Looking Back At New York Comic Con 2022

Attending New York Comic Con is an annual tradition for me. I’ve been attending the second biggest comic con in the U.S. since it’s inception on Feb 2006. Back in 2010, I had even had a table in Artist Alley.

This year brought back so many memories. I had a table in Artist Alley back in 2010. Doubt that will ever happen again, but at least I can say I sold my comics in NYCC.

While I did enjoy myself, there was a sad feeling I couldn’t shake off. Upon returning home, I read about a cosplayer’s passing on location.

Comic book artist Kim Jung Gi was slated to have a table at Artist Alley this year, when he passed away suddendly. Fans dropped by what was supposed to be his table, leaving flowers in his tribute instead.

One of the highlights of my NYCC experience 2022 was the George Perez panel. The artist passed away on May 6, 2022. Colleages and friends gathered on the panel to pay tribute to the well respected penciler who was known for his work on Wonder Woman, The Avengers, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Teen Titans, and many others. Perez not only had a long career in the comic book industry, but also much beloved in his personal life. At the panel it was discussed how he took in friends, making them honorary ‘family’ members and his dedication to his wife Carol. After the panel, free enamel pins bearing his signature were given out to the panel attendees.

Here’s a few photos from the day spent at NYCC.

Until next year..

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Tomorrow – Interview With Mindy Indy!

Since bringing back Comic Book Convo, I have returning guest, cartoonist Mindy Indy!

Mindy is in the process of doing her second Kickstarter for her comic Aer Head.

You can listen to the interview tomorrow, Wednesday Nov. 9th, 2022 from 7-8pm EST on WHCSradio.org.

Comic Book Convo Is Back

It’s been a while. Life offline has been full of twists and turns. Still busy, but glad to tell you I’m trying to get my radio show back on. It’ll be at the same radio station, WHCSradio.com. If we’re able to stream, this week’s guest will be artist, writer and publisher Ray Felix. Ray was also one of the folks behind Bronx Heroes Con and Women In Comics Con, both events which started in the Bronx, New York City. It looks like this interview might be broadcast in two or three parts. I’ll be a bit rusty but if you can deal then tune in on Wednesday evenings, 7-8 pm EST.

LadiesCon 2020 – Virtual Edition

This week will be LadiesCon 2020 – virtual edition. It starts today, Wednesday Sept. 9 to Sunday, Sept. 13th. On Sunday, from 11:30 am – 12:15pm, I will be part of a panel titled Exploring Immigrant Stories & Legacies In Comics & Media. I was graciously invited by moderator and comics creator herself, Maria Photinakis, who currently has her own web comic up on WEBTOON. I will be joining other creators on the panel. Also on the panel will be someone speaking about being a expatriate.

Joe Sinnott (1926 – 2020)

So news came down that comic book inker Joe Sinnott passed away the morning of June 25th, 2020. Sinnott was best for his work with Marvel comics. The legendary artist drew for iconic titles such as Fantastic Four, Captain America, and The Avengers. The comic book industry, such as the Inkwell Awards has been paying their respects to a legend. (Sinnott was involved with the Inkwell Awards)

Last year I was lucky enough to meet him at an Upstate NY comic con, IncrediCon. That day was a good day. My table was in between two talented artists, sold some of my own comics, did a commission, and met an Instagram friend.

Legendary comic book inker Joe Sinnott, with his son Mark. Photo taken last year in Upstate, NY, during the IncrediCon comic con. June 2019.

As things were winding down, I decided to pop by Joe Sinnott‘s table. Sinnott, the guest of honor was sitting next to his son. Taking a chance, I asked if Mr. Sinnott was still doing commissions. Surprise – he was! So I got a commission as a birthday present for Ben. Sinnott drew one of the classic Marvel characters, Thor.

After I picked up the commission, I believe his son told me Joe was still drawing everyday. Apparently he drew everyday until the end. That itself, is inspiring to any artist. Age really is just a number. Age only matters when you allow yourself to be limited.

With that, my condolences to the Sinnott family. Thank you Joe Sinnott for the many years you spent creating. Godspeed.

*Thanks to Ben Herman for images of comics featuring Joe Sinnott’s signature. 

 

MICE 2019 Recap

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.

Exhibit of panels during MICE Expo 2019.

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.

The crowds at MICE 2019. Cambridge, MA. Oct. 2019.

On Saturday night, MICE had an after con party celebrating their 10 year anniversary.

After con party celebrating 10 years of MICE. Oct. 2019.

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.

Repeat: Interview W/ Diane Noomin, Jamie Hernandez and E.J. Barnes on WHCSradio.org

Another busy week. Just taking a quick break to tell everyone about my radio show. It’s on every Friday on WHCSradio.org from 1-2pm EST (NYC time). It’s where I interview pros from the comic book industry. You can also listen to the radio show on WHCSradio’s channel on Spotify.

Last week I had on Marc Torres, radio station and podcast host of It Came From The Radio. Good times. This week, Friday Nov. 22, 2019, will be a repeat of some interviews previously broadcast. Reason for the repeat is that there was some snafus during the original episode. Hopefully the repeat should fix everything.

Bear it mind, the interviews with Diane Noomin and Jamie Hernandez weren’t the greatest. These were on the spot interviews, and I didn’t have time to properly prepare any researched questions. So that’s on me. However, Diane and Jamie were extremely kind enough to consent to these interviews. Especially since they are both legends in the underground/alternative comic book scene.

The last interview with E.J. Barnes, Cambridge based historical cartoonist, fared better. All three of these interviews were conducted during the weekend of MICE 2019. The timing was perfect, since it was MICE’s 10th anniversary. Next door to MICE was the first annual Podtales convention. Both of these cons took place at Lesley University.

So due to tomorrow, streaming live. Other cartoonists and other pros to be be announced! There will be no episodes during Thanksgiving weekend, but on Dec. 6th, Boston cartoonist Maria Photinakis will be be in the studio live.

A big thanks to everyone involved.

On The Radio…New Episodes On WHCSradio.org

Hey everyone. Life has been busy. However, on Friday, Nov. 15th, 2019 from 1-2pm EST live, I will have my radio show. This week the guest is Mark Torres, the host of It Came From The Radio. It Came From The Radio is a podcast and radio program can be heard in 23 outlets and counting. I’ll ask him a few questions about his show, duties, etc. So tune in. Last week I had local cartoonist Mindy Indy, who just had a very successful Kickstarter campaign for her comic. Down the line I’ll re-broadcast the short interviews I had with Diane Noomin, Jamie Hernandez and historical cartoonist E.J. Barnes. Those interviews were done when I visited MICE during their 10th anniversary. On Dec. 6th, I’ll have Boston cartoonist Maria Photinakis on the show. Other past guests included Dave Fox, Justin Melkmann, and Danielle Draik. Interviewing other cartoonists and artists has been a learning experience. My goal after the radio show wraps up, is to post  an archive of these interviews online. Website to be determined, most likely Soundcloud. Stay tuned for any forthcoming announcements.

Meantime, check out my show live, on WHCSradio.org. Broadcast live every Friday except for holidays until end of December.

FrankenPsychoBunny! (Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week 10/27/2019)

This week’s Psycho Bunny sketch of the week is based on the horror classic Frankenstein, originally created by English author Mary Shelley, and later became iconic thanks to Boris Karloff’s performance in 1931. Although it should be noted that the very first Frankenstein film was released in 1910.

Frankenpsychobunny! Based on the comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo, on WitchesBrewPress. Oct. 2019.

It’s been extremely busy on my end. Hopefully I will find the time to post more work on my blog, including my Inktober 2019 sketches.

Happy Halloween!

Social Media Links:

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

Want to buy some of my designs? There’s RedBubble: Witchipoo

Finally, don’t forget to purchase my latest comic:

I’m also experimenting with a radio show, streamed live on WHCSradio.org. New show every Friday, from 1-2pm ET. Broadcast until further notice. I have recorded interviews from MICE 2019. Stay tuned.

 

Post NYCC 2019 – Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week.

This past weekend was New York Comic Con 2019. I’ve been attending each one since it’s inception back in Every year a certain type of magic sparks whenever NYCC happens. My only regret was I had to miss Ridgewood Open Studios, which opened on the same weekend. In which I had a painting on display at a group art show, over at Lorimoto Gallery.

To my surprise, there wasn’t as much Deadpool cosplay mashups as previous years. There was still a few.

Which leads to the return of the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week. Drawn by yours truly.

Post NYCC 2019. The Psycho Bunny sketch of the week drawn and written by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2019.

Stay tuned for more photos and panel reviews of NYCC 2019.

Meanwhile, here’s some 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

Want to buy some of my designs? There’s RedBubble: Witchipoo

Finally, don’t forget to purchase my latest comic:

*To order any Psycho Bunny issues, or The Temptation of Squeaky, send $4.00 per issue along with your shipping address to Vemno @ Witchipoo. You can also order via PayPal, psychobunnycomix@aol.com. Specify which issue you’re ordering. Currently in stock is Psycho Bunny issue 3.75 and Temptation of Squeaky issue one.