Personal life, death and legacy
On August 12, 2007, Wieringo died of an aortic dissection at his home in Durham, North Carolina, at age 44.[1] He was survived by his parents, Cecil and Shirley Dean Wieringo, and his brother Matt.[3]
Mirage Comics' Tales Of TMNT #40, Image Comics' Elephantmen #11 and The Walking Dead #42, and Marvel Comics' Spider-Man: Family #7 were dedicated to his memory.
At the time of his death, Wieringo had completed seven pages of a What If? story featuring the temporary "replacement" Fantastic Four of Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, and Ghost Rider that had originally been assembled in a 1990 three-part Fantastic Four storyline. Marvel Comics donated the script and Wieringo's art to The Hero Initiative, a charity dedicated to assisting Golden Age and Silver Age comics creators who retired without pensions or benefits and require financial assistance. Wieringo's colleagues stepped in to complete the story. The completed 48-page book, What If?—The Fantastic Four Tribute to Mike Wieringo, features, in addition to Wieringo's art, artwork by Arthur Adams, Paul Renaud, Stuart Immonen, Cully Hamner, Alan Davis, David Williams, Sanford Greene, Humberto Ramos, Skottie Young, Mike Allred, and Barry Kitson, and was released in June 2008.[18][19]
In June 2017, the Baltimore Comic-Con announced the creation of the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards (the "Ringo Awards"), to be held annually at Baltimore Comic-Con beginning in September 2017.[20]
