Shocked and quite saddened to learn of the passing of one of my “cult heroes,” illustrator Mark Zingarelli. He died on Friday of unspecified causes, aged 72.
I sought him out on Facebook years ago, for he had illustrated a great “dining” strip for The Rocket, “Eatin’ Out With Eddie.” Years before writing for the magazine, I looked forward to “Eddie” in every issue… it was kind of like “King of the Hill” meets Anthony Bourdain, in a few panels. Real Northwest restaurants – often dives and burger joints – were featured.
Zingarelli’s career took off with appearances in R. Crumb’s “Weirdo” and decades’ worth of other work – even one-off stuff for Marvel. On Facebook, he was always friendly to me and others, commenting on my work, etc. Very down-to-earth, a regular guy like his “Eddie” – though he knew that I was a big fan. He was devoted to his wife, had four daughters and a couple of grandchildren that he often mentioned.
Goodbye, Mark. You were a good man, with a great talent.
“Hey, cuz, let’s eat!”
