horror

Pumpkinspice is Back Again!

pumpkin-headed demon sprinkling spice on a moonlit night
| Mister Kessell

It’s late August and there’s a slight chill to the air, one of a few signs that my favorite season is near.

Merle the squirrel sniffs the air in autumn as leaves fall

I’m speaking about Fall of course, it’s the best, most spooky season and a time when I really come alive.

comic drawing of a bat boy lying in a pile of orange and red leaves in the woods
This is how I roll

One of the other indications of Autumn’s approach is the return of Pumpkinspice Everything!

a pumpkin headed demon returns to sprinkle pumpkinspice on food products in late august
Pumpkinspice is back! Again. And again and again.

I made this funny illustration five years ago poking fun at this phenomenon. I call it “The Return of Pumpkinspice.” I posted about it here on my blog.

It was both a critique of our consumer culture and an homage to Pumpkinhead, one of my favorite horror films of the 1980s. My illustration had a brief, nearly viral couple of weeks, which was exciting. Seeing something that I thought was funny also being liked and shared by hundreds of other strangers on the internet! Wowzers.

So why am I going on again about this Pumpkinspice thing? Word on the street is that Starbucks has released their Pumpkinspice creations earlier than usual this year. And I am here to continue to ridicule it while also enjoying the trendy flavor of the season.

What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of the spice?

In the years since, I’ve revived Pumpkinspice from time to time, most recently in this Batboy comic from last Fall.

batboy and merle love the smell of pumpkin spice in the fall
Pumpkinspice bringin’ back those spicy pants!

You’ll find this and many other hilarious comics in my latest Batboy Collection, Shvitzin’ to the Small Stuff which is available on Amazon.

Thumbnail of Book cover with Batboy dressed in 1980s gym shorts, leg warmers and headband doing aerobic exercise and sweating puddles. Title of the book is "Shvitzin' to the Small Stuff: Yet another Batboy Comic Collection by M. R. Kessell

Additionally, I have one signed and numbered, limited edition “Return of Pumpkinspice” 11×14 Print available in my Etsy Shop. Grab it now before it’s gone FOREVER!

a pumpkin headed demon sprinkles pumpkin spice on an assortment of coffee and food products
The last 11X14 Print available on Etsy

You can also grab Pumpkinspice as a T-shirt in my Amazon shop, or as a mug or a print here in my Redbubble Shop.

So will we see yet another incarnation of that evil Spice Demon in years to come? Probably, maybe, most definitely, yes!

Until next time, my friends, MAY THE SPICE BE WITH YOU!

M. R. Kessell is a dark artist and a writer/illustrator of silly comics. Check out his portfolio here. You can follow him on Instagram. Stop by and say HEY!

BROOKLYN HORROR CON THIS WEEK!

| Mister Kessell

HEY EVERYBODY! I’m going to keep this post short, I’ve got a lot of work left to do for the Brooklyn Horror Con this Saturday and Sunday. Come down and ENJOY YOURSELF!

I’ll be in the Artists’ Alley with original paintings, prints, mugs, sculptures, and books!

Bela says, “YOU WILL COME TO THE BROOKLYN HORROR CONVENTION, MY CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT!”

You don’t want to let Bela down, do you?

Okay, be there and be square.

Later!

Brooklyn Horror con 2021

| Mister Kessell

GREETINGS, CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT!

I’m super excited to announce that I will be appearing at the first annual Brooklyn Horror Convention October 23rd & 24th 2021. You can find me somewhere in the Artist Alley. I will post more info as it becomes available.

In preparation for my first real convention appearance, I’ve been painting up a storm and having a blast!

Below you can see one of my dear friends who will be attending the convention.

Portrait of Bela Lugosi, Acrylic on 11x14 Canvas Board by M. R. Kessell 2021
Portrait of Bela Lugosi, Acrylic on 11×14 Canvas Board

In addition to my original paintings, I will have an assortment of prints and postcards. Good ol’ Pumpkinspice will be on hand to ruin your pastries and spoil your coffee drinks.

The Return of Pumpkinspice, 11x14 print by M.R. Kessell
Pumpkinspice ruining your breakfast

I will also have a few copies of my illustrated book on hand. Pick one up for the monster kid in your life. I’ll even sign it for you (although that might actually decrease its value.)

If you can’t wait until October, you can order a copy from Amazon, by clicking here!

I’ll be posting more in the upcoming weeks, I’ve got quite a few new artworks to share with you! Hopefully you’ll want to come peep them in person.

I might also do a few posts on the logistical prep as an artist for their first convention appearance. I’m learning a lot and hope the info could be helpful to some of you.

Until next time!

Making A Horror Comic

| Mister Kessell

I’m very excited to share yet another new project that’s been in the works for a while now. I’ve been tasked with drawing a short horror comic by the hilarious and horrifying writer/comedian, Tim Vargulish.

In this latest video I give a little sneak peek of a rough comic book page, the process of setting up a comic page using Clip Studio Paint (which is a breeze, btw) and drawing a finished panel.

If you’re interested in drawing comics yourself, I highly recommend this software.

Aside from that, I’m jazzed to have illustrated the cover for Krampus Tales: A Killer Anthology, which will be available on November 24th! Check it out and maybe get yourself a copy.

Krampus creature steps out of doorway into a dark snowy night with basket on his back.

I’ve also just realized that I haven’t shared anything about my Halloween this year. Despite the nearly apocalyptic conditions, we did enjoy the holiday. I’ll cover it in more detail in my next blog post.

By the way, are you on Twitter? Why not join me for some laughs and whatnot.

Until next time!

Halloween Creeps

| Mister Kessell

This will be a short post, I need to claw my way back through the hot glue spider webs and continue working on my two separate Halloween costumes.

Blue monster with horns has a belly ache
This monster has eaten too much candy already.

I’ve also been working on a Halloween party playlist. I’m currently at 10 hours of music and still open to suggestions. Let me know if I missed anything.

If you’re a fan of horror movie themes, spooky novelty songs, dark punk, zombie surf, and rib cage percussion ensembles (I made that last one up) then you might enjoy this. It’s over on Spotify.

Until next time!

Krampus Tales Cover Reveal

| Mister Kessell

Finally, I can share some new art with you!

I started this project early in 2020, just before the…unpleasantness, but it feels like three years ago at this point. It’s been difficult for me to keep this under wraps for so long, I just wanted to burst!

I was tasked with creating the cover artwork for a holiday horror anthology to be released by Jazz House Publications.

Krampus Tales: A Killer Anthology will feature various talented authors and is scheduled for release on November 24th, so mark your calendars.