Stripwinkels in Amsterdam

The title of this post, Stripwinkels in Amsterdam translates simply as “Comic Book Stores In Amsterdam.” If that translation isn’t accurate, well then. Blame DeepL.

This short post has photos from my first trip to Amsterdam in late summer/early fall 2021. I fell in love with The Netherlands. Since then I’ve visited that country two more times. I particulary like Amsterdam as a city. Everyone says Paris is an amazing place. While I liked Paris, I still prefer Amsterdam.

City of Amsterdam at night. 2021. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo.

Right now I’m just going to focus on two places inside Amsterdam. First one is Henk’s, which is Amsterdam’s eqivlent of Forbidden Planet. Not as large as Forbidden Planet or Midtown Comics in NYC, but it has a selection that is similiar. Hank’s focuses mostly on popular titles, superhero, manga and other pop-culture related items. What I liked about Hank’s was that it has two entrances. That way instead of waddling through the tourist crowds, I can just walk through one end of the store, and exit on the other side. Those two entrances were very conveinant.

Henk’s Comics & Manga in Amsterdam, 2021

Second comic book shop I visited was Lambiek. I’ve heard of Lambiek for years, as their website has an online encycopedia of cartoonists. There was no iternarity planned, so I took out my cell. It was still halfway through the pandemic in 2021, so there wasn’t that many tourists. Lambiek is on a side street, which makes it a bit tricky to find if you’re a first time visitor. Yet if you’re a huge Alternative comics fan, you’re going to love this place.

Lambiek comic shop in Amsterdam, 2021.

The shop has a mixture of old and new titles. As I was browsing, another local creative stepped in. Turns out he was an American expat, Chad Bilyeu. He has a comic series titled Chad In Amsterdam, which Lambiek highly recommends.

Chad Bilyea in Lambiek, 2021.

That’s it for now. Amsterdam is a very magickal place, I’ve been back two more times since then. Yes, I’ve been really slow on this blog, a lot has happened between Febuary 2021 and now. The year 2021 was a bad time for me, the only highlight was the trip to the Netherlands. Perhaps I’ll explain more in future posts. No worries, I’m doing much better now.

In the meantime, I shall leave you with this stray cat I met in Amsterdam.

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..

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.

Returning Webcomic – Psycho Bunny: Summer of Covid19

Before my one-off story about Wesley Willis, (available on both Comic Fury and WEBTOON) I was working on another webcomic. It was based on my long time character Psycho Bunny. Psycho Bunny is a self-published comic I’ve been working on and off since 2004. With the pandemic shutting everything down, I turned to webcomics.

Around August 2020, life became very busy for me. Which was a good thing, but it meant leaving the Psycho Bunny series hanging. Now that things are winding down, I can go back to focusing on comics and illustrations.

You can read the previous episodes on WEBTOON. In the meantime I’ll start working on new stories.

Winter Solstice 2020

Winter Solstice, or Yule was a few days ago. Here’s wishing you joy and safety as we start returning to the light.

New Webcomic – Wesley Willis

Last night my latest webcomic went live. This was originally done for a course I was taking, and decided to use this both as a final project and as a webcomic. 

For those who don’t know who Wesley Willis was, he was an “Outsider” artist and musician living in Chicago. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, he created three minute songs on his Technics keyboard. Subject matter included his friends, crime, pop culture, mental illness, consumerism, beastiality, and fast food, laced with profanity. 

You can read the short webcomic on WEBTOONS or ComicFury. 

Rock over London!
Rock on Chicago!
Heinz – It’s America’s Favorite Ketchup

UPDATE!

It’s been a while. I’ve been busy with assorted offline activities.

Good news, I have brand new work to upload. In the next few days, most likely the weekend, I’ll post some new comic/sequential content. Late December I’ll begin updating on this blog again.

In the meantime, I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to my Patreon, brought from my re-opened Etsy shop, purchased from RedBubble, and supported my webcomic. I don’t promote my Patreon or my other channels as much as I should. Thanks to offline responsibilities, I had to put my WEBTOON series on the side. In a week I’m going to pick up where I left off.

Other news. Was pleasantly surprised by a positive review of my last printed comic, The Temptation of Squeaky, which I published last year. 

Two of my illustrations were published in a local zine, simply titled Ridgewood Zine. Available locally. Details in another blog post. 

I designed a logo for a wonderful lady, who has her own shop. Nightbird Enchanted. 

As for my radio show, I made the decision to put it on hold until further notice. Basically I wanted to get back to my own artwork. Simple as that.

Until then, Happy Holidays, Hanukkah, Festivus, Krampusnacht, and all that good stuff. 

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.

Latest Episode of Web Comic and Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week.

Hello once again. Chapter six of my web comic is now up on WEBTOON.

A panel from the latest installment is the also the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week. Check out the series, hit subscribe, click on the heart, all that stuff that makes me look good. Hope you enjoy the comic as well.

Psycho Bunny gets his stimulus check. A panel from the WEBTOON web comic “Psycho Bunny – Summer of Covid19”

The usual: social media links, Etsy shop, Patron and other sites.

WEBTOONS: Psycho Bunny – Summer of COVID-19.

 Facebook: 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