Update August 2010

This has been a happy, productive time for me. The book I did six illustrations for, Tales of Woe finally saw the light of day! Written by John Reed, it’s published by MTV Press and distributed by Powerhouse Books. Apparently this book has already gotten great reviews. You can buy the book here, here, or here.

Another two of my illustrations have also been published in Worlds Beyond. That one is more of a quasi-pulp anthology, published by Comicbook Artist Guild, otherwise known as CAG. The genre is Sci-fi/Horror.

I’m back doing the webcomic with writer John Reed titled Shitty Mickey. The fourth episode is up now.

Finally, I have a table in the Artist Alley section of the New York Comic Con 2010 (NYCC 2010). Yay! Other comic con appearances I had within this year have all turned out to be successful. My table at the Mocca Art Fest 2010 was the best ever.

I’m working on other projects, although that’s been coming along slow…slow…slow…not finished as I would have hoped, but it’ll get there.

My Facebook group has more members: facebook comic con/michele witchipoo.

Surprisingly, I’ve kept up regularly this blog promoting myself, in regards with my art/comics/illustrations, comic cons, appearances, interviews, etc. Occasionally, I’ve rambled with what’s been on my mind, observations, and whatnot. Yeah, all that good stuff. After all, on the internet, everyone and anyone has an opinion about everything. Then again, as the saying goes; opinions are like (fill in the blank), everyone’s got one.

What do I know? My political beliefs are half Democratic and half Libertarian. Never a Republican though. Republicans can go kiss my big fat white ass.

Finally, I’m back in school after so, so, so many years. Yeah, its kinda odd, but I’m going back to college really for myself. Let’s face it, the art world, no matter what field, can be pretty snobby. They still wanna see a degree somewhere. Not that I ever cared about what people think, but still. In a rare moment of candidness, I’ll admit the regret of not doing well in school. During elementary and some parts of junior high, I was a decent pupil. Somewhere along the way, rebellion kicked in. Aggravated by the general ignorance of my peers, not ‘fitting in,’ and later on, not wanting to ‘fit in.’ I developed into a perpetual truant. Ironically, when I would cut out of school, it was spent going to museums, reading sub-cultural literature, exploring new places, films, and all that nonsense. Therefore in a way, I believe I would consider myself self-taught in some subjects. Well, somewhat self-taught, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

My interest in learning was reignited when I discovered, let’s say ‘alternative spirituality.’ Been reading tarot cards for years. One day decided to dive head first into esoteric practices. I went on a few different paths like Wicca, Thelema, Chaos Magick, Gnosticism, Theosophy, Eastern Philosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba, what-have-you. My conclusion: it’s all the same crap people. Anyway, I realized that as much as I self-taught myself some things, there was also a case of ‘stunted growth.’ I went from thinking I knew it all to realizing I barely knew jack shit. As I quote Robert Anton Wilson…“If you think you know what the hell is going on, you’re probably full of shit.”

So…long story short, I’m back in college for myself. Starting from the beginning too, ’cause I sucked as a student from way back when. However, those are the consequences. Then again, the past is the past. I didn’t have the drive back then as I do now, so things have a way of working themselves out. Although I feel tinges of feeling as if I’m back in high school, and slight bouts of misanthropy, I’m enjoying myself. One of my plans is to separate my school work from my so-called online/comicbook/illustrator/artist persona. Feel its better this way. Having said that, this will be the last time I will mention school within any my online social networking sites.

The only thing that’s missing now is maybe a band. Would like to form a post-Industrial/Electronica/Power-Electronics/Noise/Neo-folk band. Well maybe.

Here’s an illo I did last summer, with a school theme. Enjoy:

Monster In The School Library

MoCCA Art Fest 2010 Trades

One of the cooler things about being an exhibitor at comic cons is the chance to trade with other comic book creators.

Here’s three of the trades I did this past weekend during the MoCCA Art Fest 2010 con.

Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories by Lorin Morgan-Richards.

This gorgeous hand-made book was the first trade made at the MoCCA fest. Los Angles based artist and musician Lorin Morgan-Richards recognized me from Facebook. The more I go through this item, the more I fall in love with it. His music’s pretty neat as well. I’m already a fan.
www.lorinrichards.com

Ling Master # 3 by E.J. Barnes

E.J. Barnes is a Cambridge, Massachusetts based cartoonist and a regular at small press cons. Plus she’s a really nice lady. Originally met her at a MoCCA Fest back in 2006.
www.ejbarnes.com

Earaches and Eyesores # 2 by Justin Melkmann

Justin Melkmann is in the popular local NYC punk band World War IX, and a cartoonist.

http://www.myspace.com/worldwarix

MoCCA Art Fest 2010 Pics

Being an exhibitor at the MoCCA Art Fest 2010 turned out to be better than what I had expected. Not only did I get to sell Babalon Babes No. 4 (The Astrology issue), but had fun promoting as well. Here’s a few pics from this past weekend.

Me At My Table, MoCCA Art Fest 2010.

Here I am. As you can see, my hours at the gym hasn’t done jack for me. (*sigh*)

Me With The Lastest Babalon Babes issue, MoCCA Art Fest 2010
Various MoCCA Posters Throughout The Years...
Xamie Hernandez (Love & Rockets) & An Awesome Tee. MoCCA Art Fest 2010.

Xamie Hernandez, one half of the artist extraordinaire team from the Love and Rockets comics. Here he is posing with my boyfriend. Guess where me and Ben found this Stussy shirt. Queens Mall baby! We stumbled upon this shirt by accident at Yellow Rat Bastard, which is no longer at that mall. Ben brought this tee sometime last year. True geek never goes out of style.

All photos, with the exception of Xamie taken by Ben Herman.

MoCCA Art Fest 2010 This Weekend!

Just letting everyone know that I’ll be at the MoCCA Art Fest 2010. The event will be this weekend, April 10 & 11th.

MoCCA Art Fest 2010 Poster

The location will be at the 69th Regiment Armory, 68 Lexington Avenue, NYC.

Admission is $12 for one day, $20 for the weekend pass. MoCCA members will be charged $12 for the whole weekend. Times are 11am to 6pm, both days.

See you there!

http://www.moccany.org/content/mocca-festival

Other Upcoming Events

In addition to the Nightmare show at Don Pedro’s (90 Manhattan Ave, Williamsburg Brooklyn, Admission $7.00, Starts 8pm) this Saturday, I’ll be at a few more events within the next few months.

The first one is the MoCCA Art Fest 2010. Last year it moved from its former home at the Puck Building and moved to the bigger 69th Regiment Armory. (Although I will have to admit, I kinda miss the Puck Building location.) Also note that its been pushed up from its usual June dates to April this time around. So the weekend of April 10 & 11, check out this now legendary event. Admission, $10 for one day, $15 weekend pass. Address: 69th Regiment Armory, 68 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY

Also heads up: if you’re planning on attending, you might want to get there early. Last year the entrance line went way around the block.
http://www.moccany.com/content/mocca-festival

The next event will be at the Bronx Heroes 2 Comic Con May 1st. It’s going to be free admission all day. Main reason why I decided to do this particular con. The date falls close to the six year anniversary of Psycho Bunny’s debut. That’s the first self-published comicbook I’ve put out. In 2004, I was offered a table at New Jersey’s Hawthorne High School Comic Con. The first and only comic I had at the time was Psycho Bunny issue 1. I was the most surprised when people actually brought copies. Haven’t looked back ever since. Good times.

June 10th, Punk Island Art Show, NYC. The location is on Governors Island. Don’t have all the details as of yet. However, I’ll be sure to post them asap.

Punk Island Logo

Last but not least, as they say, will be NESPA in Warwick, Rhode Island. The New England Small Press Expo is on Sunday July 18th, taking place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Only $4.00 bucks to get in.

I’ll probably blog about each event as the dates get closer.