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.

Hello It’s Me

It’s been some time since my last blog post. Life really has been busy. Suppose that’s a good thing.

Did some traveling, as you can tell from my last blog post. So far I’ve been to The Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium. The Netherlands is a beautiful country, and so far it’s been my favorite.

Miffy Store in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Summer 2023

Summer 2023 marked my third time in The Netherlands. This time around I explored more of the country itself, not just Amsterdam. Visited Utretch, The Haag, and Rotterdam. Checked out this Renaissance Fair titled Castlefest while in the Netherlands. In the end I went back to Amsterdam where I caught the Pride celebrations and got another tattoo.

Pride celebration in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Summer 2023

My adventures in Europe will have to be another blog post. Anyway, I get back to NYC. I travel halfway around the world, mingle with large crowds, etc. Didn’t catch Covid. I come back to the big bad rotten apple and stay local. Staying local is how I caught Covid. What a nice welcome back gift.

Duran Duran at Forest Hills Stadium, 2023

Luckily my Covid case wasn’t too bad. A day or two after recovering, I forced myself to go see Duran Duran at Forest Hills Stadium. Only because I had already spent the money on tickets. Nobody wants to flush $300 down the toilet.

The Steve Ignorant Band performing Crass songs. NYC, Fall 2023.

Before I caught Covid, I managed to see The Steve Ignorant Band perform Crass songs. The female vocalist stepping in for Eve Libertine understood the assignment.

Coney Island, Aug 2023. Photo by Michele Witchipoo

Here’s a photo from Coney Island, late summer 2023. Threw it on this post because I can.

A logo designed by Michele Witchipoo. Fall 2023.

Otherwise I’ve just been majorly busy. Good news, I’m now a part time art teacher. Oh, and I designed some lovely logos. The logo you see above is from a school project. it’s not a real business, but as an idea, it sounds like it could work.

A graphic design experiment, 2023

Some graphic design experiments 2023

I’ve been focusing a lot on graphic design, as you can tell from above.

NYCC Fall 2023. Photo by Michele Witchipoo

The one thing I do every single year is attend New York Comic Con. No matter what, I always manage to visit NYCC. Since the pandemic, I’ve cut it down from attending the entire weekend to only one day. Be assured, I had recovered from my bout with Covid by then.

Queens Comic Party Logo

No, I didn’t design the logo for Queens Comic Party, but I’ve been attending their monthly events. After talking to two local cartoonists, I decided to fire up this blog again. Just found out there’s a Drink and Draw event in Queens too. Although I don’t really drink anymore, I’ll check it out, perhaps do a few sketches.

Rockaway Beach sunset. Labor Day 2023. Photo by Ben Herman.

It’s getting late. Hopefully I’ll continue this blog with more postings about Europe, my artwork and such. À bientôt.

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.

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.

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

New Webcomic Episode & Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week 8/13/2020

Hey, it’s been a while. This summer turned out to be busier than I thought. There is a new episode in my webcomic series now on WEBTOON: Psycho Bunny – SUMMER OF COVID19. So check it out, subscribe, hit like, and all that good stuff.

Which leads us to the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week for August 13th, 2020. It’s a panel from episode five of my webcomic series. In this installment, Psycho Bunny gets a rude awakening about friends and quarantines.

A panel from the webcomic Psycho Bunny – Summer of COVID19, now up on WEBTOON. Aug. 2020. Written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo, from WitchesBrewPress.

 I got asked to be part of a panel for an upcoming online comic con. Details forthcoming. 

WHY ARE U.S. SCHOOLS REOPENING IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC? WHILE YOU FIGURE THAT OUT, HERE’S SOME SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS TO FOLLOW:

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

Also. I’m available for commissions. Comics and greetings are available for purchase. No shame in this plug. Especially with the financial impact. Questions? Hit me up: Witchipoo@witchesbrewpress.net. You can also contact me via Instagram, @WitchipooArt

Be safe everyone.

 

Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week – Plus New WEBTOONS episode! (7/2/2020)

So if you survived 2020 so far, you’re in for a treat. The latest episode of my webcomic, Psycho Bunny – Summer of COVID19 is now up and running on WEBTOONS. This episode is based on a dream Psycho Bunny had while he was passed out drunk. I put Psycho Bunny in a ’90s style Versace shirt.

Introducing the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week for July 2, 2020.

Scenes from the webcomic Psycho Bunny – Summer of COVID19, now on WEBTOONS. Based on the comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo, on WitchesBrewPress. July 2020.

 

Michele Witchipoo’s Social Media links.

 If you haven’t heard,  I’ve re-opened my Etsy store: Michele Witchipoo. You can purchase some of my comics there. There’s also handmade holiday ornaments, greeting cards, and eventually other items for sale. Check back every so often, the store will continue to have more merch posted.

I’ve also officially launched my Patreon account. Still learning the in and outs of Patreon fund raising. You can subscribe starting at $5.00 a month.

NOT READY FOR RE-OPENINGS? QUARANTINE GOT YOU BORED? HERE’S SOME SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS TO FOLLOW:

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

Also. I’m available for commissions. Comics and greetings are available for purchase. No shame in this plug. Especially with the financial impact. Questions? Hit me up: Witchipoo@witchesbrewpress.net. You can also contact me via Instagram, @WitchipooArt

Be safe everyone.