The Graphic Novel Archive Blog

My son Raistlin walked up to me last week, handing back one of my collected editions I had let him borrow.

“So did you like it?,” I asked. I always ask, ’cause I’m always looking to learn more about what he likes in comics. My job as a comic fan and Dad, after all.

And he says to me, “Yeah, I liked it.”

But then - and this is rare for Raistlin, who usually delivers only the most succinct of graphic novel opinions - continued to opine of his own accord.

“The artwork is really cool - it’s like a cartoon.”

Up to this point, Raistlin always seemed to read comics to read comics, to the point where I sometimes wondered if he’d be happier if comics were written in simple prose. For him, the artwork always seemed to be secondary.

So having paid attention to the art style this time, much less commenting on it - well, it must have made an impression.

Raistlin had just finished Waid/Wieringo’s oversized hardcover, Fantastic Four Volume 1.

Returning the book to its place on the bookshelf, I felt an odd mix of emotion.

A renewed sadness of Mike having passed away.

But a thankfulness knowing Mike’s artwork - and through the artwork, Mike himself - would not only always be around to impress, amaze and entertain today’s comic fans, but to make new fans as well.

Including a young boy named Raistlin, age 11, who - while sitting in his bed reading the Fantastic Four one rainy afternoon - came to realize how “really cool” Mike Wieringo and comic book art can be.

So needless to say, I am more than happy to help spread the word about “The ‘Ringo”, a new art scholarship established in Mike Wieringo’s memory.

When Mike Wieringo abruptly passed away last August, the comics industry lost more than a great artist and creator - it lost a friend. Now, Mike’s family has teamed with the Savannah College of Art and Design to create The Mike Wieringo Scholarship or “The ‘Ringo” to help keep his spirit of generosity alive.

Read on for more. (more…)

Before moving into the new year, a respectful remembrance of the comic and graphic novel creators we’ve lost in 2007. (more…)