Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Author Michael Watson and illustrator Theresa Chiechi, the creative team behind the historical Lovecraftian comedy-turned-horror comic book series ITHAQA, are collaborating with Wharton Studio Museum, The History Center in Tompkins County, and Buffalo Street Books on two upcoming virtual events in October, which is Silent Movie Month in Ithaca.

On Saturday, October 17th, The History Center in Tompkins County, along with Wharton Studio Museum and Buffalo Street Books, will be hosting a "How To Make Your Own Comic" virtual workshop for kids. From 10:30am-12pm EST, Watson and Chiechi will lead a fun and creative lesson on how comic books are made, and show kids how to team up with each other to share the writing, illustrating, and lettering responsibilities for their own comic book series.

Following the Make Your Own Comic event, there will be a virtual ITHAQA Launch Party for issues #2 and #3 on Saturday, October 24th at 3pm EST. Watson and Chiechi will discuss how they crafted their fantastical Lovecraftian series, which takes place in a historically accurate 1920s Ithaca. Watson will also do a read-along of a section of issues #2 and #3, sharing the pages and art with attendees. Wharton Studio Museum and Buffalo Street Books are cosponsoring the Launch.

"Being forced to cancel my first ever book tour this last spring due to COVID was heartbreaking. But I'm excited to grow the ITHAQA comic community online with these virtual events. And I'm looking forward to meeting the readers who supported our Kickstarter campaign in person once it's safe to do so," said Watson.

"It's exciting to see Ithaca, NY's role in early American moviemaking depicted in a comic book series!" said Diana Riesman, Wharton Studio Museum's Executive Director and Co-Founder. "I've been in touch with Michael for a couple of years about the project and it's wonderful to see it come to fruition, and to know that copies of ITHAQA are flying off the shelf at Buffalo Street Books. I'm glad to have both of these events happening during Silent Movie Month, which Wharton Studio Museum launched in 2012."

The ITHAQA comic book series follows Mookie Smitts, a 1920s filmmaker for Wharton Studios and mischievous conman, who unintentionally discovers the horrible Eldritch Truth of the cosmos while struggling to produce a moving picture, uncovering a secret plot to destroy the Spacetime Continuum. The series is reminiscent of HBO's Lovecraft Country and True Detective, but takes place in the exciting advent of the roaring 20s.

ITHAQA #1 and #2 recently received glowing reviews from esteemed comic book review sites But Why Tho? and AIPT.

"The first two issues of ITHAQA expertly blend horror, humor, and mystery together for an intriguing read, bolstered by standout characterization," writes But Why Tho? reviewer CJ.

"While ITHAQA is independently created, it is executed just as well as any other mainstream comics out there. These creators definitely offer a unique joy from the comics medium that would not have been executed better anywhere else," writes AIPT reviewer Arbaz M. Khan.

Watson first conceived the idea of ITHAQA while studying film at Ithaca College in 2013. After having a nightmare that involved a witch in the woods of Ithaca, buried in black strings, Michael awoke with the desire to write a story involving those ominous black strings. After spending years workshopping the idea, as both a short story, and a screenplay, Watson eventually realized that his vision could only be realized if it was told through the comic book medium. As a backdrop, Watson decided to set his comic series during Ithaca's silent film period in the 1920s, desiring to weave as much real history into the story as possible

"I wanted the world to feel realistic and alive, so I sought out what the history of Ithaca was like in the 1920s," said Watson. "As a film student at the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, I was aware that Ithaca had a silent film studio in the 1910s, and I followed that lead all the way to the Wharton Studio Museum, and its executive director Diana Riesman. In the early phases of my writing and research, I'd ask Diana for photos of Wharton film sets or actors, and ask obscure questions, like 'how did the Whartons store their film?' Diana was very helpful in providing answers, knowledge, and resources about Wharton Studio during that time period."

To create the ITHAQA comic series, Watson set out to bring together a team of fellow horror fans, and he was incredibly lucky to find kindred spirits in Theresa Chiechi, an illustrator from the School of Visual Arts, Lucas Gattoni, a passionate letterer living in Argentina, and his editor, Lisa VillaMil, an actress, playwright and fellow alumnus of Ithaca College.

Watson launched two wildly successful Kickstarter campaigns to fund the printing of the first three issues of the series, which he is self-producing. The ITHAQA Kickstarter campaign was also awarded the coveted "Projects we love" badge from the Kickstarter team. Additionally, Watson brought the first issue to life virtually with full cast read-alongs; the fourth performance is available to view on YouTube.

"The first three issues of ITHAQA have turned out even better than I could have ever possibly imagined. Three years ago, I wondered if I was pushing the story too hard to places that wouldn't be translatable in illustration. I worried that audiences wouldn't understand the world that I had envisioned. Two Kickstarters later, and with some really great reviews under my belt, I'm so happy to find that people are loving my vision for my mad timey-wimey 1920's comic," said Watson.

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