While I’m still terrified of the menaces that are criminal former president Donald Trump, his insanely rabid followers and the more vile than ever Republican Party, my August was, otherwise, pretty darn good. My garage sales did very well. My Facebook auctions also did very well. I capped off the month with the absolutely wonderful Eastern Rim Funny Book & Vintage Con. I will be writing about that convention in a near-future bloggy thing.
While you’re waiting for that, here are some of the terrific things that made me happy last month...
August 1: Barb and I have been enjoying the second season of Only Murders in the Building. The main cast is as wonderful as ever, as are the crazy twists and turns. Plus fun new supporting characters and the returns of old favorites.
August 2: Ron Fortier and Gary Kato’s Mr. Jigsaw Christmas Special. Published in 2019, it’s 55 pages of full-color, suitable-for-all-ages super-hero fun. Jiggy is one of my favorite comics characters. You can order this special at Amazon.
August 3: Disney’s Jungle Cruise. This adventure/comedy made for an enjoyable two hours. Fun performances from Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall, Paul Giamatti and, especially, Johnson’s pet jaguar Proxima. I have thing for cats of all sizes.
August 4: The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 52nd Edition, 2022-2023. It’s always great to get the new Price Guide, chocked full of comics history and commerce. I got the Butch Guice cover of Winter Soldier. What a terrific artist!
August 5: The Netflix premiere episode of The Sandman erased all my doubts as to whether they could do justice to Neil Gaiman’s classic nay legendary comics epic. It was chilling, evocative and intense.
I’m looking forward to the remaining nine episodes.
August 6: Rokurou Ogaki’s Crazy Food Truck. In a dystopian world, a mysterious man drives a food truck, picks up a one-woman army and defends his few customers from an armed militia. Don’t ask. Just enjoy this insanely entertaining manga.
August 7: Our Little Secret by Emily Carrington is a graphic memoir of being abused as a child and dealing with that. It is a difficult book to read. Though Carrington finds peace at her struggle’s end, it never feels like it’s enough.
August 8: On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took a shot at Warner Bros. Discovery, his new “business daddy,” for its dumping of the Batgirl movie for tax purposes. I laughed out loud, but it was a sad laugh.
August 9: The Sandman. Specifically, Patton Oswalt as Matthew the Raven. I’ve said this before, but every movie and TV series should have a role for Oswalt. If I ever write for either, I’ll do my best to hire him.
August 10: I got a cool new t-shirt. There are several variations of this concept, but this is the one I like the best. Comfortable and formal enough for any event.
August 11: Given the insanity of these times, I felt the need to hire additional legal representation. If it please the court, Ms. Elle Woods with Bruiser.
August 12: Another cool new t-shirt. This is Superman as I like him best. Not yet the boy scout. Dismissive of authority. Dealing with crooked businessmen and politicians like the trash they are. A true champion of the oppressed.
August 13: My beloved Tina Fe is back where she belongs. After too many delays and indignities, my Hyundai Santa Fe SUV is back in my driveway and running well. I’m looking forward to many more con and road trips with my girl.
August 14: I took Barb to lunch at Medina’s Foundry Social. It’s a cool bar/restaurant, brewing company and game place. Good food in big “take some home for another meal” quantities. We want to return when we have time to play the various games.
August 15: I keep discovering great stuff in my Vast Accumulation of Stuff. This weekend’s garage sales will have complete runs of Disney’s DuckTales...in the dollar comics boxes! So many bargains to be found at my sales.
August 16: Another heirloom found in my Vast Accumulation of Stuff. A big roll of stickers for Isabella’s Italian Bread from the family bakery. I’ll use them to seal greeting cards and letters.
August 17: New to me is Man-Eaters by writer Chelsea Cain & artist Kate Niemczyk. I read the first volume last night with my reactions being discomfort and intrigued. Which are fine reasons to continue reading this series.
August 18: Last night’s movie with Barb was The Lost City, starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Brad Pitt and the wonderful Da'Vine Joy Randolph. This comedy-adventure was perfect for our “busy day” relaxation.
August 19: She-Hulk: Attorney-At-Law. The debut was glorious with everything I wanted from the series. Tatiana Maslany is an absolute dream in the title role. Even Saintly Wife Barb enjoyed it and will likely join Eddie and I in watching it.
August 20: This weekend’s Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales were an amazing success with my achieving 144% of my two-day goal. I also got to spend time with some fantastic customers and friends. What an incredible weekend!
August 21: Taking the night off to read Linda Castillo’s Fallen, a recent addition to her Kate Burkholder series. Kate is police chief in a city including the Amish community she left as a teen. Great characters, suspenseful storytelling. Recommended.
August 22: Bonus episodes of The Sandman on Netflix. Both “Dream of a Thousand Cats” and “Calliope” were riveting television, but the former deserves multiple awards while the latter hit home in a most personal way.
August 23: I chatted on ZOOM with a pal of fifty years for a book he’s writing. It was a nice reminder that, despite the bad times in my career, I made a lot of terrific friends who I cherish to this day. I should tell them that often.
August 24: Bad Luck Chuck by Lela Gwenn and Matthew Dow Smith. The title heroine uses her superhuman bad luck for insurance fraud. A bit rough around the edges but it’s a fun comic book. That’s good enough for me.
August 25: Day Shift. Los Angeles vampire hunter needs a big score to keep his family together. Nice performances by Jaime Foxx, Dave Franco and Snoop Dogg. A fun movie with a hilariously high vampire count. I’d be up for a sequel
August 26: Getting to board airplanes early because I’m now using a cane. It’s not something I wanted to be doing, but anything that makes flying even a little easier is a cause for celebration. I’ll still be glad for when I don’t need the cane.
August 27: The Eastern Rim Funny Book & Vintage Con was a glorious event. The venue had plenty of comfortable room for the wonderful guests, vendors and especially the terrific fans. My son and I had a great time. Thanks for inviting me.
August 28: Getting to spend time with Anthony Tollin at the Eastern Rim Funny Book & Vintage Con. An incredibly accomplished man, Tony has been one of my dearest friends for over fifty years. I hope to do many more conventions with him.
August 29: Fitting for a book reprinting the strips from 1974-1976, The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Volume 28 was a psychedelic trip. A great cartoonist gone right-wing ape-shit and still telling wildly entertaining stories.
August 30: Bikini Atoll by writer Christophe Bec and artist Bernard Khattou is a grim and gory graphic novel wherein tourists to that atomic-bombed island are pursued by monstrous mutants. It’s scary and suspenseful and not for the faint of heart.
August 31: Stargirl is the only CW show I watch these days and its third season premiere showed why. So many great characters, led by the optimistic title hero. The chance of redemption for her former foes. And, of course, a murder mystery.
That’s all for now as I resume work on this weekend’s garage sales. But I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2022 Tony Isabella
Thanks. You inspired me to request a loan of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide and Crazy Food Truck.
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