to say, because frankly, he was better than me. And that’s pretty much what I told him. (If you don’t believe me, check out his Modern Masters volume-- those sample pages are in there, and they’re way better than anything I did on Green Lantern: Mosaic). Well, he wouldn’t accept the compliment, and he insisted that my stuff was great and that he admired it, and he was nowhere near ready yet. But he handed me his business card, and asked if we could keep in touch. I gave him my card, and that was that. My first portfolio review.

A couple of weeks later, I got a letter from him in the mail, and I recognized the name (How could you not, really? It’s such an unusual name, and for years afterwards, we’d both complain to each other about how no one could ever get our names right.). I opened it, and within the first paragraph, I realized that this was a fan letter. A fan letter! Who was I to get a fan letter from anybody, let alone this grey-haired guy who was so much better at this than I was? My first fan letter.

So, I immediately got the number off of his card and called him. He was totally flabbergasted that I’d deign to call him, and didn’t quite know what to say. But it was at this point that we began to chat as two guys who wanted the same thing, and we became the friends that we were to be for the next seventeen years.

I still remember the excitement and pride in his voice a couple of years later when he called to tell me he’d gotten The Flash. By this point, I’d broken in with Mosaic, and had moved to Atlanta as the final puzzle piece of that first iteration of Gaijin Studios, and Mikey had done some small-press stuff here and there. But when he broke with The Flash, he broke wide. He soon became a bigger name than I would ever be, and his run with Mark Waid on that book became a benchmark, and the standard by which the series is still judged. And he kept zooming upward to Rogue, to Sensational Spider-Man (with his best friend Todd DeZago), to Tellos (his personal favorite work, in no small part because it was his and because he was working with Todd again), to Superman, to Fantastic Four (again with Mark, and another benchmark), and back to Spidey, and a hundred other titles scattered in between. And in all that time, I never got any sense of ego from him.

He did sometimes feel that he deserved better things to work on, but honestly, we all feel that. Sometimes, you get to do work that you believe with all your being, but mostly, you just pay the bills. Mikey was one of those souls that needed to be deeply satisfied with what he was doing, and he was depressed when he felt he didn’t measure up, or when the job didn’t let him measure up.

He was always too hard on himself. He never believed he was as good or as in-demand as everybody else did. I would tell him how brilliant he was just about every time we talked, and I’m glad I had the presence of mind to do that while he was alive, and I know all his peers and friends routinely did the same thing.

One thing to understand about him is that he was a fan first, and was until he died. That’s been thrown around a lot this week, but only because it was never truer than with Mikey. He’d call me up and just rhapsodize about someone else’s work. He was just in awe of so many people, a number of whom were at our studio. I would always be taken aback when he would take the time to call me and tell me how great he thought something of mine was—and I’d be so grateful to hear it, because I admired and respected him and his work so much—but he would gush so much, it would get embarrassing, so I’d tell him to stop. The thing with Mikey, though, was that he meant it. Every word. And he’d only grudgingly accept a compliment from me, and only after a struggle.

The simplest statement I can possibly make is that Mike Wieringo was just a great guy—which, upon writing those words, doesn’t seem quite enough. It doesn’t seem to fully contain him, this fact of the matter. But he was great in every way you’d want your friends to be great: Kind, caring, sensitive, hilarious, intelligent, talented, skilled, responsible, and a million other things. We never had a conversation in which we didn’t make each other laugh. It was true of the very first, and it was true of the very last. And here come the waterworks again.

One thing before I go: I want to thank everyone reading this from the bottom of my very heavy heart for being a peer, a colleague, a fan, a friend to Mikey. You were all his friends, and your many comments and expressions of love for him and sympathy for those closest to him prove that. That he touched so many people makes it a little easier to deal with all this. I mean, it’s still hard to deal with knowing that I won’t hear his big laugh or see his goofy, puppy-dawg face anymore, and that none of us will get any more of that gorgeous work of his again. But it makes me smile to know that I wasn’t the only person out there that Mike Wieringo had such an effect on.

I know you’re up there right now, Mikey, telling Kirby and Eisner and Kane how unworthy you are to be in their midst—trust me, pal, it’s not a mistake, and I’d bet they’d be the first to tell you that-- so try to enjoy your time with them.

I miss you, Mikey.

Newsarama has received information regarding services and memorial donations from Mike’s sister in law. They read:

We do not have funeral arrangements finalized yet but will have those by this afternoon or early tomorrow. We are definitely having a service here in Durham this week- most likely Thursday or Friday.

I do know that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to two charities that Matt [Mike’s brother] has decided on. I believe that Matt had mentioned The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund before, which is fine but he thinks this one below is actually more of what Mike would have wanted.

THE HERO INITIATIVE- www.heroinitiative.org They have a direct link on their homepage for you to donate. Matt said that Mike loved the old guys that blazed the trail for him. He would love to know that he's helping out in a small way.

ASPCA- www.aspca.org Mike donated regularly to the ASPCA. Anyone who knew Mike knew how much he loved animals, especially his cat Charlie. The ASPCA is the national chapter. If you go to their homepage you can click on the "Memorial Giving" button near the lower right and follow the directions.

Newsarama Note - Newsarama will be collecting tributes and memorials of any type from Mike's fellow professionals throughout the course of the next few days, and will be posting a tribute this weekend. If you are a professional and wish to have yours included, please send it to matt@newsarama.com

[pmpknface]

Wow. Thanks Cully.

[Staredcraft]

Man...a tear came down my face Cully...very touching...you nailed it man.

[Tom Daylight]

Keep these coming, Matt. I keep tearing up every time I see a really nice drawing of his. Reading these tributes is unbelievably helpful.

[Spaz_Monkey]

I never met Mike. Never talked to him. Never emailed him. I was simply a fan.

Which is why I have no idea why I was hit so hard by the news of his death. I opened up Newsarama yesterday, say the headline about his passing, and out loud said "Oh God, no..."

While recovering from multiple knee operations, I devoured his run on The Flash. It inspired me to get back on my feet and get myself moving again.

Even then, however, there's no reason that his death should have hit me this hard. But it did. And if Mike's passing can have such an effect on a complete stranger, I can only imagine the heartbreak his friends and family are going thru. My heart goes out to everyone hurting right now.

[s*p rules]

Originally Posted by pmpknface

Wow. Thanks Cully.

I gotta stop reading these things at work; I feel a little wierd tearing up at my desk.

Although I think ringo drew one of the best Spideys and Ben Grimms ever, it was his incredible take on Impulse that I'll think he'll be most remembered for when some future generation talks about the great artist of whatever title they deem on this current era of comics. If DC plans on ever bringing Bart Allen back, they should do it now, with a full-page dedication to Mike on page one.

[DADICUS]

He tuched us Cully, and you are a great friend to him for being able to share with us your connection with him...
Man his art work means so much to so many of us. His personallity stands as a bench mark for the rest of us to reach for.

Cully Hamner, you are a great friend to a great man.

[kamikazi]

I have knowingly been a fan of Mike since F4, and looking back soon realized the art I loved on the Flash was his as well. The thing that depresses me most is that I have just learned he lived in Durham, NC, only minutes away from me; having been that close to someone so great is surreal, and I hope that if they have any kind of public service in Durham to honor him they will announce it so I can pay my respects in person. God bless Mike and his family and friends.

[chrishaley]

This was heartwrenching to read, but it was heartwarming as well, so my thanks to Cully and Newsarama for sharing it with us.
I didn't even know the guy and this has been so upsetting, I can't imagine how hard it is on those that knew and loved him on a personal level.
I hope he knows how much we'll all miss him and how his amazing work will continue to live on for a very, very long time.

[Gavin, BotF]

Cully, I just wanted to say that I'm not a person that cries particularly, I don't know why, maybe I'm emotionally stunted in some way. But I'll freely admit that tears were welling up as I was reading that beautiful piece. The hurt you feel and the joy you shared with Mike is obvious and I feel for your pain in this difficult time.

[wheels9696]

I'm choked up. what a great tribute.

thanks cully

[Jim Harvey]

Thank you for writing this, Cully. I haven't been in good shape since I learned of his passing...but this has helped. Thank you.

[Switch625]

I've always enjoyed 'Ringo's work, but I was never a huge fan. I didn't rush out to collect everything he ever did like I do some other creators (I don't even really do that anymore). I loved his take on Spider-Man and Fantastic Four and who could forget his Flash? Still, this news hit me pretty hard. I was in, for lack of a better word, shock all day yesterday and I don't really know why. I didn't know the guy, didn't even know what he looked like or what he was working on after Spider-Man/FF. I didn't even follow that series after issue #1 but now, you better believe the first thing I'm going to do when I hit the comic store this week is pick up the rest of those issues. Farewell, Mike. Thanks for the comics!

[Jamal Y. Igle]

Cully pretty much covered this but i wanted to say something as well:
I've been thinking about Mike Wieringo alot over the last two days. I didn't know him anywhere near as well as I'd like to have and although we we friends and had friends in common, I found it difficult to relate to him. It wasn't about him as a person because Mike was everything everyone has said about him. I was in awe of him, of his ability. I was a fan of him. I remember his first issue of the Flash, I think I own everythings he's done since. I looked on my desk this morning and realized that Spider-man and the Fantastic four # 4 was sitting there. It hurts, it really does. I know he's in a much better place. I only have one picture of Mike in my collection. it was taken at a Chicago comic con back in the late 90's with me doing a weird worms eye veiw thing. I'm looking up at him, looking up to him and still in awe of him.

[Cully Hamner]

I didn't know the guy, didn't even know what he looked like...

As ever, in orbit around his pals Todd DeZago and Craig Rousseau...

[Good_Golly]

That was fantastic Cully, thank you. Except now I'm all weepy.

[Switch625]

Originally Posted by Cully Hamner

Thanks, Cully!

[NightRiver]

Very touching words Cully. I never met Mike but I am a big fan of Mike, forever will be, but I just wanted to say sorry for your loss.

[jza1218]

I wasn't his personal friend, but I miss him

[vicvondoom]

Another beautiful tribute.
Had to make a conscious effort to supress the waterworks.
My personal condolences to you Cully.

[christosgage]

I never met Mike but loved his work. Given what people say about the kind of person he was and the fact that he is a fellow cat person I probably would have felt the same about him. My heart goes out to you, Cully, to his cat, to his family, and to everyone else who misses him...

CNG

[jmc65]

I have been reading Mike's blog for a while now and I was always impressed with his outlook concerning comics and life. I have been a fan for quite a long time and I made it a goal to visit Mike next year at a con. I am just sadden that I did not do this sooner in life because he seem like a great guy. My condolences to his family and friends.

[murgod]

Honestly, you've just paid an amazing tribute to your friend...and I have the tears running down my face to prove it...

Thanks for taking the time to share this with us...

God Bless,
David M.

[Poolman]

I'm so sad to lose one of my favorite artists ever.

But whenever he is, we miss you Ringo

Beautiful words Cully

[TCJohnson]

I haven't read the text yet because of work, but gotta say that picture of Wieringo is wonderful