May 2014 – WitchesBrewPress's Blog

Carbon Mistake Grant Revisited

This is old news from December 2013. My self published comics were given a merit award and grant by The Carbon Based Mistake blog.

http://thecarbonbasedmistake.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/art-exchange-program-grant-v22013-winners/

The award, received through USPS, came with goodies such as stickers and zines. The grant came in the form of having my Psycho Bunny mini-issue reprinted with better quality covers. Which came in very handy so far in 2014.

Below is a photo of the last Psycho Bunny mini-issue 3.25, reprinted by The Carbon Based Mistake merit grant:

Reprints of Psycho Bunny mini issue. Comic by Michele Witchipoo. — Reprints of Psycho Bunny mini issue 3.25. Comic by Michele Witchipoo.

You can order your own copy via PayPal. It’s $3.00, which is $2.00 for the comic itself, and $1.00 for shipping costs. Either go through my website, which is http://witchesbrewpress.com/ or you can send $3.00 directly through PayPay to psychobunnycomix@aol.com (my old comix email from way back when)

Occasionally, people have asked me whether or not I plan to continue Psycho Bunny. It’s true I have put my comics on a hiatus of sorts. Lately I’ve been focusing more on illustration and other matters. Since folks have actually inquired about this, it nudged me a bit to continue my comics. So Psycho Bunny just might snap out of his hangover for pleasure of some, and the delightful chagrin to others.

The biggest boost when I decided to sell my comics at a Norma’s, a local Queens cafe in Ridgewood, NYC. Much to my surprise, this issue immediately sold out. No-one was more surprised than me. Since then I’ve restocked the issue, and you can get your copy here.

If you are into zine culture, then The Carbon Based Mistake blog is highly recommended.

Spiderham Sketch

Marvel comics actually had a spoof of their own Spiderman character, titled Spiderham. Spiderham had a cult following, but I think this other blog entry could explain it better than I could.

In the meantime, here’s a quick Spiderham sketch I did. Done in colored pencil, May 29th, 2014. Enjoy.

Spiderham. Sketch done by Michele Witchipoo, May 29th 2014 in colored pencil. Spiderham was a character from Marvel comics.

Houdini’s My Homeboy Part III (Broken Wand Ceremony 2009)

Final installment of the ‘Houdini’s My Homeboy’ mini-series. Here’s photographs taken from Fall 2009, at the annual Broken Wand ceremony.

The term ‘broken wand’ is used when a magician dies. Since Harry Houdini was a president of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.), the organization continues to gather at Machpelah cemetery every year to mark his passing.

The broken wand ceremony for Houdini is usually held sometime around Halloween. The exact date itself varies because Houdini was Jewish. Therefore S.A.M. follows the Jewish calendar in honor of him.

The exact ceremony itself only takes a few minutes. A small speech is said, then silence as the wand is symbolically snapped in half.

At the time these photos were taken, the original bust of Harry Houdini’s head was missing. Due to the bust being vandalized four times, S.A.M. kept their own copy. Their bust would only be taken out and put on Houdini’s burial site during special occasional such as this. Since then, a new replica has been made, and discovery of another Houdini bust came to light.

Taken Fall 2009. Replica of Houdini bust at burial site for Broken Wand ceremony. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

Photo dated 2009. Replica of Harry Houdini bust at his burial site for the annual Broken Wand ceremony. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

14534_207458378256_4446644_n — Dated Fall 2009. Upclose shot of Houdini bust. A replica since other Houdini bust have been vandalized in the past. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

Member of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) gather around just seconds before the annual Broken Wand ceremony. Glendale/RIdgewood, Queens, NY. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. — Dated Fall 2009. Members of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) gather around just seconds before the annual Broken Wand ceremony. Location: Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale/Ridgewood, Queens, NY. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

If you’re curious about burial grounds in the outer borough of Queens NY, here’s another link. Dated June 2013:

http://abandonednyc.com/2012/06/17/houdinis-grave-in-nycs-spookiest-cemetery/

Previous installments of the Houdini photo essays:

Houdini’s My Homeboy Part I

Houdini’s My Homeboy Part II

Magic Mapped From The Grave

Side Project – New Blog ‘Dark Entries’

Perhaps I might be crazy, beating a dead horse when it comes to the Goth subculture.

Last week I had a conversation with a friend about the NYC Goth scene, Goth history in general, and so on. Then it dawned on me. Since I was a teenage Goth during 1980’s NYC – why not do a separate blog about it?

Let’s see where this new blog goes. Right now it’s just in the side project/hobby/experimentation phase. For all I know, this new blog might flop. Whatever. The 1980’s Death Rocker subculture was such a huge part of my growing up. Not proclaiming to be an expert on all things dark, but what I can share is my own reflections. Your own life experience is something no-one can take away from you. Might as well document it. Just hope I don’t end up regretting this.

So here goes:

Banner for Dark Entries blog. Created by Michele Witchipoo May 2014.

http://darkentriesblog.wordpress.com/

*FYI – Will review bands, books, designs, etc., related to the Goth subculture. Send all inquiries and materials to: darkentriesblog@gmail.com

“ALL HAIL GWAR! Dave Brockie Memorial Art Show” – Photos, Etc.

Last Saturday was the art show MF Gallery had in tribute to the late Dave Brockie, vocalist from the band GWAR. The exhibit was titled ‘ALL HAIL GWAR! Dave Brockie Memorial Art Show.’ It was an open call for all artists, trying to raise money for the Dave Brockie Foundation.

I had contributed a piece. It was an illustration titled “Shock Rock” based on GWAR’s televised appearance on the Jerry Springer show back in the late ’90s.

10314755_10152359490988257_459392997817621192_n — Michele Witchipoo at MF Gallery, May 3rd 2014. Photo taken by Bejay Rose.

In a way, hearing about Dave Brockie’s death was sort of like an end to my youth. Cause ever since I graduated high school, GWAR has always been in the background. The funny thing was, they were the type of band I always thought would be around forever. Right before I left Kansas City, MO, someone offered me a chance to see GWAR live for free. She even got me in on the guest list, no questions asked. Wow, I thought, what luck. That’s cause the majority of the time being in Kansas City, my luck was rather on the shitty side. Alas, right as I was psyching myself up to see the show, something happened. True to form, my good luck turned to bad. So bad, it was straight to the airport back to NYC. Seeing GWAR live wasn’t meant to be. I told myself that one day I’ll catch GWAR live. After all, GWAR will always tour again, right? Many years later, especially after taking part of this art tribute event, missing GWAR was something I later regretted.

Before I started my own illustration of Oderus Urungus, I went online looking for references. After my piece was done, I dug deeper into who this man really was. The more I learned about this guy, the more I kinda got inspired, and eventually the more sad I became. You have to give Dave Brockie credit. He lived the life he wanted to lead. Most people don’t get that far. They don’t even become close. Dave Brockie lived day by day with his own set of rules, living among his GWAR creation. An art student who didn’t get disillusioned after he graduated. Instead he formed a band and made a living for himself going on thirty plus years. Along the way, he also did performance art, drew, wrote, did ‘political’ commentary and even acted in a Troma film. Not a bad life to have. GWAR wasn’t as big as let’s say, Slipknot, or Marilyn Manson. So what? Sometimes it’s better to carve that niche for yourself rather than sell out arenas, only to be forgotten five years later.

It all goes back to that monologue Dennis Leary had in “No Cure For Cancer.” Where Leary talks about the good musicians always dying, while the crappy ones live on. Guess Leary should know. He swiped his whole stand-up act from comedian Bill Hicks, who now – take a big guess – is dead. Takes one to know one.

But you didn’t stumble upon this blog to hear me rant. You wanted to see photos from the GWAR tribute art show. So here they are. It was an amazing show, packed full of people. My art was hung near where the drinks were being served. I’ve said this before, but it’s been a while since I did an illustration I was truly happy with. Even if it felt as if it was saying goodbye to a part of my youth.

Without further a doo-doo, here’s photos from that night.