In the past few years, mermaids have become more popular. For example, every year in Coney Island, Brooklyn, there’s The Mermaid Parade. Mermaids are usually depicted as romantic, feminine creatures. Many different cultures have their own mermaid versions. After doing some quick research the other day, I discovered that in British folklore, mermaids usually foretold death.
Authors such as Lewis Spence, and W.B. Yeats wrote about mermaids. You can check out other folklore here.
Once I read about these mermaids bringing bad omens, such as storms, dangerous distractions, shipwrecks, and such, that’s when I decided to take the beautiful image of a mermaid into another direction.
Have you heard that sleep is your enemy? In this case, being half asleep made me forget to scan my devil mermaid sketch before using watercolor.
Sketch of a devil mermaid in pen, before using glitter watercolor. Artist: Michele Witchipoo, June 2018.
The scan fails to show the effect of using glitter watercolor. Thinking about creating a custom frame and selling the original. Here’s the finished result.
Not a very good scan of this illustration. Devil Mermaid. Illustration, pen and glitter watercolor. Artist: Michele Witchipoo. June 2018.
Two weeks ago, I landed two free tickets to see Robert Plant in concert. The venue was nearby where I live in Queens, NY., at Forest Hills Stadium. My musical tastes usually runs towards more other genres, such as Post Punk, Punk, New Wave, Goth, Industrial, Experimental, etc. However, my very first exposure to music was when classic rock ruled the airwaves. Way back when, it was WPLJ and WNEW, both on FM radio that had exposed me to Rock music. So it was only natural that I progressed from ’70s Disco to listening to bands like, Queen or Led Zeppelin. The very first ‘Rock’ song I was exposed to was Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me.” So in a sense, these bands were a part of my transition from childhood to adolescence. That wasn’t to last long since the U.S. was just entering the 1980s. It’s very obvious I am a product of the ’80s. Soon I became a fan of groups like The B-52s, Devo, Duran Duran, Culture Club, then later The Smiths, The Cure, Siouxsie and The Banshees, etc. As the ’80s evolved, radio formats changed as well. Just as well.
So that day I’m walking through the land of Peter Parker. Saw this Ramones mural underneath the Long Island Railroad.
Street mural of The Ramones in Forest Hills, Queens, NYC. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Met up with my friend, entering the venue. Fell in love immediately with Forest Hills stadium. For free tickets, our seats weren’t that bad. We sat through opening act Sheryl Crow. My friend was more into Sheryl Crow than me. Never cared for her music, but she was good live.
Sheryl Crow opening for Robert Plant at Forest Hills Stadium, June 13th, 2018. Crappy photo by Michele Witchipoo.
As the sun began to transition into night, Robert Plant took the stage. What threw me for a surprise was he actually did not just one, but four Led Zeppelin songs. I was only expecting maybe one, perhaps something acoustic. This review on Brooklyn Vegan was pretty spot on.
Then there’s the urban legend that three out of the four Led Zeppelin members made a pact with the devil. Which started to bring bad luck upon the band. That’s just a rumor.
Which finally leads us to the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week.
Psycho Bunny does Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. Based on the comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo on WitchesBrewPress. June 2018.
Get yourself some cool stuff on RedBubble, featuring my designs. There’s dresses, tee shirts, notebooks, etc. The notebooks, and the Quentin Crisp tees seems to be one of the best selling items. Just in time for Pride.
One of my hobbies is documenting what goes riding the NYC subway lines: Wildlife On The MTA. Cause if you can’t laugh, you’ll cry. MTA passengers know what I’m talking about. Even better: My WildlifeOnTheMTA Instagram is active once again.
Come back next week for a new Psycho Bunny sketch.
In all, being at MICE Expo 2016 was good. It was also a relief that not only did I make my money back for the table and bus fare, there was a bit of a profit. So it’s definitely worth break out of one’s comfort zone, and to do comic cons outside of your hometown. Even if you’re barely awake in the a.m.
Comicbook/Zine artist and writer Michele Witchipoo at MICE Expo 2016. Photo taken early in the morning, Oct. 2016.
Some more photos from MICE Expo 2016:
Being in Cambridge was pretty nice as well.
Being at MICE, I had the rare occasion of being near Salem, MA for Halloween. Managed to squeeze in a few hours, jumping on the train. Wasn’t far of a train ride from Cambridge and Boston.
It’s very easy to walk around Salem once you navigate around the tourists. Surprisingly I got a very accurate tarot reading in one of those occult shops. The psychic was a kind gentleman. His advice was spot-on as 2017 later unfolded.
There was some annoyance when some fundamentalist Christians started preaching on a street corner. Shouting about the evils on Halloween. Right across the street from one of the witch stores. Nobody really paid them any mind.
Here’s some photos from Salem, Halloween day, Oct 31st 2016:
Soon it was time to head back to NYC. Left Salem right before the rush of the evening crowds started coming in. BTW, Beer Works in Salem is an awesome brewery.
I’ll end the MICE 2016 series with some comics and zines picked up during the weekend. There was tons of talented artists, writers, zine makers and comic creators. Unfortunately a few months after MICE, there was an abrupt apartment move (no thanks to a former corrupt, greedy landlord, but that’s another story.) Most of the merch brought at MICE was thrown into a box, which I still have to locate. Luckily I was able to retrieve these:
Dead-End Rob issue 2 by Luke Howard. Brought at MICE Expo 2016. deadendrob.comAlter Boy By Rogan of LB Lee. Brought at MICE Expo 2016. etsy.com/shop/MadComics or email: loonybrain@healthymultiplicity.comPaper Pencil Life issue 2. Diary comics by Summer Pierre. Brought at MICE Expo 2016. http://www.summerpierre.comMe & Doctor Dee.: A Jape. Script and art by E.J. Barnes on Drowned Town Press. Seen at MICE Expo 2016 as well as other comic cons. http://www.drownedtownpress.comTree Rats! or, The Crepuscular Hobbyhorse. A Farrago by E.J. Barnes. E.J. Available from Drowned Town Press. Seen at MICE Expo 2016 as well as other comic cons. http://www.drownedtownpress.comA Beautiful Young Nymph Going To Bed by Jonathan Swift. Illustrated by E.J. Barnes. Available on Drowned Town Press. Seen at MICE Expo 2016 as well as other comic cons. http://www.drownedtownpress.com
That concludes the belated MICE 2016 blog entries.
Me & Doctor Dee.: A Jape/Tree Rats! or, The Crepuscular Hobbyhorse. A Farrago/A Beautiful Young Nymph Going To Bed by Jonathan Swift, Illustrated by E.J. Barnes all available on DrownedTownPress: http://www.drownedtownpress.com/
Taking a break looking back on MICE 2016 I & MICE 2016 II. This summer from June 1st to August 31st, Sketch Lottery is doing a free for all. This means anyone can submit from the character list. Usually you have to wait until a character is chosen weekly. Since this give me time to sketch any characters previously missed, I chose Hagar The Horrible.
Michele Witchipoo’s rendition of Hagar The Horrible with some Norse/Odin symbolism thrown in. Originally done for Sketch Lottery, June 2018.
Hagar was put in Odin‘s place, while his buddy Lucky Eddie was put into Loki‘s position.
Don’t forget to check out all the other sketches by various artists on Sketch Lottery.
After setting up my table early in the a.m., I caught a bit of a local comic artist giving a small pep talk/lecture to the newer exhibitors.
MICE Expo veteran giving a quick lecture to the newer exhibitors. Cambridge, MA. Oct. 2016.
As the comic con unfolded, you couldn’t help but notice many attendees in costume or cosplay. It just happened that MICE 2016 was scheduled on the weekend before Halloween. Here’s a few photos.
Surprisingly I did good at MICE. To my left was an artist who I met for the first time at NYCC 2016. Had brought his comic at NYCC. Had no idea only two weeks later I would be sitting next to him at MICE. It’s a small world after all. He was a former school teacher who decided to follow his dream.
Also had a chance to meet someone I’ve been conversing online since the early 2000s. Michelle Kane came down to the comic con. After our conversation, she invited me for some karaoke in her area of Quincy, MA. Usually I hate karaoke, but this time the invite was accepted. Later on after MICE closed for the night, me and E.J. Barnes, who was gracious enough to let me stay at her place traveled over.
We arrived at a huge restaurant called Cathay Pacific. In my little black heart I have a soft spot for old school Chinese eateries with vintage Polynesian decor. It was love at first sight. Didn’t care how good or bad the food was. After Michelle introduced us to her buddy Stephen Jay “The Handyman” Spector, karaoke began. Have to say, all three, E.J., Michelle and Stephen all had good voices. As for me, I sat my out of tune ass down.
That’s right. It’s a blog post about a comic con I vended at in Cambridge, MA during Oct. 2016. Finally having the chance to post some long delayed photos from when I was lucky enough to get a table at MICE 2016. It was one of the best comic cons I’ve had the pleasure of taking part since I’ve started publishing my own comics.
MICE, which stands for the Massachusetts Independent Comic Expo focuses mostly on indie, alternative, undergound, and art house comics. Many of the comic artists were self published. The annual event takes place in Cambridge area just outside of Boston.
Despite my NYC loyalty, I’ve always loved Massachusetts. Particularly Boston, Salem and Cambridge. Best part was MICE 2016 took part during Halloween weekend. After MICE was over, I managed to zip down to Salem on Halloween day, right before taking the bus back to the Big Apple. In between MICE and Salem was a night at karaoke in Quincy, MA at some old style Chinese/Polynesian restaurant.
The night before MICE was going to kick off, there was a cartoonist party at HUB Comics. Located in the Somerville, Union Square area, the next town after Cambridge. Was very impressed by Hub comics. If I opened my own comic shop, this is what it would resemble. A very good mixture of mainstream and alternative comics, graphic novels and other merch. Also got to mingle with the other local cartoonists. My friend and fellow cartoonist E.J. Barnes (who helped put together the tribute anthology to Luisa Felix along with Paul Curtis) showed me around the area, and helped introduce me to the locals.
Also checked out the main drag around Cambridge. Discovered a shop called Cheapo Records, ate at a vegetarian diner, checked out and paid a visit to the Middle East.
Back to business. After setting up my table, anyone who had a table was treated to breakfast and a quick lecture, if anyone wanted to listen. Through out the day, the artists were given water and snacks by volunteers. MoCCA could use a few pointers from MICE.
Michele Witchipoo/WitchesBrewPress table at MICE 2016. Oct. 2016.
After the first day, there was a celebratory dinner for everyone in MICE 2016 at another venue. Artists were encouraged to doodle on the wall with some free art supplies. Some even showed up in costume.
Day two was more or less the same. Breakfast and someone was doing a quick lecture on the floor before the con started. Since it was Halloween weekend, many showed up in costume.
Friday, June 15, 2018 was the 11 annual Inkwell Awards, taking place at Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. For those who don’t know much about comic book inking, here’s a good blog post to explain. This year, not only was it the 10th anniversary, but also the debut of the “Above & Beyond” Award. Above & Beyond was created to honor members, volunteers and others who exceptionally served in promoting the art form of comic book inking and ink artists. In addition there were the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award and the annual Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award.
On June 14th, 2018, the 2018 FIFA World Cup games began in Russia. In the rest of the world, it’s the sport known as Football, or Futbol, but Americans call it Soccer. Now I should know more about soccer. Particularly since my own father was a professional soccer player in his own country, before he came to the U.S. However, I’m more attuned with baseball. Currently I’m a Mets fan. Yeah, yeah, I know. How about them Mets. Next.
Anyway. Figured I’d do a Psycho Bunny sketch in honor of the 2018 World Cup, which ends on July 15th. Introducing the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week a day earlier than usual. Usually I try to post on Mondays, but this week is an exception.
Psycho Bunny and soccer. Based on the comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo, on WitchesBrewPress. June 2018.
Get yourself some cool stuff on RedBubble, featuring my designs. There’s dresses, tee shirts, notebooks, etc. The notebooks, and the Quentin Crisp tees seems to be one of the best selling items. Just in time for Pride.
One of my hobbies is documenting what goes riding the NYC subway lines: Wildlife On The MTA. Cause if you can’t laugh, you’ll cry. MTA passengers know what I’m talking about. Even better: My WildlifeOnTheMTA Instagram is active once again.
Come back next week for a new Psycho Bunny sketch.
It’s been a while since I sent anything to Sketch Lottery. So I did Felix The Cat as Jerry Only from The Misfits.
Usually I will post a crop of my sketch, and send people to the site itself. This time I felt the scan didn’t do my sketch any justice. So I re-scanned the piece using a different dpi.
Felix The Cat as Jerry Only from The Misfits. Drawn by Michele Witchipoo. Originally done for Sketch Lottery. June 2018.
You can still check out Sketch Lottery, and all the other posts as well.
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