Can you feel the heat? I meant literally. Over here in NYC, it’s felt. It’s that time of year where you take some extra time shopping in the supermarket – and only because they have that maximum central air going.
Psycho Bunny himself isn’t too thrilled. Not at the moment anyway.
Introducing the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week for June 28th, 2019.
Summer’s here! Psycho Bunny sketch of the week based on the comic book written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo. On WitchesBrewPress. June 2019.
Although I did promise an upcoming Psycho Bunny issue…allow me to be candid. I’m slowly starting to move away from Psycho Bunny, and more into doing more comics about Squeaky with her demon friend. Right now, that’s where my focus is at. Then again, anything could change. Not going to give up on Psycho Bunny altogether. Just want to work on my Squeaky comic more. We’ll see. As it is said; nothing is true, everything is permitted.
Cover of Temptation of Squeaky. Comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo, on WitchesBrewPress. Released late spring, 2019.
Today I left my sketchbook at home. Thought I wouldn’t have time to draw anything. Turns out I was wrong, so here’s a belated blog post instead.
Last month I saw the influential band Killing Joke live on their 40th anniversary tour. It was at Le Poisson Rouge, located in the middle of Manhattan’s West Village area. Killing Joke is still as brilliant live as when I saw them way back at CBGB’s, on August 13th, 1989.
Opening for Killing Joke was The Pink Slips. A Pop-Punk band hailing from California. The female vocalist, Grace McKagan, is also the daughter of Guns n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan. The band itself was decent live. Grace was full of energy, but it just wasn’t my thing. It had too much of that glam California vibe for my liking. The singer did have great hair though.
Grace McKagan vocalist of The Pink Slips, opening up for Killing Joke. May 15th, 2019. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
It wasn’t long before it was time for Killing Joke to hit the stage.
The set was songs across the board from the band’s forty years of musical chaos. Of course the ‘Gathering’ loved it. My mood was off-set however, by the distressing news of some reproduction rights in some U.S. states. Kind of prophetic, considering what Killing Joke spoke about through their lyrics over the years. Speaking of which, Jaz Coleman briefly compared events from when Killing Joke first played NYC in 1980, to the current state of world affairs in 2019.
Here’s some videos found on YouTube from that night:
Between the Jaz Coleman spoken word and the concert, I’ve rekindled my love of Killing Joke all over again. Following Le Poisson Rouge, the band played yet another gig across the river. Over at Brooklyn’s very own St. Vitus Bar. The Brooklyn venue was much smaller, making it more intimate.
Now I’ve kicking myself. Since I live closer to St. Vitus than to Le Poisson Rouge, perhaps I should’ve tried harder to get tickets.
It should be noted that the guy who was sloshed the night before at Berlin NYC had his own act together the next evening. Maybe Jaz’s chat with him during intermission during the spoken word gig had an effect. Now he was being the responsible one, taking care of the woman I had sat next during the spoken word gig. Will get to that in a minute.
After the Killing Joke show was over, I was recognized by someone from April’s Ministry/Wax Trax event. It was the older woman who befriended the younger lady with the pink hair. Small world, isn’t it? We had a friendly conversation, comparing bands we liked. As we discussed which concert we were most likely to attend in the upcoming summer, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the blond friend I had seated next to during Jaz’s spoken word. Now the roles were reversed. She was extremely tipsy. As she was trying to talk to me, her male friend, the one who kept on interrupting Jaz Coleman during the spoken word night was duty-bound. He pardoned himself, as he seemed to be concerned about our mutual friend. The guy took her back home for her safely. As for myself, I tried to haul myself over to East 14th Street. Otto’s Shrunken Head was hosting an after concert party for Killing Joke. Killing Joke member Youth was the special guest DJ. I felt my body become more sluggish. (Youth has become a successful record producer, and has worked with Paul McCarthy) Taking a deep breath, I knew it was time to haul myself back to Queens. Yet as soon as I was waiting for the subway to arrive, a humongous rat almost crawled just inches near my feet. With that I knew I should’ve just taken a breather, and went to Otto’s. I’ve been consoling myself by listening to Killing Joke’s back catalog, and checking out Jaz’s classical music works.
By now I should’ve posted the Psycho Bunny sketch of The Week. Unfortunately, something tragic happened over the past weekend.
On Sunday, June 16, 2019, between 2:30-2:35pm, my cat Squeaky, who I based my latest comic The Temptation of Squeaky dropped her body. Our guess being she was around 19 years old in cat years.
Squeaky Squeakums. Beloved feline of Michele Witchipoo. (? – 2019)
Supposedly Squeaky was born in Salem, Massachusetts, then brought to The Bronx, New York. Her first human ended up moving back to Massachusetts, abandoning Squeaky in the process. A former friend took her in. At the time he was also bouncing around from home to home until he met his partner. Those two ended up adopting more cats, dogs, and reptiles. By the time we took Squeaky in, the two humans ended up with ten cats. Squeaky got lost in the shuffle. She spent the majority of her time hiding behind the apartment radiator.
The final straw was when the human decided to bring in a cat of the Turkish Van breed. The kitten would bully her, giving the red light for the other cats to gang up on her. Squeaky couldn’t eat or use the litter box without being beat up by the other felines. In desperation, Squeaky dug a hole in the couch to do her business. That was the final straw for the human’s partner. A few days later, I received a call from this human, asking if I could take Squeaky in. The other option was to bring Squeaky to an animal shelter. Instinctively I knew if Squeaky was dropped off at a shelter, she was going to die. When Squeaky came to live with us, we were told she was six.
The vet guessed she was between six and eight in cat years.
Squeaky turned out to be not only extremely smart, but also affectionate. She was loyal, unless someone else had dinner scraps. During her ten years living with us, she became your TV buddy, a muse, a Joy Division fan (one time I played the Closer album. She curled around the speakers, closed her eyes in contentment, and purred as the music played. No lie.), a U.S. Presidental candidate, mouse exterminator, an art supply thief (she was also once accused of stealing my King Crimson CD. The CD was discovered in a pile of stashed drawing pens) and a member of The Church of The Subgenius. Someone outright offered to pay for Squeaky’s Subgenius membership. Upon enrollment, she was known as Rev. Squeaky Squeakums. Hail Squeaky!
Rev. Squeaky Squeakums, a member of The Church of The Subgenius.
Her final role was as the basis for my latest comic, The Temptation of Squeaky. At least she lived to see her likeness in print. Now she’s immortalized.
Pet grief is very real. Now that she’s gone, the apartment is unusually quiet. Gone is the constant nagging of food as she followed me around the place. Despite being fed an hour ago. As I walk into my bedroom, there’s no longer a whoosh sound of a cat jumping on the bed to receive constant adoration. Her favorite cardboard shoe box is empty. With Squeaky’s passing, there’s a sad void. Her feline roommate, Netzach Wondercat, aka Nettie has also been mum. Even the turtle MeeShee Gamera has been affected. With Squeaky gone, there’s been a void.
In her honor, I will continue doing the Squeaky comic. It’ll just have a different ending. Wrapping up this tribute post, I’ve included a sketch of Squeaky with her demon buddy Maximus walking off into the woods, perhaps the afterlife.
Squeaky Squeakums walking off with Magnus Maximus. R.I.P. Squeaky. Based on the comic book written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo, on WitchesBrewPress. June 2019.
Check back for future posts, including reviews of Cradle Con 2019 & IncrediCon 2019. Killing Joke live in concert. Also reports about It Came From The Radio podcast/The Grindhouse Radio interview. Next week we’ll return with the latest Psycho Bunny sketch of the week.
This past Saturday, IncrediCon over in Middletown, NY went pretty well. Now that I’m back from Upstate NY, here’s the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week.
It’s a sketch from 2018, but decided to post now.
Punk’s not dead. Psycho Bunny takes a clue from The Exploited. Based on the comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo on WitchesBrewPress. Drawn 2018, posted on June 2019.
Of course I have some new greeting cards for sale. Three new designs. Below is a photo of two of the new designs. Each card is $3.00, comes with envelope, card and envelope inside plastic sleeve. Unless ordering by mail, the cost is $4.00 ($3.00 + $1.00 S&H). The Siouxsie Sioux card is already sold out. While I’m printing another Siouxsie batch, check out my Quentin Crisp card, just in time for Pride. While I need to update my website to include an online shop, I’m currently taking payments through Venmo and Square. My Venmo is @Witchipoo.
Latest greeting card designs from Michele Witchipoo/WitchesBrewPress. Siouxsie Sioux and Quentin Crisp. June 2019.
You can also order my latest comic, Temptation of Squeaky, again through Venmo. If doing mail order, the comic is $4.00 ($3.00 + $1.00 S&H). Please specify what you’re ordering, and include your mailing address. Example: Quentin Crisp card, Siouxsie card or Squeaky comic.
Latest comic. Temptation of Squeaky. Written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo on WitchesBrewPress.
Another reminder, I will be at the second IncrediCon this Saturday. (First one was back in October 2018) Free admission, located in the Hudson Valley area of Upstate NY. Middletown to be exact. The comic con will take place at the Galleria at Crystal Run Mall, 1 Galleria Drive, Middletown NY.
I’ll have my latest comic available for sale, along with other titles and greeting cards. Also doing commissions.
Sunday May 19th 2019, we took a quick bus ride over to the Jersey side. New Jersey that is. It was to check out the annual East Coast Comic Con over at the Meadowlands Exposition Center. I didn’t have my own table, but that was okay. It was nice to check out other established artists like Rick Parker, Howard Chaykin, Peter Bagge, Stephen Blickenstaff, Larry Hama, Russ Braun, Drew Friedman, Al Milgrom, George Perez, and many others. What sets East Coast Comic Con apart is that the emphasis is on the artists themselves. Without a doubt, there was also media guests, panels and cosplayers.
You knew you were on the right place when you saw Batman on line. Guess his Batmoblie was in the shop for repairs.
Batman in Port Authority. The Batmoblie must’ve been in the shop for repairs. Photo by Ben Herman. May 2019.
East Coast Comic Con is a three day event, but we could only check out Sunday. Which worked out fine. Plus I was personally still on that high from both the Jaz Coleman spoken word event, plus the Killing Joke concert earlier that week.
It should be noted that East Coast Comic Con was one of the last appearances for retiring comic book artist George Perez. Which means I totally missed most of the good panels. There was panels such as one for actress P.J. Soles (Rock n’ Roll High School, Halloween), and The Book of Weirdo. I did mange to catch the panels later Sunday afternoon. That we’ll get to later.
Peter Bagge at East Coast Comic Con, New Jersey. May 2019. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Comic book artist Al Milgrom
Comic book artist Al Milgrom
The first panel I attended that Sunday was about The Infinity Gauntlet comic book series. Infinity Gauntlet lead into other media franchises, such as video games and film. Most notably the current Avengers film series. The panel featured Jim Starlin, George Perez, Ron Lim and Joe Rubinstein.
The Infinity Gauntlet panel at East Coast Comic Con 2019. Jim Starlin, George Perez, Ron Lim and Joe Rubinstein. Photo by Ben Herman. May 2019.
Afterwards I stuck around for another panel. This one was pure nostalgia from my adolescence years. Titled Flash Gordon: Stars of An American Classic, it focused on the 1980 film adaptation rather than the original comic book series. The two stars from the film spoke at the panel: Sam Jones & Melody Anderson.
Flash Gordon: Stars of An American Classic panel at East Coast Comic Con 2019. Sam Jones and Melody Anderson.
Flash Gordon: Stars of An American Classic panel at East Coast Comic Con 2019. Sam Jones and Melody Anderson.
Flash Gordon: Stars of An American Classic panel at East Coast Comic Con 2019. Sam Jones and Melody Anderson.
Flash Gordon: Stars of An American Classic panel at East Coast Comic Con 2019. Sam Jones and Melody Anderson.
Flash Gordon: Stars of An American Classic panel at East Coast Comic Con 2019. Sam Jones and Melody Anderson.
This was followed by yet another panel titled Denis Kitchen: 50 Years of Kitchen Sink Press. Being an underground and alternative comic book fan, this was an avid interest of mine. On this panel was Denis Kitchen, John B. Cooke, and Mark Schultz. Here Dennis Kitchen discussed mainly the history of Underground Comics, and Kitchen Sink’s role. Kitchen Sink later published titles like Omaha The Cat Dancer. (You can also check out info about Omaha here
Denis Kitchen, John B. Cooke, and Mark Schultz speak at the Denis Kitchen panel during East Coast Comic Con 2019, New Jersey. Sunday, May 19th, 2019. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Quickly ushered in after the Denis Kitchen panel was the annual Cosplay contest, held only on Sundays. The cosplay contest was broken down into two categories. The kids contest started at 4:30 pm. Below are a few highlights.
Immediately following was the adult section of the cosplay contest.
The East Coast Comic Con cosplay contest stands out, due to the focus being on the craft. The judges asked various questions in regards to materials used, where parts of the costumes were retained, if they were made by hand, etc. For the dedicated cosplayer, a lot of time and work goes in.
Although I didn’t get to meet all the artists, or attend all the panels, East Coast Comic Con is one of the better conventions to check out. Until next year.
Michele Witchipoo (author of this blog and artist) with comic book artist Rick Parker. East Coast Comic Con, New Jersey. Sunday May 19th, 2019.
Yesterday while at CradleCon I was interviewed briefly for a podcast, listed under WitchesBrewPress. It’s available on iTunes under Android’s Amazing Podcast.
Got back from Cradle Con 2019. It went pretty well. Sold copies of my latest comic, so I can’t complain. Got interviewed for a podcast, and might be interviewed for another. This upcoming Saturday I will be doing the comic con thing again. It’ll be for one day. You can buy my latest title at IncrediCon located in Upstate NY.
Admission is free. You can get my latest title as well as my older comics. I’ll also be available for commissions.
Without further ado, here’s the latest Psycho Bunny sketch of the week.
Psycho Bunny discovers the skateboarding lifestyle isn’t for him. Based on the comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo on WitchesBrewPress.
Stay tuned. Still have to post about Killing Joke in concert, East Coast Comic Con and Cradle Con. If you’re in the Hudson County area, come visit me at IncrediCon.
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