Like many other Americans, I lost my job when COVID-19 arrived. Quite bluntly, it sucks.
Until I can find another form of income, I’ve officially activated my Patreon account. You can contribute to my Patreon as little as five dollars a month ($5.00). For my Patreon subscribers, I will either mail out small sketches, a greeting card, or upload excusive content. Every bit helps. If you can’t afford to donate, you can always follow. Any type of support is greatly appreciated.
With this quarantine now in place back in NYC, I finally have a chance to post about the past few months. Of course, the pandemic wasn’t the way I wanted this happen. With that, let’s look on some happier times.
I was invited to stay with a friend during MICE Expo 2019. October 2019 was particularly special, because it was their tenth anniversary. For those into indie, alternative, underground and non-superhero comics, MICE, which stands for Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, is one of the best indie comic cons. It takes place annually over at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In conjunction with MICE was Podtales, taking place next door.
One of the 2019 guests of honor was Xamie Hernandez, one half of Los Hernandez Bros. He had a panel discussing his career, from Love and Rockets onward. It should be noted that one of the sections, formely known as the Robert Crumb room, was renamed after Xamie Hernandez.
There were two other MICE panels worth mentioning. One was titled Understanding Nancy. The panel, moderated by Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden spoke about the classic newspaper strip. Based on the Eisner-winning book How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels, they discussed how Nancy had an impact on the cartooning medium.
Drawing Power was the name of the panel discussing the anthology Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival. On the panel was respected underground cartoonist Diane Noomin, along with three contributors, Katie Fricas, Claire Folkman and Kelly Phillips. Noomin was the anthology editor, gathered the contributors by invite only. The recent #metoo movement was one of the catalysts behind this collection.
On Saturday night, MICE had an after con party celebrating their 10 year anniversary.
The next day, the event was just as crowded. Attendees discovered new comics and art.
Due to the COVID19 pandemic, MICE is reassessing whether or not to go ahead with the 2020 con. This was the right thing to do. By June, MICE officials should know whether or not to go ahead. You can check any updates on the website. Other comic cons scheduled in 2020 have followed suit. Until then, here’s to perhaps, 2021.
Thanksgiving 2019 came and went. Now we’re back on track with my weekly radio show. Only a few weeks till the fall semester ends. This week I will have Boston based comic book artist and illustrator Maria Photinakis live in the studio. So tune in this Friday, December 6th, from 1-2 pm EST on WHCSradio.org.
The show streams live from WHCSradio.org, and also from Spotify.
An archive of my radio show is currently being set up on a site like SoundCloud. Stay tuned for further details.
So this just in. In addition to everything else I’ve been doing, I began a radio show. The focus is on comic book creators. Artists, writers, and other creatives. You can stream it live from WHCSradio.org. You can tune in every Friday from 1-2pm until further notice.
The show started on September 27th, with comic book artist, illustrator and musician (he has the Punk band Dead On A Friday) Dave Fox as the first guest. The second episode was aired on Oct. 4th with up and coming comic artist and illustration Squiddy Sprinkle. Today I interviewed Justin Melkmann, another comic artist and musician, who is the co-founder of the NYC Punk band WWIX, and also current member of Recreational Outrage.
I’ll be your host, interviewing all comic book pros. The next interview scheduled on October 26th is Danielle Draik, comic book artist, zine maker, painter and sculptor. On Nov. 8th we have comic book artist and illustrator Mindy Indy, who is having a successful Kickstarter.
The list of guest will be updated as the radio program continues. Eventually these interviews will be archived and posted online. So tune in again starting Oct. 26th.
Remember: Support your local cartoonist!
The weekend after Cradle Con 2019, I headed to Upstate NY for IncrediCon. This edition of IncrediCon was in Middletown, NY. The guests of honor included legendary Marvel comic book artist Joe Sinnott, Disney Comic Writer Joe Caramagna, and The Great Space Coaster’s Jim Martin.
Other people from the comic book industry were there, such as: Ray Felix, Robert J. Sodaro, and John Wilcox. Rounding out IncrediCon was local vendors.
During IncrediCon itself, I met and befriended two very nice artists: Scott Ebisch and Vid Alliger. Since we sat next to each other, we conversed in between some downtime.
Later on I met Joe Sinnott, who was gracious enough to do a sketch. (Sinnott is also a recipient of two awards: Inkwell and Inkpot) The sketch was a birthday present for Ben Herman. Joe Sinnott is retired from the comic book industry, but still draws everyday. Accompanying him was his son, Mark Sinnott. The fact that he agreed to do a sketch was an amazing surprise. It’s something I was eternally grateful for. (Note: On his website, it states he is no longer doing commissions or interviews. Joe Sinnott still does autographs.) You can check out the sketch below.
Later on, I did two quick sketches of my own. One was a commission, the other was a sketch requested by John Wilcox.
During the commission, I met someone from Instagram, who goes under the name GothBear666. It’s a cute account of someone wearing a bear mask showing his collection of classic Post-Punk band tee shirts.
The next IncrediCon is scheduled for Oct. 27th, 2019 at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. Free admission from 10am – 6pm. Maybe I’ll see you there.
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.
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.
Michele Witchipoo – Social media:
Facebook: pages for Psycho Bunny and for Michele Witchipoo – WitchesBrewPress.
Twitter: One account for me, and one for Psycho Bunny.
Tumblr: World Ov Witchipoo
Instagram: there’s WitchipooArt.
Going to promote my RedBubble shop again.
Get yourself some cool stuff on RedBubble, featuring my designs.
Here’s an illustration done only a few days ago. Originally was going to hand paint in watercolor, but I was a little too tired to move myself to the studio. The result looks like a cross between a tarot card and old comic book art. Still have the original black and white ink drawing. In case you haven’t figured it out, Mortem is the Latin word for death.
As someone who has been attending New York Comic Con since the very beginning, one of the best things about this event are the panels. Each year the attendance at NYCC grows, attending panels is often a nice relief away from the crowds. It’s also beneficial because one gets to see how various comic book professionals share their experiences about creating, putting together a story, industry advice, etc.
Among some of my personal favorites was attending the international comics panel, moderated by Heidi McDonald. Titled The Beat Presents: The World Comics Invasion, on the panel were artists Ana Miralles (Spain), Mateusz Skutnik (Poland) Emanuala Luppaccino (Italy) and Fabio Moon (Brazil).
Later I got sketches by Mateusz Skutnik and Ana Miralles. They were both respectively promoting their titles “Revolutions:Eclipse” and “In Search of The Unicorn: The Land of The Moors Vol. 1” French-Canadian artist Mikael was also doing sketches, promoting his title “Giant – V1.”
Mateusz Skutnik is also known the the video game industry for creating games. Getting a sketch from him was one of the highlights of my NYCC 2018 experience.
Ana Miralles also did a beautiful pencil sketch. In the U.S., artists have to nickel and dime you so they charge for sketches. Who can blame them, especially in this economy? However, both Miralles and Skutnik offered free sketches. Ana Miralles explained that in Europe, doing sketches for fans is considered a gift. Apparently in Europe an artist might still be able to make a comfortable living compared to American artists. Therefore they are able to honor the fans with free sketches. It gave me the impression that artists are still more respected in Europe than in the United States.
If you would like to check out the work of the following artists seen at NYCC 2018, please check out the following links below.
http://www.europecomics.com/nycc18/
Last month we went to check out the Stanley Kubrick photography exhibit over at the Museum of The City of New York. Stanley Kubrick has always been one of my favorite film directors. Back in high school, I made it a mission to check out every film Kubrick directed. This was way before the days of Netflix. If it wasn’t available on VHS, then I would hit up all the revival movie theaters. You millennials have it so easy nowadays!
Luckily films are now more easily obtainable. If it can’t be found on Blu Ray, DVD or through a streaming service, there always places in NYC. For example, Videology Bar and Cinema over in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Anyway, I sought out most of Kubrick’s films. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lolita, the prophetic Dr. Strangelove, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and of course, A Clockwork Orange. Even sat through that yawn fest Barry Lyndon. Although I never managed to catch the earlier films like The Killing or Paths of Glory. Did watch Eyes Wide Shut much later on – despite my disdain for Tom Cruise.
Before Kubrick became an influential film director, he got his start as a photographer for Look Magazine. At the exhibit, open until Oct. 28th, 2018, you can see the gritty yet candid detail that would later show up in Kubrick’s films. Kubrick was just 17 years old when he sold his first photo to Look back in 1945. These photos also show how NYC was from 1946 to 1951.
New York City wasn’t just Kubrick’s subject. At the exhibit, a Kubrick photograph of a tattooed and pierced carny was not accepted by the editors of Look. Apparently the photo was thought as ‘too extreme.’ It was decades before the ‘Modern Primitive‘ movement, which led to the current acceptance of body modification.
The photo below particularly stood out. It’s of professional boxer Rocky Graziano. Graziano was trying to repair his reputation when Look did a feature on him. Boxing later helped Kubrick make the transition from photography to filmmaking.
After walking through the Kubrick exhibit we checked out the rest of the museum. Right next to the Kubrick showing was the last day of Rebel Women, which inspired this sketch done back in August.
At the other end of the floor was a retrospective of the feminist era. It showed the beginning of the women’s rights movement, ending with one of Hilary Clinton’s infamous pantsuits.
Which leads to the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week. This sketch isn’t just a sketch. This weeks shows the cover of the latest Psycho Bunny issue. If all goes well, hopefully Psycho Bunny issue 3.5 will be released at the end of October.
This may or may not be the final version of the cover. It really depends on finding the original typeface of the lettering used for the A Clockwork Orange film poster. For now you have an ideal about what the front cover looks like. Other details forthcoming. If the latest issue is completed in time, it’ll mostly likely debut at Incredicon, taking place in Upstate NY, Oct. 28th. Incredicon is a very small con, but it’s been a while since I’ve tabled at a comic book convention.
My life has been busy as of life. You however, still have time to check out these social media links:
Facebook: pages for Psycho Bunny and for Michele Witchipoo – WitchesBrewPress.
Twitter: One account for me, and one for Psycho Bunny.
Tumblr: World Ov Witchipoo
Instagram: there’s WitchipooArt.
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.
Still haven’t gotten around to posting those commissions on this blog. Maybe this week I’ll get around to doing so. Until then, stay tuned.
Continued from MICE 2016 Part I and MICE 2016 Part II.
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.
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:
That concludes the belated MICE 2016 blog entries.
Dead-End Rob by Luke Howard: deadendrob.com
Alter Boy By Rogan of LB Lee: etsy.com/shop/MadComics
Paper Pencil Life issue 2. Diary comics by Summer Pierre. www.summerpierre.com
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/
Then there’s me, Michele Witchipoo: WitchesBrewPress.com
Facebook: Psycho Bunny and Michele Witchipoo – WitchesBrewPress
MICE Expo 2018 Fundraiser: http://www.micexpo.org/2018/fat-cats-for-mice-fundraiser/
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