THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN FEBRUARY

We’re sixty-six days into 2021. I wish I could say it feels like a brand new year, but we’re still dealing with so much of the trash left behind by Trump and the Republican Party. We’re also dealing with the additional garbage they are tossing into our government, media, social media and streets. I can’t even begin to understand how someone can consider themselves a decent human being and still support those vile people. Perhaps the real viruses plaguing us are the diseases of bigotry, greed and ignorance.

There’s a pattern to these monthly “happy” columns of mine. I talk about what’s making angry, anxious, depressed and frustrated. But, perhaps it’s my learning so many of values from the core values of the greatest comics characters back when they were actually great comics characters and not the twisted versions of themselves produced by folks who don’t understand heroism and that the super-hero genre is, by its very nature, supposed to lean towards optimism.

I long for that day when I can start one of these monthly “happy” columns by telling you how my country and my industry and my world are being their best selves. Until that day, I hold on to my hopes for the future. Until that day, on every day, I seek something that makes me happy.

Here are the things that made me happy in February...

February 1: God Country by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw. Fantasy is a hard sell with me, but this tale of an old man, his family and an alarmingly powerful sword touched my feels. A done-in-one graphic novel that I recommend most highly.
                                                                                 

February 2: I’m being name-dropped Pab Sungenis’ New Adventures of Queen Victoria comic strip. I have no idea where this storyline is going, but I am...quite amused.

February 3: I appear ever so briefly in the official trailer for Marvel’s Behind the Mask, a documentary debuting exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, February 12. I was flown to NYC a few years back to be interviewed for the feature.

                                                                                  

February 4: Cowgirls Vs. Pterodactyls. Currently streaming for free on Amazon Prime, this low-budget movie is 73 minutes of good goofy fun. Feisty heroines, stop-motion pterodactyls and narration by the legendary Martine Beswick.

February 5: Casa Isabella Renovation. We’ve started clearing out my son’s old bedroom. Needs painting, carpet removal and new floors. It will become my new and more efficient home office.

February 6: All-Father Tony has decreed that my son Eddie is worthy to wield the power of...the Marvel Thor Mjolnir Meat Tenderizer! I imagine his future grilling will be the stuff of legend!

February 7: Saintly Wife Barb signed me up for a Covid-19 vaccine shot at Discount Drug Mart in Medina. Now the wait begins.

February 8: The Black Scorpion. I watched it again on Svengoolie. Budget woes aside, it’s a fun feature starring Mara Corday. Yes, I have a crush on her. Yes, I’d love to do an expanded graphic novel adaptation of this movie.

                                                                              

February 9: Black Lightning’s back. No spoilers, but the fourth and final season premiere made Saintly Wife Barb and I gasp. Can’t wait to see where this leads.

February 10: Rumiko Takahashi’s Maison Ikkoku Volume 2. Rereading one of my favorite manga series, I’m struck by how much individual chapters rank with our best sitcoms. If there’s an anime or, better yet, live-action version, I need to watch them.

February 11: Getting a fan message from a 13-year kid from Dublin, Ireland. So nice to know my dedication to my craft has impacted a young man across an ocean. I hope I get to meet him and his father someday.

                                                                               

February 12: Raspberry creme Kit Kat miniatures. Early Valentine’s gift from Saintly Wife Barb. Do not read anything sinister into her giving a bag of candy to her (type 2) diabetic husband. Just think about the deliciousness.

February 13: Switching gears thanks to a link from Bob Ingersoll’s daughter, I’ve an actual appointment for my first Covid-19 vaccine shot at the local Rite Aid pharmacy. Next Wednesday starts my road to someday attending conventions again.

                                                                               

February 14: Marvel’s Behind the Mask (Disney+). A fine documentary that covers a lot of ground in its slightly over an hour running time. My thanks to the filmmakers for including me. It was a true
privilege to be a part of it.

February 15: Marvel’s Behind the Mask. I enjoyed seeing the foreign translation credits for the actors who did my voice in their own languages. It’d be cool to connect with them in the future.

                                                                                  

                                                                       

February 16: Clarice. Rebecca Breeds was great in the first episode of this series, which picks up the story of FBI Agent Starling a year after Silence of the Lambs. Looking forward to more.

February 17: I got my first Moderna vaccine shot at our Rite-Aid in Medina. Quick process. Sore arm. Nasty side effects showing up late in the day. Still a lot better than getting the Covid-19 virus or, y’know, dying from it.

February 18: Houston’s Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, sheltering and feeding people without power and head at his furniture store. He’s even providing entertainment for the kids.

                                                                                  

February 19: “Yardi Gras” in New Orleans. Since the pandemic made holding the usual street parade and celebrations unwise, folks took to decorating their homes in the style of those wonderful floats. Creativity and determination rule the day.

                                                                                 

February 20: The Phantom is the newest addition to my ever-growing Social Justice League of the World. For adding one of my favorite comics character to its line, I thank Funko Pop!

                                                                            

February 21: Cool Beans Café. Medina’s annual Ice Festival is going on this weekend and this popular eatery has one of the greatest ice sculptures in the history of the festival.

February 22: This Twitter wisdom from Heather Antos: “Men need to stop seeing therapy as emasculating, or else the people closest to them are going to bear the brunt of their trauma.” I responded: “A thousand times this. Even indirectly.”

February 23: Sgt. Clean Car Wash in Medina. This veteran-owned and operated business isn’t the least expensive car wash in the city, but they do great work quickly. Tina Fe (my Hyundai Santa Fe SUV) has never looked better.

                                                                                      

February 24: Mike Richards, executive producer of Jeopardy and its current guest host. He’s doing a great job. As much as Saintly Wife Barb and I are Team Ken Jennings, we’d have a tough time choosing between these two hosts for the permanent spot.

February 25: On The Daily Show for February 23, Roy Wood Jr did a fascinating segment on groundbreaking Black journalists. I’ve got to learn more about these writers.

February 26: Fly Me to the Moon by Kenjiro Hata. Boy meets girl. Boy gets hit by truck. Girl saves boy, then shows up at his home with a marriage contract. Three volumes in, I’m totally loving this funny and heartwarming manga series.

                                                                                 

February 27: Flash Facts. Edited by Mayim Bialik, PhD, this spiffy book offers ten tales of science and technology in comics form and narrated by DC Comics characters. Fun and informative for all ages.

February 28: Rediscovering an old favorite in David Hine’s District X. The early 2000s series was a police procedural with Bishop and a non-mutant detective investigating crimes in a NYC neighborhood with a high mutant population. Great stuff that should be adapted for television.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2021 Tony Isabella

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2020: Part Five

Welcome to yet another installment of my 2020's Free Comic Book Day reviews. My pals at Stormwatch Comics in West Berlin, New Jersey send me these FCBD comics so I can read and write about them in the bloggy thing. Only twice have I actually reached my goal of reading and writing about all the FCBD comics available in a given year. Maybe this time I’ll three-peat that achievement. I think I can do it, but it’ll take me until sometime in mid-2021 to complete this particular mission.

When I read and review FCBD comics, I look at three areas.

QUALITY: Is the material worthwhile?

ACCESSIBILITY: Is the material presented in such a way that someone coming to it for the first time can follow it?

SALESMANSHIP: After reading the FCBD offering, would someone want and be able to buy more of the same?

I score FCBD offerings on a scale of zero to ten. Each category is worth three points with the tenth point coming from my interest in seeing more of what’s ever in the book.

John Patrick Green’s InvestiGators Take the Plunge Sneak Peek [01: First Second] presents the first three chapters of a graphic novel aimed at kids 7-10. In a story replete with puns and corny jokes, we learn the title characters work for S.U.I.T. (Special Undercover Investigations Teams), wear vests that are actually Very Exciting Spy Technology, are prone to mistakes and have an arch-enemy who is a mix of crocodile and saltine cracker. The arch-enemy’s name is Crackerdile.

QUALITY: Pretty good. Neither the writing nor art is sophisticated, but young readers will enjoy this goofy series. This giveaway comic include a handful of puzzle pages.

ACCESSIBILITY: Between the inside front cover test and the writing, no one should have difficulty getting into this series.

SALESMANSHIP: Good. While there aren’t a lot of ads for this title and other First Second books, the ones that appear will be useful for readers who enjoy the issue and want more of the same.

SCORE: Nine points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                                      

Invincible #1 [Image/Skybound] reprints the inaugural issue of the “coming soon to Prime Video” super-hero book from way back in 2003. It’s written and lettered by Robert Kirkman, drawn by Cory Walker and colored by Bill Crabtree. Here’s the Wikipedia summary of the series:

Invincible is the son of Omni-Man, an extraterrestrial superhero of the Viltrumite race. Invincible inherited his father's superhuman strength and ability to fly and he has sworn to protect the Earth. As a teenager he had trouble adjusting to his newfound powers and coping with the reality of his origins.

QUALITY: The issue is well-written and well-drawn. Not spectacular, but mostly fun and quite entertaining. I qualify the “fun” part of it because it opens with the young hero killing a villain. Though that might be justifiable from time to time, it didn’t seem to be  so here.

ACCESSIBILITY: Being a first issue, a reader gets in on the start.You get just enough background to get into the series. There will be more information down the line.

SALESMANSHIP: Good. There’s a page listing the various Invincible collections, plenty of cool information on the animated series, and a back cover ad for another Kirkman creation.

SCORE: Eight points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                              

Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics by Tom Scioli [Ten Speed Press] features a 21-page excerpt from a graphic biography of the legendary creator. Scioli makes no secret of his respect for Kirby, citing Kirby’s work as how he learned to do comics himself. The excerpt is choppy, but fun.

QUALITY: The excerpt is very Kirby-centric, minimizing the creative role Joe Simon played in some of their joint creations, but still very well done.

ACCESSIBILITY: Between Scioli’s loving introduction and the story excerpt, this comic book is easy to get into.

SALESMANSHIP: Impressive. Ten Speed Press is an imprint of Random House. This issue has several pages of house ads pitching graphic novels and other books.

SCORE: Ten points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                                     

Lady Mechanika FCBD 2020 [Benitez Productions] is the annual Free Comic Book Day offering from creator, writer, artist and publisher Joe Benitez. The title character is the sole survivor of an insane scientist’s experiments, horrific experiments that left the woman with mechanical limbs. This issue features 25 pages of excerpts from three different Lady M series.

QUALITY: Every year for as long as I can remember, I have praised the quality of the Lady Mechanika art, stories and writing. Every year, I vow to read the whole series from start to the most recent. Every year, I fail to fulfill that vow. I really hope I can fulfill the vow this year. It’s not like I’m going to any conventions for the next several months.

ACCESSIBILITY: Excellent. Now I may not be the best judge of this because I’ve been reading these FCBD Lady Mechanika comics for more than a few years, but I recall being able to follow the character from the first one without any problem.

SALESMANSHIP: Excellent. Four pages of house ads will direct you to all of the Lady Mechanika series.

SCORE: Ten points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                            

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess by Akira Himekawa (Viz) was always going to be a hard sell for me. I generally don’t like comic books based on role-playing games or video games. I especially do not like comic books that try to emulate these things and make the asinine assumption that making characters more powerful is somehow the equivalent of interesting character development. And, yes, I am thinking of DC Comics’ most recent abysmal examples of how much the publisher and its writers neither appreciate or remotely understand my creation Black Lightning.

This FCBD issue starts with an 18-page excerpt that starts with the protagonist proclaiming how powerful he has become and doesn’t get any better from there. That’s followed by 14 pages of intended-to-be-humorous “Special Weapons Training” gags.

QUALITY: Minimal at best. The art isn’t bad, but the writing never becomes interesting.

ACCESSIBILITY: Almost non-existent. After reading this comic book, I still had no clue who the characters were or what it was about.

SALESMANSHIP: Two pages of house ads for comics/products relating to the featured excerpts. They weren’t convincing.

SCORE: One point out of a possible ten points.

That’s all for this session of Free Comic Book Day reviews. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
     
© 2021 Tony Isabella

TONY'S TIPS #334

 

It’s been several months since I’ve returned to my signature review column. Blogging in general became more difficult for me in 2020, a sad situation that has continued into 2021. I’m hoping to get my head back in the game.

I’m making some changes to this feature. While it will maintain its format of an introduction and three reviews, from here on in, those three reviews will be of books I feel are worthy of winning or at least being nominated for comics industry awards. The best of the best, so to speak. While I’d be ecstatic to present a new “Tony’s Tips” every week, that will be determined by the number of award-deserving books I read.

Let’s get right into the first of today’s reviews...

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf [Abrams ComicArts; $24.99] was named one of the best books of 2020 by the New York Times, Forbes, NPR, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and probably other prestigious publications. It’s also a 2021 ALA/YALSA Alex Award Winner for Teen Readers and Adult Books. It is deserving of all those honors and more.

This 250-page graphic novel is an amazingly-researched and verified account of state-sanctioned murder. I was working for the Cleveland Plain Dealer when this went down and, even so, I was chilled to the bone as I learned things I hadn’t known back then, things covered up by the authorities and the newspaper.

This is a work that demands your full attention. Backderf unfolds the story in incredible detail. He brings that detail to all these characters: students, university authorities, National Guardsmen and state authorities. He cuts through the misinformation spread by the authorities and the media. He brings the horror home, backing up his graphic novel with 25 pages of additional notes. In 1971, I suspected there was something off in the reporting I was reading. In 2021, I now know there was.

Kent State is a must-have for comic art afficionados, for readers interested in contemporary American history and for students from middle school, high school and beyond. It should be in every home, public and school library. It should be taught in history classes. That it deserves comics industry recognition goes without saying. Kudos to a cartoonist who always goes above and beyond my expectations.

ISBN 978-1419734847

                                                                           

I don’t think there’s a comics industry awards category for comics-related novels, but I do believe there should be. Some incredible comics-centric stories are being told in prose and they should be recognized as such.

Hench [A Novel] by Natalie Zina Walschots [William Morrow; $27.99] would be one of my nominees for such an honor. This is the starting point for this character-driven story:

Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy?

When Hench opens, she’s a temp. Her first promising assignment puts in the middle of a super-hero/super-villain battle that leaves her seriously injured and without a job. She uses her downtime to look at the effect of super-hero activity on the world. Her conclusions are that the heroes are worse than the villains, and she makes one heck of a case for that.

This leads Anna to a new job working for a villain considered one of the worst. It leads her to new responsibilities for an employer who values her. It’s an intriguing story that challenges the usual “hero good, villain bad” dichotomy. If, indeed, any of the book’s characters can be considered good.

Hench has difficult sequences. If you’re preferred super-hero tales are all black and white with no shades of grey, you probably won’t like this novel. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something edgier that doesn’t debase existing super-heroes, you might enjoy this book as much as I did.

ISBN 978-0-06-297857-8

                                                                              

Invisible Differences: A Story of Asperger’s, Adulting and Living a Life in Full Color by Mademoiselle Caroline and Julie Dachez [Oni Press; $19.99] is the first English translation of a entertaining, informative and remarkable story. In this autobiography, we see the day-to-day life of a young woman with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Marguerite isn’t aware of her Asperger’s until she’s already on her own and in a relationship with a boyfriend who is as clueless as I fear many of us would be in such circumstances and without knowing his girlfriend’s condition and confusion. I didn’t find him to be likeable, but I did find him to be relatable. Many of us don’t know how to react to things that don’t affect us directly.

Marguerite, on the other hand, emerges as someone much more than is apparent as she begins to find her story and her way. Maybe this is a SPOILER WARNING, but I loved reading how she made changes to make her life what she needed it to be.

The overall question Invisible Differences asks is why people don’t understand autistic people. As with so many things, the answer to that question is a lack of knowledge and, in too many cases, a lack of empathy. Knowledge you can get from this uplifting, wonderful comics work. Empathy is something we have to find within ourselves. Both goals are well worth pursuing.

ISBN 978-1-62010-766-0

I hope you enjoyed this new installment of “Tony’s Tips!” While I don’t have a regular schedule for new installments, I will try to do them at least once a month.

I’ll be make with more bloggy stuff soon. Stay safe, stay sane and keep reading comics. After all, for the most part, they’re good for you. See you soon.

© 2021 Tony Isabella

MANGA REVIEWS

 

Manga is as large a part of my comics reading as any other kind of comics or graphic novels. I’m currently re-reading Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi in Collector’s Editions ($24.99 per volume) from Viz Media. I’m discovering anew why the series continues to be one of my comics series of all time. Here’s a brief synopsis of Maison Ikkoku from Amazon:

Yusaku Godai didn’t get accepted into college on the first try, so he’s studying to retake the entrance exams. But living in a dilapidated building full of eccentric and noisy tenants is making it hard for him to achieve his goals. Now that a beautiful woman has moved in to become the new resident manager, Godai is driven to distraction!

Maison Ikkoku is a romantic situation comedy with a slightly crazed cast of characters. Manager Kyoko Otonashi is a widow who was much younger than her late husband. She’s remained close to his family. They own the apartment building. She’s just a bit older than Godai. As the series opens, her only serious relation is with a dog named after her husband.

The tenants are the proverbial wacky neighbors. A noisy mother with a young son. A flighty young woman. A creepy neighbor who cuts an opening into the wall between his apartment and Godai’s, mostly so he can steal Godai’s food.

Godai is smitten with Kyoko from the start. She is also developing feelings for him, though she’s not quite ready to realize that is what’s happening. Godai has a rival for her affections in the form of a handsome older tennis instructor. There’s also a young woman who sees Godai as marriage material.

The individual stories have hilarious situations and quite a bit of heart. In one of my favorite episodes, an inebriated Godai agrees to take care of a friend’s dog for a few days. This is against the building rules, so he has to do it on the sly. Coincidentally, the dog is named Kyoko. When the dog gets loose, Godai and his neighbors go looking for him. Whenever they call the dog by name, the manager thinks they’re calling for her. No exaggeration, I was laughing out loud as I read this story.

I recommend Maison Ikkoku to...everyone!

Maison Ikkoku Collector's Edition Vol. 1:

ISBN 978-1974711871

Maison Ikkoku Collector's Edition Vol. 2:

ISBN 978-1974711888

Maison Ikkoku Collector's Edition Vol. 3 (due in mid-March):

ISBN 978-1974711895                                                        

                                                                            

                     
Masao Otake’s Hinamatsuri is a seinen manga series, which means it is marketed toward young adult males. The series follows a yakuza member name of Yoshifumi Nitta who is a kind of sort of “father” to  Hina, a young girl with telekinetic powers who inexplicably showed up in his apartment. It’s eventually revealed that Nina is a girl from the future when other powered girls from the future show up to bring her back or terminate her. It’s a crime family comedy which changes gears at Otake’s fancy.

I got Hinamatsuri Volume 5-7 [One Peace Books; #11.95 each] from my local library system. In Volume 5, Anzu, one of the powered girls from the future, has ended her mission to kill Hina and is unable to return to the future. She’s taken in by a homeless man and much of this book concerns her efforts to make a good life for him and the other people who live in a homeless camp with them. In Volume 6, Hitomi, Hina’s middle school classmate, befriends her. Hitomi is ridiculously kind-hearted, never turns down a request for help and is a natural at whatever she attempts. Which somehow leads to her working as a bartender after school. That she’s amazing at that job does not prevent hilarity from ensuing.

One never knows where Hinamatsuri will go next. Volume 7 ends with a change in the relationship between Hina and Nitta that caught me completely off-guard. I can’t wait to see what happens as a result of this change.

There are a dozen volumes in Hinamatsuri. I’m looking forward to enjoying the second half of this fun manga.

Hinamatsuri Volume 5:

ISBN 978-1642730319

Hinamatsuri Volume 6:

ISBN 978-1642730326

Hinamatsuri Volume 7:

ISBN 978-1-64273-056-2

                                                                            

Kenjiro Hata’s Fly Me to the Moon [Viz; $9.99] does not proceed at a lightning pace. Newlyweds Nasa and Tsukasa have been together for the three volumes I’ve wed and they’ve not gone beyond the cuddling and the kissing. Yet that’s part of the charm of the series, seeing these innocents grow together as a couple. From Wikipedia:

On a snowy winter night, Nasa Yuzaki, a boy with a peculiar name, encounters a beautiful girl after he received his practice exam grades for high school. When he tries to talk to her, he gets hit by a truck. After the girl saves him, Nasa miraculously follows her at a bus stop and he confesses his love for her. The girl, Tsukasa Tsukuyomi, agrees to become his girlfriend, but only if they are married first. When Nasa, who had previously decided to not go to high school in order to look for Tsukasa, reaches his 18th birthday, he is still thinking about the promise he made on that night. Suddenly, Tsukasa shows up at his doorstep with a marriage form, starting their relationship and their marriage.

Tsukasa is a woman of mystery. She has strange understated powers. She might be some sort of moon goddess or royalty. Yet she’s happy with the simplest of accommodations. When Nasa meets some members of her family (or perhaps her royal retinue?), the mystery deepens. Of course, as we see in the third volume of the series, Nasa’s own family is a little off as well. I’m enjoying the gentleness, humor and romance of this series.

Fly Me to the Moon won’t be for every manga reader. But, if you’re looking for something different than action and battle manga, this series might make for a nice change of pace.

Fly Me to the Moon Volume 1

ISBN 978-1974717491

Fly Me to the Moon Volume 2

ISBN 978-1974717507

Fly Me to the Moon Volume 3

ISBN 978-1974717514

That’s all for today. I’ll be back soon with more stuff as I work my way back to more regular blogging.

© 2021 Tony Isabella

CLEARLY...

 ...I have not yet been able to get the bloggy thing back on a frequent schedule. Lots of reasons that I won't go into at present. But that's still the goal. Thanks for your patience. Stay safe, stay sane, and keep looking for joy in your daily life.

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN JANUARY

 

It’s a new year with a new president and a new Congress and all of the same difficulties and problems that plagued us last year. But there are good people working to ease those difficulties and solve those problems. We have role models. We have friends. We have hope. We have things that bring us joy.

Here are the things that made me happy in January...

January 1: I beat 2020. It took some last shots at me. I slipped on driveway ice and banged up my knees. I got bit by a spider. But I made it to 2021. Just in time to watch the Confederate Party try to end democracy as we know it. I refuse to be 2021's bitch.

January 2: We Can Be Heroes. A great fun for the whole family movie in which the children of captured super-heroes must step up to save the world. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, this movie is worth watching more than once.
                                                                                

January 3: Heroes at Home by Zeb Wells with artist Gurihiru. This 80-page, approximately 5" by 5" book, is a hilarious look at Marvel heroes (Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk and Venom) in Quarantine. The $10 price gave me pause, but the stories are LOL funny and suitable for readers 10 and up.

January 4: Last night’s “The Dad-Feelings Limited” episode of The Simpsons was a rare positive Comic Book Guy story. Even the title characters shone. I’d like to see more of CBG and his wife Kumiko in future stories.

January 5: After being gone for a year, Amazon gift cards are back at Medina’s Giant Eagle. That’s extra savings for me, since buying them adds to my Giant Eagle fuel and grocery perks.
                                                                                    

January 6: Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books by Ken Quattro. An important and interesting addition to our knowledge of not merely Black comics artists but comics history in general. Quattro’s research and dedication to accuracy is amazing!

January 7: Georgia. The state that has now given us a chance to fix the harm done to our country by the seditionist Donald J. Trump and the Confederate Party that enabled him. I love Georgia and hope to visit there as soon as possible.

January 8: ABC’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune was hilarious fun with a wonderful charitable purpose. Kudos to Pat, Vanna, Leslie Jones, Chandra Wilson and Tony Hawk for one of the best television hours ever. More please.
                                                                                    

January 9: The Other History of the DC Universe Book One by John Ridley with Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Cucchi and José Villarrubua.This is the first authentic portrayal of Black Lightning in comic books since my Cold Dead Hands concluded. It’s brilliant.

January 10: The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers for their first playoff win in 26 seasons. This despite a number of key players and the coach missing the game.
                                                                                

January 11: Amazon for streaming Grizzly II: Revenge in time for me to cancel my order for a DVD of this truly awful movie. I know it’s hard to believe, but even I have standards.

January 12: Binge-watched the last six episodes of Swamp Thing and enjoyed them quite a bit. Some story lines seemed rushed, but there’s so much potential for the second season we will likely never see. Maybe this is a thing that makes me mostly happy?

January 13: Ken Jennings as guest host on Jeopardy. He has a deep respect for Alex Trebek, an obvious love for the game, a spritely sense of humor and an understanding of what the contestants face. I could see him as the permanent host.
                                                                                    

January 14: Covid Chronicles by Ethan Sacks and Dalibor Talajic. Ten gripping personal accounts from the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally distributed online by NBC News, these stories  explore the scope of the health credit. No sensationalism. Honest journalism. Great comics.  

January 15: WandaVision. Two episodes in and I’m hooked. Terrific performance by Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany. Honestly funny and eerily suspenseful. This is going to be a wild ride.
                                                                                

January 16: Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. I’m surprised, too. A sane and even compassionate Batman. A great ending I never saw coming. This series doesn’t need a sequel, but  I’d love to see more Batman stories like this one.

January 17: CNN’s The Faces of the Trump Insurrection. Absolutely chilling look at violent madness. This is not a time for unity and forgiveness. Those things can only come once justice has been done from Trump on down.
                                                                               
January 18: Batwoman. The second season opener introduced Javicia Leslie as new Batwoman Ryan Wilder, cut short the already tiresome Tommy Elliott story and created a new and most intriguing dynamic  for the series. I’m on board.
                                                                                 

January 19: Peter Wolf’s Ronald Rump The Poor Little Rich Brat #2. The perfect comic book to read on the last full day of a four-year national nightmare. A hilarious tale that takes us to the past and the future.  

January 20: President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris. Lady Gaga. Jennifer Lopez. Amanda Gorman. Another chance to get it right  and make it so much better. Truth counts. Love counts. Inclusion counts. Decency counts.

January 21: Celebrating America. What an outstanding way to cap the inaugurations of President Biden and Vice-President Harris! I was brought to tears by the performances, the speeches and the return of hope to my country.

January 22: I have a great many friends who some would not expect to be my friends. I am grateful for their friendship and that I’m part of their worlds. Love is love.
                                                                                   

January 23: The Bernie Sanders meme and that my dear friend - just check out the photo of us at a comics convention - has such a good sense of humor about them.

January 24: Saintly Wife Barb emptied out and defrosted our large basement freezer with only minimal help from me. We were appalled at how much food we’d wasted, but have vowed to be better at this going forward.
                                                                               

January 25: Jackie Chan’s The Spy Next Door. From 2010, a family-friendly movie with a wee trace of edge. Chan’s physical comedy is delightful and even the well-telegraphed sentimental bits worked.
It was fun. Most times, that’s all I need from a movie.

January 26: Jen Psaki. First White House Press Secretary I haven’t wanted to punch in the face in four years. Articulate, forthright, honest and witty.
                                                                                

January 27: Alter Ego #166. Featuring Golden and Silver Age comics legend Kurt Schaffenberger! Mark Voger’s wonderful remembrance of his friendship with the Schaffenbergers! A sensationally obsessive Alex Ross! Yet another fantastic issue from editor Roy Thomas and TwoMorrows Publishing.

January 28: Resident Alien. The always brilliant Alan Tudyk is, of course, brilliant in the title role. Based on the great comic book by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, the pilot was both foreboding and hilarious. I’m on board.

January 29: The MCU’s Dr. Darcy Lewis (portrayed by Kat Dennings) is insanely wonderful. Her appearance in WandaVision set a higher bar for the already great series. I want a Darcy Lewis spin-off TV series and comic book. Like right now.
                                                                              
January 30: Lady Gaga Oreos. Pink cookies with green frosting. I love Lady Gaga. I love Oreos. I love “variant editions” of cookies and other edibles. Do the math.                                                                                                                                                           
January 31: Terry Beatty’s Rex Morgan makes its third appearance on the list with the current diabetes storyline. As a type 2 diabetic, I’ve faced many of the same fears and struggles. Here’s hoping our pal Buck comes to grips with his diabetes.

If you don’t want to wait until the end of the month to see things that made me happy, I post them daily on my various Facebook pages and on Twitter. I have four Facebook pages (my personal page, Tony Isabella’s Authentic Black Lightning Group, Kaiju Cathedral and The Official Tony Isabella Message Board). You can find me on Twitter by going to @thetonyisabella.

That’s all for today, my friends. Stay safe, stay sane and always search for joy.

© 2021 Tony Isabella

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2020: Part Four

Welcome to yet another installment of my 2020's Free Comic Book Day reviews. My pals at Stormwatch Comics in West Berlin, New Jersey send me these FCBD comics so I can read and write about them in the bloggy thing. Only twice have I actually reached my goal of reading and writing about all the FCBD comics available in a given year. Maybe this time I’ll three-peat that achievement. I think I can do it, but it’ll take me until sometime in mid-2021 to complete this particular mission.

When I read and review FCBD comics, I look at three areas.

QUALITY: Is the material worthwhile?

ACCESSIBILITY: Is the material presented in such a way that someone coming to it for the first time can follow it?

SALESMANSHIP: After reading the FCBD offering, would someone want and be able to buy more of the same?

I score FCBD offerings on a scale of zero to ten. Each category is worth three points with the tenth point coming from my interest in seeing more of what’s ever in the book.

Leading us off today is Disney Masters: Donald Duck [Fantagraphics Books] featuring three stories. Donald stars in “It’s Bats, Man” by John Lustig with artist William Van Horn. Uncle Scrooge stars in “Much Ado About Telepathy” by writer Evert Geradts with art by Mau Heymans. Finally, we get the first appearance of Fethry Duck in a story by classic Duck creators Dick Kinney (writer) and Al Hubbard (artist).

QUALITY: Three excellent stories. In the Lustig tale, Donald is a master of pest control. Like others in the “Master series” over the years, Don is incredibly skilled at this job until one wee mishap destroys him. The Scrooge story has Uncle McDuck trying to acquire a rare animal with amazing powers. Finally, while I’ve not been a fan of Fethry Duck, his initial appearance was terrific fun.

ACCESSIBILITY: Donald and Scrooge are so well-known that it would be quite difficult to tell a story about either of them that wasn’t very accessible.

SALESMANSHIP: Very good. The issue has four pages of ads for Disney collections from Fantagraphics with enough information on each that I want to read them all. SCORE: Ten points out of a possible ten points. That’s a great way to start today’s column.

                                                                          

Donut the Destroyer by Sarah Graley and Stef Purenins [Graphix} has a premise that just plain tickles me. The title character wants to be a super-hero, even though her parents are super-villains. Quite infamous super-villains at that, though that doesn’t prevent them for allowing their daughter to go to Lionheart, which trains young heroes. Donut’s parents would rather she go to Skullfire, a school for young villains, they are at least okay with her following her own path. I love this concept.

QUALITY: First-rate. We get the first 28 pages of what I assume is a graphic novel. The writing and cartoony art are welcoming. I am definitely interested in reading more.

ACCESSIBILITY: This excerpt brought me completely into the story. Once again, first-rate.

SALESMANSHIP: Good. There are inside front and back cover house ads for several other Graphix books with the back cover being used to promote Donut the Destroyer and its creators.

SCORE: Ten points out of a possible ten points. I just can’t think of anything this FCBD issue could have done better.

                                                                                

Fire Power #1 by Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee [Image] presents 30 pages of comics by that distinguished creative team plus related text material and covers. However, the story here picks up fifteen years after the previous material collected in Fire Power Volume 1: Prelude.

QUALITY: It’s a quiet introduction to Fire Power, one that focuses  on Owen Johnson’s family life. Yet it’s very well told with enough intriguing bits to pique my interest.

ACCESSIBILITY: Though this issue follows the graphic novel prelude, the reader is given enough information to follow along.

SALESMANSHIP: All the salesman ship is for Fire Power. The comics, the text material, the back cover ad for the prelude. Did it work? Well, I’ve ordered the prelude, so...

SCORE: Nine points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                                 

Eric Powell’s Hillbilly: The Lizard of Rusty Creek Cave [Albatross Funnybooks] is not a comic book I would have given a thought to if it had not been a FCBD giveaway. I have an aversion to comics named for what I consider insults. I hope you understand that I’ll not be naming examples here. The cover copy of this FCBD book says “There are many takes of Rondel the Wandering Hillbilly, but this one is free!” If I had to describe it, the best shorthand description that I could devise would be “backwoods fantasy.”

QUALITY: First-rate. In a village where a child is sacrificed to a giant serpent every year, young Geraldine thinks there must be some better way. What follows is her quest, her gaining understanding and a satisfying conclusion and moral.

ACCESSIBILITY: Excellent. This story is easy to get into and easy to follow. A great introduction to the title.

SALESMANSHIP: Very good. The issue has house ads for the Hillbilly trade collections and other Albatross publications. I’m planning to request the Hillbilly volumes from my local library system.

SCORE: Ten points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                                  

Horizon Zero Dawn #0 [Titan Games] is based on a video game. I am not a gamer and have a particular bias against comic books based on games. I tell you that up front. Here’s some Wikipedia information on this game:

Horizon Zero Dawn is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The plot follows Aloy, a young hunter in a world overrun by machines, who sets out to uncover her past. The player uses ranged weapons, a spear, and stealth to combat mechanical creatures and other enemy forces. A skill tree provides the player with new abilities and bonuses. The player can explore the open world to discover locations and take on side quests. It was released for the PlayStation 4 in 2017 and Microsoft Windows in 2020.

QUALITY: The premise is a good one. The characters, writing and art  are okay. The 12-page story was readable, but did not make me want to read more.

ACCESSIBILITY: Excellent. There are several pages giving background on this world and its participants. Even before I read all of those pages, I had no trouble following the story.

SALESMANSHIP: Okay. There is a house ad for this series and a few other Titan books. The back cover is an ad for the video game.

SCORE: Seven points out of a possible ten points.

Keep watching the bloggy thing for more of my Free Comic Book Day reviews.

© 2021 Tony Isabella