New York Comic Con 2021 – Brief Review

Before I begin, allow me to explain my absence. It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted on this blog. For starters, I threw out my knee in February, around the time of the Super Bowl. This set off a few health issues, which I’m only beginning to recover from. No, I did not get Covid19 in 2021. I’m in fact, a very negative person. My test results have proven how negative I am, thanks to three antigen and one PCR test results. Was that a very bad joke? Of course it was.

Due to these physical health issues, I decided to lay low for most of 2021. Things started to pick up during the late summer, which I might discuss in another blog post.

It was a last minute decision to attend New York Comic Con 2021. Originally I wasn’t going. Turn of events led to me to change my mind. Before an attendee was allowed in, proof of vaccination was required. Once the attendee showed proof either through a cellphone app, or showing other methods, the process to get in was surprising quick. Considering the circumstances, ReedPop did the best they could.

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The die-hard cosplayers came out, and there were some eyecatchers.

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Cosplay from NYCC 2021

The only panel I attended this year was titled Disney’s Winnie The Pooh to The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Moderated by puppeteer Johnathan Rockefeller, the panel discussed how nostalgia plays a part in Rockefeller Productions successful puppet shows. So far they’ve adapted the 80s sitcom The Golden Girls into a puppet play, as well as beloved book characters such as The Hungry Caterpillar. The puppet versions of Winnie The Pooh characters were brought out to audience members. Afterwards, panel audience members were invited to take photos with various puppets, with social distancing in place.

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Meet and greet after the NYCC panel of Rockefeller Productions puppeteers.

Checking out Artist Alley were both established and upcoming artists.

Among some of those who had a table in Artists Alley: Keith Williams, Geraldo Borges (who flew all the way from Chile for NYCC, and speaks three languages), and Sara Richard. In the Small Press section, there was the team behind Turtle vs. Bunny, published by Digital Pimp.

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Scenes from NYCC 2021

To summarize, NYCC 2021 was definitely low-key, very subdued but still a magickal time for it’s attendees. Here’s to next year.

Cosplayer from NYCC 2021

Photos by Michele Witchipoo, Oct. 10th, 2021.

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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.

IncrediCon June 2019 Review

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.

Michele Witchipoo’s table at IncrediCon, June 8th, 2019. Middletown, NY.

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.

Legendary Marvel inker and artist Joe Sinnott, with his son Mark Sinnott. IncrediCon, Middletown NY. June 8th, 2019. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

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.

Joe Sinnott pencil sketch of Thor. Done at IncrediCon, Middletown NY. June 2018.

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.

Michele Witchipoo and Goth Bear. IncrediCon, June 8th, 2019. Middletown, NY.

The next IncrediCon is scheduled for Oct. 27th, 2019 at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. Free admission from 10am – 6pm. Maybe I’ll see you there.

 

Cradle Con Review June 2019

The first weekend of June 2019 was Cradle Con. Cradle Con is an annual comic con taking place at The Cradle of Aviation Museum in Long Island, NY. I had a table in artists alley for June 1st and 2nd, 2019. It was also the ‘official’ debut of my latest self-published comic ‘The Temptation of Squeaky.’ In all, I actually did very well.

My table at Cradle Con 2019. June 1st & 2nd, 2019, Long Island NY, at the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

Cradle Con was totally geared towards the comic book, pop culture and cosplay crowd. Even the guy who’s known for doing Peter Griffin cosplay was there. Yup, he was there along with a woman cosplaying at Lois Griffin. You can follow Robert Franzese on Instagram.

Here’s some other photos from that weekend. I plan to be back at artist alley next year. See you then.

Television personality (MeTV) and host Svengoolie at Cradle Con 2019. Photo by Ben Herman.

Comic book artist and musician Dave Fox. Cradle Con 2019. Photo by Ben Herman.

Comic book artist and illustrator John K. Synder at Cradle Con 2019. Doing a Beautiful Dream sketch.

Comic book artist and illustrator John K. Synder at Cradle Con 2019. Doing a Beautiful Dream sketch.

Opinions – Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week 5/28/2019

Everyone seems to have an opinion. Especially on the internet. Here’s what Psycho Bunny has to say about assessments.

Introducing the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week for May 28th, 2019.

Speaking of impressions, I will be at Cradle Con in Long Island, NY this upcoming weekend, at the Cradle of Aviation museum. June 1 & 2, 2019. You can get advance tickets for either day, or for the entire weekend.

I will be debuting my latest comic at Cradle Con. It’s a completely new series, titled “Temptation of Squeaky.” It’s about a cat who befriends a demon. It’s a departure from Psycho Bunny. Don’t worry, Psycho Bunny should be back sometime this year with brand new stories. In the meantime, check out Squeaky with her demon buddy Magnus Maximus. Max for short.

If you can’t make it to Cradle Con, you can always order your own copy online. Send $4.00 ($3.00 + $1.00 for S&H) via PayPal: PsychoBunnyComix@aol.com. Venmo payments also accepted @Witchipoo. Please specify you want the Squeaky comic along with the shipping address. Eventually I’ll get my website fixed to accept online orders.

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.

 

The following weekend after Cradle Con, I’ll be at IncrediCon, Upstate NY, Hudson Valley area, Saturday June 8th, 2019.

Table At Cradle Con 2019

Brief announcement. I will have a table selling my comics and other items at Cradle Con 2019. It’s going to be a shared table with another cartoonist/comic creator Patrick Sinnott, who was recently at MoCCA 2019. The event is scheduled for June 1 & 2nd, in the Cradle of Aviation Museum and Educational Center. The venue is located in Long Island, NY.

You can check out the link to Cradle Con 2019 here. More details forthcoming.

Stay tuned for more announcements regarding tables, exhibits and events.

 

Tomorrow – Incredicon

I’m half asleep while typing, but wanted to send a quick reminder for tomorrow.

If you’re in the Upstate NY area, come check out this comic con. If all goes well, I’ll have a new mini-issue debuting tomorrow. We’ll see. So buy my comic you bastards! Anyway, admission is free. See you tomorrow.

Incredicon 

Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week 10/17/2018

Lately I haven’t had a lot of time. A good time as any to ‘go back to my roots.’ Here’s a bare bones pencil drawing. Introducing the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week for Oct. 17th, 2018.

Psycho Bunny. Pencil sketch. Based on the comic written and drawn by Michele Witchipoo on WitchesBrewPress. Oct. 2018.

Social Media, as always: 

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.

Sunday, October 28th, I will be at IncrediCon, in Poughkeepsie, NY. (Upstate NY)

Stay tuned for more Inktober 2018 sketches.

 

Review of Terrificon 2018

The day after the great CAKE and Ben Folds Five concert, me and Ben headed over to Connecticut. There was a comic con happening that weekend over at the Mohegan Sun casino. Terrificon was good that it’s focus was more on the comic book creators rather than obtaining celebrities autographs. That particular artist alley featured established comic book writers and artists, as local talent. Of course there was plenty of cosplay to be found. There was a few known media guests such as model/actress Pom Klementieff, who portrayed Mantis from Guardians of The Galaxy 2. She was sitting next to Henry Winkler in the autograph section.

No, I didn’t have a table. This time I went as a spectator. It was also an excuse to get out of NYC for a few hours. Despite the dismal Greyhound bus ride, I’d say it was worth the trip. Even if the bus was delayed for over thirty minutes. The passengers were mostly disgruntled Anita Baker fans, trying to catch her concert also happening at Mohegan Sun later that evening.

It was a relief to find a comic con featuring more comic book professionals rather than pop culture personalities. Before the comic con winded down on Saturday, there was a panel honoring comic book writer Roy Thomas. Thomas was presented with an award for his contribution in the sequential field.

Panel featuring comic book writer Roy Thomas. Prior to receiving an award. Photo by Michele Witchipoo, Aug. 18th, 2018.

Apparently a few exits before Mohegan Sun, there’s a Pez museum. The kid inside me loudly acknowledged this, as I spotted the billboard through my bus window. Sure enough, there was a Pez vendor table at the Terrificon. Kinda wished I had never discarded my old Pez containers. Especially the reissued Star Wars and Halloween editions.

Among some of the comic creators in artist alley: met Bob Almond again, who created the Inkwell Awards, Ray Felix who does Bronx Heroes Con, Barbara Friedlander who I unfortunately missed by the time I arrived at the venue, Art Baltazar, Neal Adams, Afua Richardson, Scott Hanna, C.F. Cebulski, and many others. Below are photos are David Thorn Wenzel and Tifa Chii.

Artist/Illustrator David Thorn Wenzel at Terrificon 2018.

Artist Tida Chii at Terrificon 2018. Her IG is @spookbunny

The cosplayers and gamers weren’t left out. Here’s a few other cosplayer photos to round out this blog post.

Last but not least, here’s a cosplayer doing a mash-up of Booster Gold and Goldstar.

Terrificon is highly recommended as a comic con. If given the opportunity I would attend again. It’s geared towards more mainstream comics rather than self-published and indie. Then again, it’s still a good excuse to get out of NYC for the day. Didn’t spend much time in Mohegan Sun itself. Pretty much all casinos reek of desperation and spilled soda on carpets. As for the return ride to NYC; that was purgatory. Some jackass held up the bus for almost two hours. If there’s anything I learned, the bus drivers that work for Greyhound have the patience of saints. Seriously. That day I witnessed two drivers who had more than enough reason to lose their tempers. Had they done so, it would’ve been justified – but yet they didn’t. So kudos to them. Greyhound itself however, truly sucks. Even those cheapo companies like GoBus, BoltBus or MegaBus seem to have smoother rides. My advice for next year is to get a Zipcar or arrange a carpool. Seriously.

Enough kvetching. In late October I’m going to have my own table at a local comic con. Details forthcoming. So with my luck, I’ll probably end up taking Greyhound again.

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