August 13th, 2007 | brainjuice, comics talk, people I know
According to this, my friend Mike Wieringo died on Sunday of a heart attack.
We were set to do a book together this year, something we’ve been intending to do for a few years. Things had finally come together, and…
The first thing I said upon seeing this was “No.”
I’m going to miss you, Mike. And so will everyone else.
WARREN ELLIS
Coilhouse - 20 Nov 09
This one goes out to Nadya, Zo, and especially Courtney Riot, our beloved creative director. Hang in there, babies.
Post tags: Coilhouse, Serious Business
Coilhouse - 20 Nov 09
Well hello there!
Do you lack healthy boundaries? Are you guilty of the compulsive overshare? All-too-eager to share gory, palpating details with complete strangers that no one besides your own mother and/or proctologist would ever want to know?
Non-consensual rape anecdote telling. Tactical uterus hurling in lieu of real intimate contact. The “I wasn’t breast fed enough so now I need to publicly air my personal anguish to feel properly nurtured and validated” power point presentation. “Cry For Help” cutting (across the street, not down the road). Cloaking references to life-shattering trauma in Obfuscating Yet Ominous Faerie Singsong? (patented by Tori Amos). “Fuck You Daddy, I’m a Suicide Girl Now!” blog posts. Spontaneous primal scream therapy in the supermarket. If you have ever attempted one or more of these maneuvers, chance are, you’re a TMI Avenger.
Relax. You’re among friends. And you’re gonna loooove Body Memories. A squirm-inducing, low budget indie film directed by the same fella who brought us one of the most fabulous independent documentaries of the decade, Body Memories is…
…one man’s journey inward to find meaning in his life. He becomes an archeologist of the soul, digging through the layers of his past. Evocative images blend with a riveting performance that uncovers family secrets and buried traumas.
Enjoy.
(More clips under the cut.)
Read the rest of “I’m bad… I’m a man… I HATE my penis.”
Post tags: Crackpot Visionary, Culture, Film, Gender, Sexuality, Silly-looking types, Surreal, Testing your faith
Coilhouse - 20 Nov 09
Every time an issue of the magazine goes to print, things somehow turn Highly Inappropriate here at Coilhouse. This is apparent to anyone who was there on Twitter during the hours of our final revision deadline last night. And it’s only going to get worse before Issue 04’s out. So to celebrate, a video of Miss Piggy singing “Fuck the Pain Away” by Peaches. It’s that kind of day.
[via Shannon]
Brian Wood - 20 Nov 09
Will Blanche, ?The Newly Constructed Towers of the World Trade Center Seen From the South Side on West Street, May, 1973? (via These Americans)
See also: Mitch Epstein, ?West Side Highway, New York City? [looking towards World Trade Center] 1977
Kung Fu Monkey - 20 Nov 09
John Robb - 20 Nov 09
Short Answer: divide it.
It's long been my contention that Iraq was stabilized at an acceptable level of controlled chaos due to a happy accident by al Qaeda (in an attempt to expand/lead the loose insurgency in a new direction). What did they do? They blew up the Golden Mosque in Samara in 2006. This act of symbolic terrorism did indeed disrupt social networks as anticipated, however the consequences were ultimately disastrous for the Iraqi open source insurgency.
The reason for this is it broke the dynamics of the open source insurgency in ways the US and Iraqi government's COIN efforts could not. First, it created a permanent split between Sunni and Shiite insurgent groups/militias. Coopetition ended. Second, it motivated large Shiite militias to start an ethnic cleansing of Sunni areas. This put acute pressure on Sunni guerrilla groups who were too small (by design to avoid US counter-pressure) to defend themselves against large militias operating in the open. The result was an opening, very close to the one I described in my 2005 NYTimes OpEd, that allowed the US to convert Sunni guerrilla groups into militias that were not loyal to the central government (in direct contradiction to its COIN manual).
It's a nice example of the dynamics of many to many conflict, social network disruption, and the development open source counterinsurgency.
See this excellent description at the blog, "Musings on Iraq" for more detail on the ethnic cleansing operations. It also includes this money quote: "the majority of the Sunni insurgency gave up and switched sides to align with the Americans rather than face annihilation at the hands of the Shiite militias, Al Qaeda in Iraq, or the United States."
NOTE: it's pretty clear from the above that social network disruption (either through attacks on symbolic targets or blood and guts terrorism) is like playing horseshoes with live hand grenades. It's ultimately a losing strategy for advancing an open source insurgency. Social network disruption is very likely to break standing order 6: don't fork the insurgency.
Girl Farts - 20 Nov 09
John Robb - 20 Nov 09
Some random items of interest:
Jean Snow - 20 Nov 09
Beautiful (and simple) site design featuring the illustrative work of Yorifuji Bunpei. Via Paul Baron.
Man, what the HELL? I never knew him but loved his work. This is fifty years too soon for a guy who did such excellent comics.
Horrible news. Condolences, Warren and Mr Weiringo’s family and friends.
Wow… I’m stunned. What a tragedy.
His run on Flash with Mark Waid was pure comics joy; I’d always hoped they’d get back together for another session.
My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Oh my god.
I loved his artwork (I loved the revamped Buck Rogers sketch he did on The Engine a while back), and everything I’d read of the man indicated he was a wonderful human being.
My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
When I was in high school, my mother did a feature news story for public television on Artamus Studios in Hillsborough, NC (just down the road apiece from where I lived at the time), which Mike was a part of. I begged to get taken along, and was most looking forward to meeting him, as I was a big fan of what he’d done with The Flash. He was incredibly kind and patient, and critiqued a few drawings I’d brought along.
Several years later, he was a guest at a local skiffy convention, and remembered who I was. We talked about comics and writing (I’d long since decided I wasn’t cut out for a career in art, and had thrown myself into writing instead, a choice I’ll never regret), and once again he took the time to listen and offer advice (I think he was working on Tellos at that point).
This news completely sucks. I didn’t know him very well at all, but it still makes me sad. My condolences, Warren.
[…] Artist Mike Wieringo According to a link found on Warren Ellis’s blog, artist Mike Wieringo died this weekend of a heart attack, just 44 years […]
Warren, I’m so sorry for your loss. I didn’t know Mike personally, but hes art had a sense of wonder and whimsy in every piece he drew. You have my sincere condolences.
Mike Weiringo was one of those artists who’s work I HAD to pick up, whatever he was doing. You could see the kind of person he was, imprinted on every page. Even fourteen years after he got into the industry, there isn’t enough of his work out there. I’ll always treasure the shining examples that i have.
I remember a small sketch card set I bought of Mike’s work for Marvel. There was so much fun in his style… he will be missed.
goddamnit!, thats fucked up right there
That sucks!!! I can’t wholy believe it. It’s really sad to learn that kind of news. Wieringo, although not one of my prefered artists, was (is?) one of the most respected, and as a penciller mysels, I regret to learn the news of his recent departure. Specially of someone o young, with so much that could have gived yet!!! May he rest in a better place (than this flawed world).
[…] Kesel remembers Ringo. Warren Ellis takes a moment to reflect. Jeff Parker pays tribute to his friend. Peter David seems to be feeling the same loss for […]