Sad, sad news. From newsarama.com:

The comics industry lost a luminary this weekend – Mike Wieringo passed away Sunday of a sudden heart attack. Details are still sketchy as of this time, but according to close sources, the acclaimed artist had chest pains at some point during the day and called 911, but the responders did not make it in time.

Wieringo was 44 years old. He was a vegetarian, and “one of the healthiest ones of us in the bunch,” as his longtime friend and collaborator Todd Dezago described him. Currently, there are no details about services or a funeral.

I didn’t know Mike personally, but I was a big fan of his work and visited his blog often. He was an incredibly talented artist and, from what I understand, a really nice guy as well. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

My friend Sherwin Schwartzrock is a super-talented illustrator, designer, and comic book artist. He does it all, and all very well. He’s one of those guys whose work really raises the bar for the rest of us…which means I have to work harder to try and keep up. He recently started a blog, and now he has finally updated his website with loads of brand new content. Stop on by, you’ll be glad you did.

I’m currently taking a character design class online through Schoolism.com. My instructor is Stephen Silver, a brilliant character designer with a long list of credits in TV animation.

Our first assignment was to create a character called Fat Joe, so that Stephen could get an idea of where each student’s skill level is. The description of Fat Joe was given to us as follows:

You are to design a concept sketch of Fat Joe based on the play, The Long Voyage Home. Take it as far as you like.

Description:
SCENE—The bar of a low dive on the London water front—a squalid, dingy room dimly lighted by kerosene lamps placed in brackets on the walls At the far end of the bar stands Fat Joe, the proprietor, a gross bulk of a man with an enormous stomach. His face is red and bloated, his little piggish eyes being almost concealed by rolls of fat. The thick fingers of his big hands are loaded with cheap rings and a gold watch chain of cable-like proportions stretches across his checked waistcoat.

I didn’t know much about The Long Voyage Home (i.e. time period, storyline, etc.), and I couldn’t find much visual reference on the internet. As far as I can tell, it has something to do with fishermen (the kind that wear wool coats and stocking caps), and that John Wayne starred in the movie version.

Fat Joe is described as a dapper Englishman (waistcoat, jewelry, gold watch, etc.), but in my mind I couldn’t picture the owner of a “low dive” that is “squalid and dingy” being such a classy dresser. But that turned out to be a good challenge as it forced me to really think through the character. Who is this guy? Why does he dress that way if he runs such a dumpy, greasy establishment? Is he a back-room mafia type who owns the place but doesn’t run it? Is he a washed-up socialite? Is he a B-list scoundrel trying to impress people with the one greasy suit that he owns? The more I thought about him, the more I wanted to play around and explore possibilities.

Unfortunately, time is not a luxury for me right now. I’d love to have spent several days on this assignment, but I did the best I could with the few hours I had. I don’t think I nailed the character. I certainly would have liked to keep playing and experimenting. But for now I’m fairly happy with how the first drawing turned out (although he looks more French than English). The fourth one isn’t bad either.

This looks super cool. Pixar will be releasing the Pixar Short Films Collection on DVD November 6. The DVD will include thirteen cartoon shorts plus commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, animation tests, and a featurette.

I currently own a VHS copy of Tiny Toy Stories, which contains 5 of Pixar’s earliest shorts. Although the computer rendering is crude by modern standards, the stories are rich with the delightful charm and humor that is Pixar. Watching all 13, plus commentaries to boot, will be a real treat.

Also on November 6 Ratatouille hits DVD, as well as a 2-disc platinum edition of Cars. I’ll probably skip the Cars DVD, since it was clearly Pixar’s weakest effort. (Weak by Pixar standards, that is. By typical Hollywood standards, Cars is still highly entertaining.) But if the special features are nice enough I may splurge. I have yet to see Ratatouille, but I’m really hoping to catch it before it leaves theaters.

Either way, on Nov. 6 I’ll be walking out of Wal-Mart with some new Pixar goodies.

As you may have heard by now, during yesterday’s rush hour the I-35W bridge here in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing at least 7 people and leaving approximately 50 cars still in the water. The bridge was located just 15 minutes from my house, and my wife used to drive it all the time. Everyone here is in shock. These kinds of things always happen somewhere else, but never in my city, right?

I can’t imagine the horror and pain that the victim’s families must be going through right now. Sure, I could complain about the headaches this will cause for local traffic, which was already clogged. 150,000 cars crossed the 35W bridge every day, and that traffic will now have to be funelled through town to a small handful of other bridges–for at least a year, maybe two, until a new bridge is built. But my grumbling feels selfish and petty compared to the grief of losing a loved one, or suffering a debilitating injury. I heard on the news that one car contained a family driving to a fun night out to celebrate a birthday or something, and now every single family member is injured and the mother is in a coma, possibly crippled for life.

Someone on the local news said that this is going to completely obliterate some budgets for the local Red Cross. If you can give blood or a monetary donation, please consider it. We Minnesotans would be very grateful.

To donate, go to www.redcrosstc.org.

One more thought: These kinds of tragic events remind us how fragile and temporary life really is. Our lives here on earth are just a tiny speck on the timeline of eternity. Death comes to us all eventually. Statistics prove it, one out of one die. When your time comes, will you be ready? Try taking the Good Person Test, it will certainly help.

Often I get asked to do seasonal or holiday-themed illustrations at odd times of the year. The reason is simple: In order to get something printed, published, or manufactured in time for a given holiday, clients often have to plan far in advance. I was recently comissioned to do a very simple spot illustration for a Christmas Cantata. This sketch was rejected because it was too cartoony, they wanted something classier. But I liked how it turned out, so I thought it would make a good piece for my blog.