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.

Podtales (Oct 2019)

Let’s take a few months back to October 2019. Only a few months before Coronavirus came along and ruined everyone’s plans.

Cambridge, Massachusetts was where the first annual Podtales con took place. Podtales was an event created for anyone interested in Podcasting. The focus was on storytelling. Think back to the days before television, when radio ruled. From the 1920s to the 1950s, radio was the main source of entertainment for American families. Listeners tuned in to various dramas, comedies, soap operas, sci-fi, and other creative genres. With the current rise of podcasting, people are creating new audio worlds, straight from their living rooms to yours.

Admission inside Lesley University was free, coinciding with the annual MICE Expo, which was celebrating next door with it’s own tenth anniversary. Most of the Podtale vendors were from the Boston area, with a few traveling as far as the U.K.

Many of the fictional podcasters focused on fantasy, Sci-fi, and horror. One such program was The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program. Another one was The Post-Medidian Radio Players.

One podcast was a political parody, making fun of Trump by reading The Mueller Report: A Radio Dramatization.

Of course, since the pandemic, Podtales 2020 doesn’t look possible. It’s partner, MICE Expo is already cancelled. Hopefully Podtales will continue where it left off in 2021. Meantime, if you’re already bored of Netflix, check out some of the podcasts from the 2019 Podtales exhibitors.

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.

MICE 2016 Part III

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.

Comicbook/Zine artist and writer Michele Witchipoo at MICE Expo 2016. Photo taken early in the morning, Oct. 2016.

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:

Dead-End Rob issue 2 by Luke Howard. Brought at MICE Expo 2016. deadendrob.com

Alter Boy By Rogan of LB Lee. Brought at MICE Expo 2016. etsy.com/shop/MadComics or email: loonybrain@healthymultiplicity.com

Paper Pencil Life issue 2. Diary comics by Summer Pierre. Brought at MICE Expo 2016. http://www.summerpierre.com

Me & Doctor Dee.: A Jape. Script and art by E.J. Barnes on Drowned Town Press. Seen at MICE Expo 2016 as well as other comic cons. http://www.drownedtownpress.com

Tree Rats! or, The Crepuscular Hobbyhorse. A Farrago by E.J. Barnes. E.J. Available from Drowned Town Press. Seen at MICE Expo 2016 as well as other comic cons. http://www.drownedtownpress.com

A Beautiful Young Nymph Going To Bed by Jonathan Swift. Illustrated by E.J. Barnes. Available on Drowned Town Press. Seen at MICE Expo 2016 as well as other comic cons. http://www.drownedtownpress.com

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/

MICE 2018

MICE 2016 Part II

Continuing where I left off from MICE 2016 part one.

After setting up my table early in the a.m., I caught a bit of a local comic artist giving a small pep talk/lecture to the newer exhibitors.

MICE Expo veteran giving a quick lecture to the newer exhibitors. Cambridge, MA. Oct. 2016. 

As the comic con unfolded, you couldn’t help but notice many attendees in costume or cosplay. It just happened that MICE 2016 was scheduled on the weekend before Halloween. Here’s a few photos.

Surprisingly I did good at MICE. To my left was an artist who I met for the first time at NYCC 2016. Had brought his comic at NYCC. Had no idea only two weeks later I would be sitting next to him at MICE. It’s a small world after all. He was a former school teacher who decided to follow his dream.

Also had a chance to meet someone I’ve been conversing online since the early 2000s. Michelle Kane came down to the comic con. After our conversation, she invited me for some karaoke in her area of Quincy, MA. Usually I hate karaoke, but this time the invite was accepted. Later on after MICE closed for the night, me and E.J. Barnes, who was gracious enough to let me stay at her place traveled over.

We arrived at a huge restaurant called Cathay Pacific. In my little black heart I have a soft spot for old school Chinese eateries with vintage Polynesian decor. It was love at first sight. Didn’t care how good or bad the food was. After Michelle introduced us to her buddy Stephen Jay “The Handyman” Spector, karaoke began. Have to say, all three, E.J., Michelle and Stephen all had good voices. As for me, I sat my out of tune ass down.

To be continued…

MICE 2018 fundraiser: http://fundraiser.micexpo.org/

 

MICE 2016 Part 1

That’s right. It’s a blog post about a comic con I vended at in Cambridge, MA during Oct. 2016. Finally having the chance to post some long delayed photos from when I was lucky enough to get a table at MICE 2016. It was one of the best comic cons I’ve had the pleasure of taking part since I’ve started publishing my own comics.

MICE, which stands for the Massachusetts Independent Comic Expo focuses mostly on indie, alternative, undergound, and art house comics. Many of the comic artists were self published. The annual event takes place in Cambridge area just outside of Boston.

Despite my NYC loyalty, I’ve always loved Massachusetts. Particularly Boston, Salem and Cambridge. Best part was MICE 2016 took part during Halloween weekend. After MICE was over, I managed to zip down to Salem on Halloween day, right before taking the bus back to the Big Apple. In between MICE and Salem was a night at karaoke in Quincy, MA at some old style Chinese/Polynesian restaurant.

 

The night before MICE was going to kick off, there was a cartoonist party at HUB Comics. Located in the Somerville, Union Square area, the next town after Cambridge. Was very impressed by Hub comics. If I opened my own comic shop, this is what it would resemble. A very good mixture of mainstream and alternative comics, graphic novels and other merch. Also got to mingle with the other local cartoonists. My friend and fellow cartoonist E.J. Barnes (who helped put together the tribute anthology to Luisa Felix along with Paul Curtis) showed me around the area, and helped introduce me to the locals.

Also checked out the main drag around Cambridge. Discovered a shop called Cheapo Records, ate at a vegetarian diner, checked out and paid a visit to the Middle East.

Back to business. After setting up my table, anyone who had a table was treated to breakfast and a quick lecture, if anyone wanted to listen. Through out the day, the artists were given water and snacks by volunteers. MoCCA could use a few pointers from MICE.

Michele Witchipoo/WitchesBrewPress table at MICE 2016. Oct. 2016.

After the first day, there was a celebratory dinner for everyone in MICE 2016 at another venue. Artists were encouraged to doodle on the wall with some free art supplies. Some even showed up in costume.

Day two was more or less the same. Breakfast and someone was doing a quick lecture on the floor before the con started. Since it was Halloween weekend, many showed up in costume.

Part two begins on the next blog post. 

 

 

This Weekend – MICE Expo 2016

This upcoming weekend I will be at MICE Expo 2016 in Cambridge, Massachusetts just outside of Boston. On Oct. 29 and 30th, you can find me at table C99. Admission is free. Hours for MICE are Saturday 10 am-6 pm, Sunday 11 am-5 pm.

Poster for MICE Expo 2016. Artwork by Raul The Third. 

As stated on the Facebook invite: MICE is back on Halloween weekend with independent comics for the masses! Join us for our 7th (and spookiest) annual FREE show featuring over 150 comic creators and special guests from the Boston area beyond. There’s cartooning workshops, panels, and activities for readers and artists of all ages! MICE 2016 is held in University Hall mere steps away from the Porter Square Red line T stop.

I’ll be traveling from NYC to Boston just for this convention. So if you’re in the area, stop on by.