This (expletive deleted) year.
I was still processing (and am still processing) the death of Carl Gafford, my friend of over half a century, when a friend called to let me know Susan Ellison, widow of Harlan Ellison, had died in her sleep. I don’t have the words to express all that’s going through my heart/mind/soul at these losses or any of the many other losses of this pandemic year.
Every day, when I look at my Facebook feed, I’m being informed of friends losing loved ones. Parents. Siblings. Friends. Neighbors. Mentors. Pets. Though these deaths are not all from the Covid-19 coronavirus - some of them are - I can’t help but wonder if the misery of our times isn’t a contributing factor.
We have a totalitarian president whose only concern is for himself and his re-election. I don’t have the time or the energy to write about all the ways he misuses his power to benefit himself and to hurt his political enemies. Which is particularly alarming given he considers anyone who opposes or even questions him to be an enemy.
I am horrified on a daily basis by Trump zombies who believe every damned thing he claims. A neighbor told me Trump has to destroy the Postal Service to prevent voter fraud, which, as sane people know is so small as to be statistically meaningless. Then, the same guy told me that, if Biden and Warren win, I’ll lose my house. Which is not just a falsehood, but a bat-shit-crazy falsehood.
I’m overwhelmingly sad by so many folks in the comics industry (and elsewhere) losing their jobs. I miss going to conventions. I miss seeing my friends and readers at those conventions.
I’m pissed at myself for not accomplishing more during this time of mostly sheltering at home. The wonderful Taylor Swift recorded an entire album during quarantine and had time to school Trump on social media besides. What did I do? I made “things to do” lists. Scratch one thing off those lists.
Some days it was a struggle to find even that one thing that made me happy on a given day in July. But there were things that made me happy and I’m delighted to share them with you...
July 1: Receiving a residual check for my appearance in the season finale of Black Lightning. Maybe the $23.99 won’t pay for more than a nice lunch, but getting a check through SAG-AFTRA is still pretty cool. I’m available for more acting gigs.
[ADDENDUM: I’ve since received a second residual check, bringing my additional earnings up to around $80.]
July 2: My first one-on-one garage sale appointment has been put on the schedule. This was always going to be a tough sell, but I hope more of my regular customers will take advantage of it. Check out my recent blog for details.
[ADDENDUM: I had to delay the start of the garage sales by a week or so. Mostly because I wanted to put even more cool stuff into the sales. Fortunately, I’m now adding items to the sales almost every day. Shoppers will not be disappointed.]
July 3: This tweet by Adam Robinson: “Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands...not being hailed as a modern masterpiece is proof writing a black character as the main character in comics will never get the praise they deserved. And will always play second fiddle in any team book.”
July 4: Tales Through the Marvel Universe. Anthologies of done-in-one, short story super-hero adventures are rare. This celebration of Marvel’s 80th anniversary presents a bunch of terrific ones. I’d love to see more anthologies like this one.
July 5: Our first family dinner (Barb, Eddie, Kelly and me) at my daughter’s beautiful new house. I hid it, but I got a little teary at what a great person she is.
July 6: The Misery Index. Contestants compete by determining which real-life events are more miserable than the other. Barb and I watched an episode On Demand and got a kick out of it. Perhaps the perfect show for our maddening times.
July 7: The Complete Shamnibus from Source Point Press collects the first six issues of this title in which classic and not-so-classic comics stories are hilariously maligned. I liked these rowdy spoofs even more the second time around.
July 8: I’m enjoying Gender Rebels: 50 Influential Cross-Dressers, Impersonators, Name-Changers, and Game-Changers by Anneka Harry on my Kindle. Fascinating people. If I wrote historical fiction, they might well appear in my work.
July 9: Three members of Medina’s City Council are seeking to make masks-wearing mandatory in my at-risk city. Kudos to Ward 3's Eric Heffinger, Ward 1's Jessica Hazeltine and At-Large Councilman Bill Lamb.
[ADDENDUM: Heffinger backed out. However, the issue became moot at the State of Ohio declared masks mandatory.]
July 10: Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki with art by Steve Pugh. A terrific story that’s not remotely in the current DC Comics continuity. Increasingly, that’s a really big plus for me.
July 11: My new friends. Funko sent me two samples of their limited edition Black Lightning figure. I want to thank them and ask them to consider doing a general release Black Lightning figure. I know the fans will love them as much as I do.
July 12: Ghosted in L.A. Volume One by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan and Cathy Le. Combining humor, mystery, relationship drama and some genuinely scary moments, this modern ghost story is great comics. I eagerly await the next volume.
July 13: The Old Guard. A simply terrific and thoughtful super-hero movie. Since I hadn’t read the comic book by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, it was new to me. I liked it so much that I’ve ordered the trades.
July 14: Gerry Conway and Greg Land’s “Because of Her” one-pager in Marvel Comics #1000. Mary Jane Watson’s reminiscences of Gwen Stacy were emotionally rich and satisfying. Well done.
July 15: I began writing the first issue of my new comics universe. It’s different, exciting, fun. I don’t know how long it will take for me to finish the script, how I’m going to get it drawn, how I’m going to get it published. First things first.
[ADDENDUM: Work on this has slowed because I’m uncertain of how an important relationship is being portrayed. I’ll figure it out and get back to writing soon.]
July 16: Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander. The City of Brotherly Love is being taken over by vampires and the former president who leads them. A dead detective and his son stand against them. Make this a movie!
July 17: Savage Sagas #1 with “The Mighty Crom” and “Cave Girl.” My pal Chris Mills is having a ball presenting new stories of public doman heroes with terrific artists like Rick Burchett and Neil D. Vokes. The fun is infectious!
July 18: Fantastic Four Marvels Snapshots by Even Dorkin and Sarah Dyer with artist Benjamin Dewey, color artist Jodie Bellarie and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna. One of the best Human Torch stories of all time.
July 19: My Social Justice League now has a medical adviser. Here he is with Black Lightning, Black Widow and Luke Cage:
July 4: Tales Through the Marvel Universe. Anthologies of done-in-one, short story super-hero adventures are rare. This celebration of Marvel’s 80th anniversary presents a bunch of terrific ones. I’d love to see more anthologies like this one.
July 5: Our first family dinner (Barb, Eddie, Kelly and me) at my daughter’s beautiful new house. I hid it, but I got a little teary at what a great person she is.
July 6: The Misery Index. Contestants compete by determining which real-life events are more miserable than the other. Barb and I watched an episode On Demand and got a kick out of it. Perhaps the perfect show for our maddening times.
July 7: The Complete Shamnibus from Source Point Press collects the first six issues of this title in which classic and not-so-classic comics stories are hilariously maligned. I liked these rowdy spoofs even more the second time around.
July 8: I’m enjoying Gender Rebels: 50 Influential Cross-Dressers, Impersonators, Name-Changers, and Game-Changers by Anneka Harry on my Kindle. Fascinating people. If I wrote historical fiction, they might well appear in my work.
July 9: Three members of Medina’s City Council are seeking to make masks-wearing mandatory in my at-risk city. Kudos to Ward 3's Eric Heffinger, Ward 1's Jessica Hazeltine and At-Large Councilman Bill Lamb.
[ADDENDUM: Heffinger backed out. However, the issue became moot at the State of Ohio declared masks mandatory.]
July 10: Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki with art by Steve Pugh. A terrific story that’s not remotely in the current DC Comics continuity. Increasingly, that’s a really big plus for me.
July 11: My new friends. Funko sent me two samples of their limited edition Black Lightning figure. I want to thank them and ask them to consider doing a general release Black Lightning figure. I know the fans will love them as much as I do.
July 12: Ghosted in L.A. Volume One by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan and Cathy Le. Combining humor, mystery, relationship drama and some genuinely scary moments, this modern ghost story is great comics. I eagerly await the next volume.
July 13: The Old Guard. A simply terrific and thoughtful super-hero movie. Since I hadn’t read the comic book by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, it was new to me. I liked it so much that I’ve ordered the trades.
July 14: Gerry Conway and Greg Land’s “Because of Her” one-pager in Marvel Comics #1000. Mary Jane Watson’s reminiscences of Gwen Stacy were emotionally rich and satisfying. Well done.
July 15: I began writing the first issue of my new comics universe. It’s different, exciting, fun. I don’t know how long it will take for me to finish the script, how I’m going to get it drawn, how I’m going to get it published. First things first.
[ADDENDUM: Work on this has slowed because I’m uncertain of how an important relationship is being portrayed. I’ll figure it out and get back to writing soon.]
July 16: Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander. The City of Brotherly Love is being taken over by vampires and the former president who leads them. A dead detective and his son stand against them. Make this a movie!
July 17: Savage Sagas #1 with “The Mighty Crom” and “Cave Girl.” My pal Chris Mills is having a ball presenting new stories of public doman heroes with terrific artists like Rick Burchett and Neil D. Vokes. The fun is infectious!
July 18: Fantastic Four Marvels Snapshots by Even Dorkin and Sarah Dyer with artist Benjamin Dewey, color artist Jodie Bellarie and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna. One of the best Human Torch stories of all time.
July 19: My Social Justice League now has a medical adviser. Here he is with Black Lightning, Black Widow and Luke Cage:
July 20: Reading the Black Widow Epic Collection: The Black Widow and fondly remembering how the character was developed in the 1960s and early 1970s.
July 21: The Lost Heroes. This 2014 documentary on Canadian comic-book heroes of the 1940s through modern times is one of those cool “how did I not know this” experiences. It’s currently available on Amazon Prime.
July 22: Jeopardy is currently running shows from 1984. Alex Trebek with dark hair and stache on his first episode. “Who is Superman” as an answer on his second, in which all three contestants ended with zero money. Fascinating stuff.
July 23: No Comic-Con in 2020, but only in the sense that it makes me realize how special that event is for me and so many other fans and pros. I’m not sure I can afford to attend in 2021, but I know I want to be there.
July 24: The Complete SIP Kids by Terry Moore. It features the cast of Strangers in Paradise as eight-year olds. Hilarious, twisted and unexpected. I want to see Moore follow this up with Rachel Rising Kids.
July 25: Opening Day for Cleveland Major League Baseball 2020. My daughter Kelly hosted a terrific (but safely small) party and our home team won.
July 26: The outstanding 2020 Eisner Awards Hall of Fame inductees: Nell Brinkley, E. Simms Campbell, Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Stan Sakai, Louise Simonson, Don & Maggie Thompson, Bill Watterson. All most worthy!
July 27: I love it when my Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales start coming together. I have a lot of work to do before tomorrow’s appointment shoppers arrive and before the general sales on Friday and Saturday, but it’s looking great!
July 28: My first day of garage sale appointments was excellent. It was good seeing old customers again and meeting a couple new ones. I even made some money. Woo to the hoo!
July 29: My Social Justice League is growing every week. The newest team member is Gay Pride Batman. Looks like I’m going to need a new display case.
July 30: Idina Menzel singing a personalized theme song on a Geico commercial. If only I can convince Saintly Wife Barb that I really do need my own theme song.
July 31: Punch Bowl Social in Cleveland. I had dinner with friends when it was mostly empty. Staff was top-notch in cleanliness and service. Food was good and not expensive. It has bowling, miniature golf, karaoke and more. I plan to return and do those things when there’s a vaccine.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon with more stuff. Please stay safe and sane in these scary times. Please be excellent to others. Please hope for and vote for the change we so desperately need in our country. Thanks for stopping by.
© 2020 Tony Isabella
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