THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN APRIL

 

 

 

“The Punisher Is No More”: Marvel Officially Gets Rid Of Its Most Controversial Character

That’s the sort of click bait headline that set off the right-wing snowflakes in fandom. I haven’t followed the Punisher in years, but apparently he’s been having one WTF moment after another. He became the leader of the Hand. His wife was brought back from the dead. She divorced him and took his money. He was banished from Earth-616 to a parallel universe never to return. Until, of course, he does. Wow. Okay.

Marvel and most sensible comics fans have been concerned about the Punisher’s skull insignia being appropriated by all manner of vile right-wing deplorables including fascist cops. Putting the Punisher off screen while the publishers figure out what to do with him is a smart move. But the weeping wingnuts are blaming “woke” for this assault on their freedoms or some such. One such poster said that Marvel should be more concerned about themselves than “snowflakes,” too dense to realize he was the snowflake.

I responded:

Since Marvel owns the character, they are worrying more about themselves than someone casually throwing around an often-misused insult like "snowflakes." As I see it, they are retiring the brand for now and will surely bring the character back at some point. The Punisher can be more than a skull on his chest. Maybe some writer or artist will come up with a better visual. Like a coiled "don't tread on me" snake.

Once I got past the various insults hurled at me, the conversation was fairly interesting. I added:

Actually, I'm thinking a new Punisher series might be best served by almost making Frank a supporting character in the stories, much as Eisner would do with the Spirit from time to time. We more or less know Castle's mindset. I think it would be more interesting to see people’s reaction to find themselves in his crazed world.

And this:

Well over two decades ago, I pitched a Punisher reboot that would have changed the title's world without invalidating anything that had gone before. I still think it's a great idea, but I'm not sure if it could survive my removing all the Marvel elements out of it. 

And when a poster said he’d like to read that pitch:

I may not be able to locate the actual pitch, but I do plan to write about in a book called THE UNREALIZED ISABELLA. I'm hoping to find a publisher/partner for this and many other books and comics.

After that, I stopped reading and posting in the thread. Because I had already spent more time thinking about the Punisher than I had in decades.

The above has virtually nothing to do with sharing with you all the things that made me happy in April, but I wanted to get it out of my head as quickly as possible. Consider it a bonus blog within my blog as we head to our feature presentation.

Here are the things that brought me joy in April...

                                                                            

April 1: A Man & His Cat by Umi Sakurai. This manga series works on so many levels. It’s cute, funny and even poignant in its telling of a lonely man and his equally lonely feline. I’m enjoying it and plan to read the entire series.

April 2: As I walked to our mailbox to get the Sunday newspaper on this chilly morning, it hit me that, in just a few days, Barb and I would be enjoying a week of soothingly warm weather in Singapore. Courtesy of Cosfest. It’s a dream soon to come true.

April 3: The Daily Show with guest host Roy Wood, Jr. I knew he’d  be a terrific fit for the lead spot on the show and his first night behind the desk confirmed it. A friendly presence who worked well solo and with others. He’s a contender.

April 4: Doctor Strange #1 by Jed MacKay (writer) and Pasqual Ferry (artist). What a great jumping-on issue for a new or lapsed reader. Several mini-tales with back stories seamlessly included. I will be reading this title regularly.

April 5: Singapore Airlines is far and away the finest airline I’ve ever flown on. Clean comfortable seating. Courteous and efficient service on every level. Flight attendants elegant and stunning in
their traditional sarongs.

April 6: Cosfest had a wheelchair waiting for me when we landed at Singapore’s Changi Airport. This sped up our post-flight stuff to a remarkable degree. I’d rather have a more dependable knee, but I truly appreciate such courtesies.

April 7: Singapore. We were picked up at the airport by  Cosfest’s Stephanie and Takahan, taken to our Studio M Hotel and joined for dinner by Melanie. What a delightful trio. They became family to us with their unending kindness.

April 8: Singapore. Our hosts took us to the huge Books Kinokuniya in the even more huge Takashimaya Shopping Centre. Just the space devoted to comics and manga was bigger than most comics shop in the United States. It was stunning to behold.

April 9: Cosfest 2023 was a spectacular event held in the gorgeous Gardens by the Bay. We met so many wonderful fans and got to take a break to enjoy the beautiful foliage and fun displays included in the Gardens. A must-see for Singapore visitors.

April 10: Two days of sightseeing after Cosfest. My favorites: the spectacular mall at Jewel Changi Airport with its indoor waterfall, the awesome/scary Singapore Flyer and the statue of Merlion, the city’s own kaiju protector.

                                                                                      

                               

April 11: My friend Melanie gave me a Funko figure of Merlion, the symbol of Singapore. Of course, there’s a Funko figure of the kaiju protector of the country. And, of course, I’d like to do a graphic novel starring him. Thanks, Melanie.  

                                                                             

                                     

April 12: Singapore. The artist Takahan created three magnificent artworks for Cosfest. I’ll include all three when I write about the event in Tony Isabella’s Bloggy Thing, but, for now, here’s the one with copy written by me.

April 13: Singapore. Barb and I met so many fine people at Cosfest. Comics creator Kia Asamiya. His sales manager Matt Nakamura. Asia Cosplay superstar Tomia. The stunning Yumi Matsuzawa, writer/singer of the official event theme song.

April 14: Singapore. I need to give a grateful shout-out to Cosfest volunteer Robin, my wheelchair guy at the event. He took Barb and I around Gardens by the Bay and thereabouts without once telling me I needed to eat a salad now and then.

                                                                               

April 15: Going to Singapore and Cosfest: Gardens by the Bay was an unforgettable experience for Barb and I. Our forever thanks to the amazing Stephanie Snowheart for inviting us and for showing us the time of our lives.

April 16: One more shout-out to Singapore Airlines. Because of its efficient handling of my request for handicapped assistance, Barb and I sailed through JFK customs/TSA in record time and were able to get on an earlier flight home.

April 17: Patricia Highsmith's Diaries and Notebooks: The New York Years, 1941-1950. Though I’m fascinated by this writer, who worked in comic books in the late 40s, I’ve never read any of her novels or stories. I hope to change that soon.

April 18: Actress Laura Benanti playing Melanie Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Her timing in delivering the hilarious jokes is as sure as Colbert’s. I always get many giggles whenever she appears.

April 19: Dear Body by Lea Bordier. A informative, moving anthology of body positivity stores taken from many interviews conducted by Bordier and adapted into comics by female and non-binary artists.
Comics can tell all kinds of stories.

April 20: Dinosaur Sanctuary by Itaru Kinoshita. The magnificient beasts survive in parks like Enoshima Dinoland. Rookie dino-keeper Suma Suzume wants to keep the park afloat in this heart-warming and scientifically accurate manga for all ages.

                                                                                

                                                                    

April 21: Gone, gone the form of man, arise the Funko Etrigan! The latest addition to my collection is a character that could use some consistency and updating, but I love this classic Bronze Age look. Wouldn’t mind taking a crack at it someday.

April 22: Saintly Wife Barb and our children Eddie and Kelly were delighted by the classy octopus figures I gave them as late Easter presents. I was thinking outside the box, but I believe every desk needs one of these.

April 23: Rip Kirby is one of my favorite comic strips. In Volume 7, reprinting the 1962-1964 adventures, I was highly entertained by a comedy in which butler Desmond is tricked into believing he has become a lord by murderous con men. It’s hilarious.

April 24: Desi Lydic was hilarious, radiant and smart on her first night hosting The Daily Show. The best line was that she couldn’t believe “a network so opposed to gender-affirming surgery just cut off their own dick.” Brilliant.

April 25: The serious planning for my summer Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales has begun. I take over the garage on May 1 with target dates of June 1-3 for the opening weekend.

[UPDATE: Extensive house repairs have delayed the start of my VAOS sales until June 16-17.]

                                                                             

April 26: Lisa Whelchel’s Collector’s Call returns for its fourth season with Rich Correll, whose collection of horror/sci-fi movie props and costumes dwarfed any other collections that’s appeared on the series. A truly magnificent collection.

April 27: A recent Meijer’s ad showing their first store from 1934 include windows with the names of goods they sold. One such window, which I couldn’t find a photo of, advertised comics. Those were the days.

April 28: After one Wheel of Fortune contestant expressed her love for show announcer Jim Thornton, the guy behind the mike replaced Pat Sajak for the contestant’s bonus round. It was an unexpected and hilarious moment. The woman’s glee was wondrous, even after she lost the round.

April 29: Saintly Wife Barb and I watched the pleasantly silly fun Murder Mystery (2019) on Netflix. Wile there are no award-winning performances from Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston or the other cast members, we enjoyed it. We’ll watch the sequel tonight.

April 30: Murder Mystery 2 (2023) gets a little too carried away, but Barb and I did enjoy it. We were especially pleased to see the returns of John Kani (The Colonel), Dany Boon (Inspector Delacroix) and Adeel Akhtar (The Maharajah).

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

© 2023 Tony Isabella

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN MARCH

PRIDE MONTH begins today and I can’t think of a more important time to show our unflinching love and support for the LGBTQ+ community. Especially since they are under attack by many of the worst people and organizations in our country.

I understand the Republican party framing the community as threats to our country. That’s always been their play book. As President Andrew Shepherd (played by Michael Douglas) said in Aaron Sorkin’s and Rob Reiner’s The American President (1995):

I've known [Republican Senator] Bob Rumson for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it! We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.

The Republican hate speech is something I understand. I’m having a tougher time accepting why people who call themselves Christians act in such an un-Christlike manner when it comes to the children of their god who happen to be LGBTQ+. And why they do this when the history of their own churches is filled with authority figures who proved themselves to be actual threats to children. Their behavior isn’t remotely what Jesus would do.

I’ll be celebrating PRIDE MONTH in as many ways as I can come up. I’m hanging a PRIDE flag as soon as I finish posting this bloggy thing. I have a lawn sign on order and am looking for more. I have a “Trans Rights are Human Rights” shirt I’ll be wearing on errands and at my garage sales. I’m looking for more shirts. I’d check out Target, but, well, you know...

Our country was built with diversity. I see no reason that should not continue to be the case.

As you can figure from our header, I am way behind in posting the things that make me happy. I hope to catch up over the next couple days. For now, here’s what gave me joy in March...

March 1: The Aquaman Comic Covers Pop is the latest addition to my collection. Though I’ve enjoyed many takes on the character, it’s the classic look that speaks to me and my lifelong love of super-heroes most deeply.

March 2: E. Nelson Bridwell writing the Batman newspaper strip in 1970-1972. He combined down-to-earth storytelling with the then-current comics continuity. The more of his work I read, the more I want to collect it all. He was a treasure.

                                                                            

March 3: With the collections curated by esteemed comics historian Dr. Michael J. Vassallo and in agreement with Marvel, Fantagraphics  will be reprinting classic Atlas-era comics in hardcover editions. Take my money.

March 4: Emmy, the plucky heroine of Harrow County is back in Tales from Harrow County Volume 3: Lost Ones by Cullen Bunn, Tyler Cook and Emily Schnall. She doesn’t have her magic, but she’s as heroic as ever in this start of a fantastic new arc.

March 5: Belated kudos to Hasan Minhaj for his guest hosting stint on The Daily Show. His first night faux-fight with Ronny Chieng was hilarious. With Chelsea Handler likely not interested in becoming the permanent TDS host, my vote goes to Minhaj.

March 6: I love seeing comics-related questions on Jeopardy, even if Lori Lemaris wasn’t mentioned by name. I was surprised the first player to buzz in answered “What is telekinesis?” The second player correctly responded “What is telepathy?”

March 7: Not Dead Yet. Starring Gina Rodriguez as down-on-her-luck obit writer Nell Stevens, this entertaining sitcom offers a decent share of laughs and above-average character development. Maybe not the stuff of awards, but a pleasant half-hour.

March 8: Wanda Sykes. The actor/wrier was absolutely brilliant as Shirley Chisholm and Harriet Tubman in History of the World, Part II. Those were my favorite segments in the great big goofy fun that was this Mel Brooks TV series.

                                                                               

March 9: I’ve written the finale of “The Loves of Abby Amour” for Last Kiss, though you won’t see it for several weeks. I could not have done this without my collaborators John Lustig, Diego Jourdan Pereira, Susan Daigle-Leach and, of course, Frank Frazetta.

March 10: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. I enjoyed the heck out of this latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Incredible action sequences and special effects. A great cast. Lots of laughs and surprises. This one is a keeper.

March 11: Katy O'Brian.  I met her on the Black Lightning set when she was played Major Grey. I thought she was great. She’s even better as Jentorra in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. She should be headlining her own series of action films.

March 12: Poker Face. This intriguing mystery series stars Natasha Lyonne as a woman with the unerring ability to know when someone is lying. She doesn’t always think through what she does with her gift and now she’s on the run from the mob.

March 13: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. I could watch GOPhole  and welfare fraud Brett Favre take a football to his nutsack every day and still want more. Someday I will write a story in which some hero takes out a villain that way.

March 14: Star Wars Legends Epic Collection The Empire Vol. 7 has a reprint of the only Star Wars story I ever wrote. “Routine” first ran in Star Wars Tales #2 (1999). I think the humorous tale still holds up very well.

March 15: The Beast Below. A once-famous singer with abandonment issues enters a million-baht competition to find badly-needed water for his hometown. This 2022 creature feature from Thailand is good cheesy fun for all ages. Recommended.

                                                                             

March 16: Spider-Man: Enemies Closer by Jim Beard. This 2017 prose novel was one of the best Doctor Octopus stories I’ve ever read. It captured Spidey, Otto and Phil Coulson perfectly. If you can find, I recommend it highly.

March 17: On a whim, I purchased an Elvira box from HorrorMerch, an outfit that creates such collector’s boxes for an large number of horror movies. Most of what I received will end up in garage sale mystery boxes. But I’m keeping the shirt for myself.

March 18: Dolly Parton is the perfect Funko figure to add to that growing collection of mine. Dolly makes me feel happy and hopeful there is good in the world. Funko figures make me feel all that as well. I smile when I see Dolly or Funko figures.

March 19: Preparing for my April appearance at Singapore’s Cosfest, I’ve been reading travel guides. My favorite is Singapore Culture Smart: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture. I’ll reread it on the very long flight to Singapore.  

                                                                                       

March 20: Cocaine Bear. It won’t be nominated for any awards, save maybe the increasingly dick-ish Razzies, but it’s a goofy humorous and occasionally chilling hour-and-a-half with decent acting. Plus it has Margo Martindale. Kick back and enjoy.

March 21: Agent Elvis on Netflix. It’s crude. It’s rude. It’s damn near blasphemous. It is not suitable for children of any age from six to seventy-one. But this animated series’s pitch dark humor had me laughing out loud from start to finish.

March 22: Men’s Warehouse in Fairlawn, Ohio. Several years back, I bought a new suit for the Black Lightning premiere. Today, I bought  pants for my Singapore trip and was recognized by the salesman who sold me that suit. That was cool.

March 23: Checking out Indy Planet offerings, I bought and read Big Bang Adventures #20 by Gary Carlson and Ron Williams. It’s a nice mix of classic super-hero fare and more modern sensibilities. I’ll definitely pick up the second part of the story.

March 24: Elmo: An American Experiment by Cecil Jensen. Published by Labor of Love, this collection of comic strips from 1946-1948 is deliciously mean-spirited. It’s as if Jensen hated his title hero as much as the various villains. Recommended.

March 25: Friday night dinner at Medina’s Blue Heron Brewery with Saintly Wife Barb and our kids Eddie and Kelly. They had the fish fry and I had a delicious grilled chicken sandwich. This restaurant is one of our favorites.

                                                                             

March 26: Lisa Whelchel’s Collector’s Call returns on Sunday, April 2 at 6:30 pm EST on ME TV. I’m a big fan of the show and the season premiere will feature Rich Correll’s “massive collection of horror and sci-fi props and costumes.”

March 27: Bungleton Green and the Mystic Commandos by Jay Jackson. Running in the legendary Black newspaper The Chicago Defender, this adventure strip had Nazis, ghosts, time travel, mad scientists and edgy social commentary. It’s a classic.  

March 28: Godzilla Rivals Round One (IDW) collects four stories of the Big G battling Hedorah, Mothra, King Ghidorah and Battra. The stories are entertaining with great human elements and outstanding monster art. A must-have for kaiju devotees.

March 29: The Lady Killer Library Edition by Joelle Jones and Jamie Rich collects both mini-series and adds sketchbooks and previously unpublished art. One of my favorite comics series of all time in a flat-out gorgeous edition. Highly recommended.

March 30: Ape Vs. Mecha-Ape. This sequel to the not-as-good Ape Vs. Monster is one of the best Asylum films of recent years. First-rate monster action with interesting human stories. Tom Arnold is good fun as the Secretary of Defense.

March 31: Marvel Value Stamps: A Visual History by Roy Thomas. This marvelously obsessive tome is a treat, packed with cool images from cover to cover. Surprisingly, I never worked on these when I worked at Marvel in the 1970s, so I’m learning a lot.

Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2023 Tony Isabella

MY PENSACON 2023 REPORT FINALE

 

 

Sunday was the finale of Pensacon 2023 and, honestly, the day went by like a blur. Traditionally the slowest day of most conventions, this was still a very busy day with the sold-out crowd maybe coming in a little bit later than normal but still filling the Pensacola Bay Center with their enthusiasm. I lost track of how many comics I signed, how many fans I met and how many questions about both my long career and the comics business in general I answered.

Just after noon, Thomas Strange and my other friends from the Long Box hosted a special “Tony Isabella: 50 Years in Comics” panel at the Wright Place, one of several convention venues outside the Bay Center itself. About two dozen people showed up for my star turn.

Since I couldn’t really take notes during this panel, I can’t give you a blow-by-blow. But we talked about Black Lightning and other things I’ve written. We talked about the ups-and-downs of working in comics. We talked about several of the goofy things which have  happened to me in the past five decades. We talked about persistent lies some creators keep trying to spread. We talked about how our beloved comic books have always been woke, going back to the first Superman stories and the comic strips that preceded comic books. We talked about the many friends I’ve made all over the world. These fifty years haven’t always been what I wanted them to be, actually, they’ve seldom been what I wanted them to be, but I feel like I’ve  done a lot of good work and had a good time doing it.

Returning to my Artists Alley booth, I signed more comics, met more fans and answered more questions. At some point, my longtime friend Julio Diaz, who does all manner of great things for the convention, came over to fulfill one of my celebrity wishes.

                                                                                  

Every year, I give Julio a list of celebrities I’d like to have a little quality time with. I keep the list short, but it’s a lucky convention when I get to meet even a couple of them. This year, the celebrity I most wanted to meet was actor Eric Roberts.

Roberts is one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood. He has appeared in over 700 movies and been nominated three times by the Golden Globes and once for an Academy Award. His credits range from genuine cinema classics to those cheesy horror-and-monster movies I love so much. The man loves to work and I’ve never seen him give less than a terrific performance no matter what material he had to work with. To my delight, he was also extremely engaging and very friendly. It was a delight to chat with him.

                                                                                

We talked about my comics career and love of cheesy monster movies. He told me he accepted his part in Sharktopus because, up to that time, he’d never worked with CGI and wanted to experience what it was like. I mentioned that I was once offered a staff writing gig with a studio, but turned it down because I was working on Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands and because I didn’t think I could write fast enough for the studio’s needs.

Eric told me everything is done fast in Hollywood, even it ends up sitting on some desk for months. He suggested I write screenplays in my spare time until I get fast enough for movie and TV writing jobs. It was sincere and welcome advice.

After the convention ended, as Eddie and I were waiting for a ride back to our hotel, I got to say hello to the lovely and talented Laraine Newman. She was born on the very same day and in the very same hospital as my dear friend Mark Evanier. Her eyes rolled just a little, but she smiled. I’m guessing mentions of that by random comics people have gotten prehistorically old for her.

Since we had a very early flight back to Cleveland and had to pack for that flight, we ordered Whataburger via whatever food app Eddie had on his phone. It wasn’t cheap, but it was good food and arrived swiftly. Dinner accomplished.

The Pensacola Galactic Airport is always a breeze to navigate. Our flights home also went well. Another fun Pensacon weekend was put in the archives.

******************************

My convention and appearance plans for the rest of 2023 are kind of sparse. I’m staying home through June and July to work on my Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales and a book I want to finish no latter than mid-July. I will be attending a few events. I will tell you more about them as I get closer to them, but, for now, here’s a rough idea of where I will be...

July 30: NEO Comicon 8 (North Olmsted, Ohio)

September 23-24:  Comics Art and Sci-Fi Expo (Singapore)

October 13-15: Monster Bash (Pittsburgh)

October 28: Coffee and Comics (Cleveland)

November 4-5: Akron Comicon (Stow, Ohio)

As always, if you would like to book me for a convention or other appearance, e-mail me. Then I’ll send you a list of my requirements to make it possible for me to be at your event.

My next bloggy thing project is catching up on all the “Things That Make Me Happy” which I haven’t posted yet.

Thanks for stopping by today. I’ll be back soon.

© 2023 Tony Isabella

MY PENSACON 2023 REPORT PART THREE

 

Saturday is traditionally the busiest day at most conventions and that’s been true of Pensacon in the past. I don’t know if I can say that for the 2023 event because tickets for every day of the show sold out. I think it was fair to say fans show up somewhat earlier on Saturday and stay later.

As with Friday, Artists Alley was so crowded that, from my table, I only got glimpses of the floor below. I made my one trip of the weekend before the show opened. I bought Pensacon swag from their souvenir booth and said hello to my friend Alexi Vanderberg, the architect and wrangler of The Bard’s Tower, a terrific gathering of authors that has been a mainstay of Pensacon over the years. Alas, the changing economy has made the Tower impractical and we won’t be seeing it at future conventions. It’s a loss.

I got back to up to my table as the fans who has purchased “V.I.P.” tickets started entering the convention. I hadn’t brought much to sell, but my exclusive Misty Knight limited edition reprint was the big seller. I also sold some Marvel Monsters posters designed and drawn by Akron’s Dan Gorman. The poster has every monster character  I wrote in the 1970s.

As usual, I signed dozens of comic books and other Isabella stuff for Pensacon attendees. I posed for photos with them. I answered their questions. I told humorous stories from my career. My goal is to always leave them with a happy memory from the convention and a good impression of me.

Lunch on Saturday was meat or vegetable lasagna, impossible beef and broccoli and Harissa and maple roasted carrots that were to die for. I had a little of each entree and enjoyed them immensely, but the carrots were my clear favorite.

                                                                                

Several years ago, on my first trip to Pensacon, I met and bonded with Jonathan, one of the show’s great volunteers. In recent years, the duties of fatherhood have kept Jonathan from volunteering, but he always manages to stop into the show and greet the many friends he made there. He usually comes with his son Kyle and Kyle always had a new drawing for me. Here is this year’s addition to my Kyle collection...

There was only one glitch on Saturday. It was the convention panel that never happened. I was scheduled to be on a writers panel with Barry Gregory, Scott Braden and someone else I can’t recall because I’m shit at remembering to take notes. 

The glitch? The panel was never posted on the schedule found on the Pensacon app. Which we knew going to the panel venue and which we knew would mean no fans would be showing up for the panel. Troopers that we are, we went to the venue anyway. We waited for ten minutes or so and then headed back to the convention proper.

The perk? We spend the rest of the convention complaining another panel member had hogged the panel and wouldn’t allow any of us to get a word in. Sometimes it was Barry. Sometimes it was Scott. And sometimes it was me, even though all of you know I’m so shy about speaking I barely say a word anyway.

Despite the hectic pace of Artists Alley, I met and had excellent conversations with Minchao Mai, the sales director of the Tiger Printing (Hong Kong) Co. She was looking to expand Tiger’s client base to include more U.S. creators and publishers. Her enthusiasm for her work was obvious and we talked about all sorts of industry and non-industry matters. We are keeping in touch with each other via e-mail.

Pensacon is where I get to see some of my favorite people. Usually during my occasional strolls along Artists Alley. The list is too long to talk about them at length, but they included John Dell, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Derek Donovan, Guy Gilchrist, Michael Golden, Jenni Gregory, Mark Maddox, Robert Pope and Kelly Yates.

After the show ended for the day, my son Eddie went to dinner with our former Medina neighbor J.D. Ferut. I went to dinner with Ohio home boy Thom Zahler, who does a ton of design work for Pensacon.

Thom and I started out at O’Riley’s Irish Pub where he sampled some of their Game of Thrones styled speciality drinks. I thought about sitting in the scary throne they had set up at the front of their establishment, but decided against after seeing three people either cut themselves or snag their clothing on it. Besides, as a man of the people, thrones are just not my thing.

Last year, O’Riley’s had a Marvel Comics theme. I got Saintly Wife Barb and I a table by asking the manager if they would like to have an actual Marvel Comics writer as a customer. Which they did.

Our server had a great Captain Marvel costume and was a comics fan. She even knew who I was. With the tip, I left her one of my cards and thanked her for her excellent service. This year, she visited my Artists Alley table to show me she had kept the card. Which is one of the cool things that happens at Pensacon.

                                                                     

O’Riley’s was pretty crowded and, rather than wait a long time for a table, Thom and I headed back to Pensacola Beach and Flounder's Chowder House, probably my favorite of the many fine restaurants there. There were lots of other folks who made the choice to dine there, but the place is enormous huge and the kitchen and the wait staff are really fast. I had the Philadelphia Roll. It was big and tasty. A very filling meal.

I was wiped out when I got back to my hotel room. Honestly, I don’t know what I did that night before falling asleep. That’s how tired I was. But I woke up excited, knowing I still had one more day of my favorite convention to go.

I’ll be back very soon with the finale of my Pensacon 2023 report. Thanks for visiting with me today.   

© 2023 Tony Isabella

LAST KISS 05/22/23

 

MY PENSACON 2023 REPORT PART TWO

 

 

It’s been more than a little crazy since I last posted on Pensacon 2023. There’s a entire litany of reasons for this, including home, health and personal stuff...and a trip to Singapore for one of the best convention experiences of my life...and landing and losing a gig to write a comic for an unexpected and unexpectedly difficult client. As my world settles down, I hope to finish my Pensacon 2023 report as quickly as possible. Here we go...

Pensacon 2023 officially kicked off on Friday, February 24 at 1 pm. This was the 10th anniversary of the event and the fans and guests were eager to be part of it. For the first time in the history of Pensacon, all three days were sellouts. It was so crowded that, for much of the convention, I couldn’t see the vendors floor from the third floor artists alley. But I’m getting just a wee bit ahead of myself.

The Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach offers a pretty good complimentary breakfast. It was on our way down to it when my son Eddie and I met Erik Estrada, best known for playing “Ponch” on the long-running TV show ChiPs. He’s also appeared in a great many other movies and TV shows. As you would expect of monster-loving Tony, I told Erik how much I enjoyed his work in 2013's Chupacabra vs. the Alamo. I think he was amazed anyone remembered the movie.

If you ever get the chance to meet Estrada at a convention, do so.He’s a friendly guy and a great conversationalist. We ran into him several times over the weekend and enjoyed our chats about nearby restaurants and show business. If I were ever to get into creating movies and TV series, he is definitely someone I would love to work with. He’s a very cool human being.

Mike Ensley is the face of Pensacon. I’m constantly stunned by the amazing guests he brings in for the show. This year’s event had a lot of actors from Doctor Who, more than I’ve seen at any other convention. Plus there were around a hundred other great guests from every corner of the pop culture world.

Pensacon has one of the greatest teams of staff and volunteers in the country. Their transportation crew, helmed by the lovable Maria Landy, efficiently got guests to the convention and to their off-site panels and presentations.

The Pensacon green room serves up some of the best food I’ve ever had at one of my appearance. I enjoyed a vegan Beef Wellington that non-vegan me felt was as good as any Beef Wellington I’ve ever had.Every day brought more delicious meals and tasty snacks, and, if a guest couldn’t get to the room, Pensacon volunteers would happily bring meals to them.

Everyone at Pensacon - the guests, the staff, the volunteers and, especially the fans - are as friendly as can be. It’s one of the main reasons I tell folks Pensacon is my favorite convention. I’ve been a regular for eight years in a row. As long they keep inviting me, I’ll be there.

My artist alley table was 15 North and, as always, I was surrounded by dear colleagues and friends. I’ll be writing about them as this report continues.

Friday’s biggest event for me was my exclusive private signing with Certified Guaranty Company. The way that worked was that collectors who wanted their Isabella-written comics signed, authenticated, graded and slabbed sent their items to CGC’s Sarasota headquarters. 

The original plan was for me to go to their headquarters earlier in the month. However, it made more sense for me to do the signing at Pensacon since I was going there anyway. Less expense for CGC and
less travel for me.

Working with Logistics Coordinator Judson “Jud” Cressey III, it was mutually decided that Friday evening would be the best time for the signing and that it could be done at my table in artists alley. For the signing itself, I would be working with CGC representative Luis Rivera. I ended up signing over a hundred books.

Luis made the entire process smooth as silk. I can’t even imagine how I would have coordinated the signing. I think it was around an hour and a half to sign the books, which gave me plenty of time to
make sure my signatures were legible. As happens too frequently in my dotage, I was handed comic books I didn’t remember writing until I checked the credits. Sheesh!

This was a win-win all around. Fans who haven’t been able to see me at conventions were able to get their items signed. I made a tidy sum for pleasurable effort. CGC showed why it’s the leading outfit for this kind of thing. I hope we can do it again.

A special thanks goes out to Judson and Luis. They really did all the heavy lifting here.

                                                                                      

One of the things I love best about Pensacon is chatting with old friends from my half-century comics career. Pat Broderick got into the industry around the same time I did. Indeed, I gave him one of his first jobs, illustrating a prose story for one of the various black-and-white comics magazines I was editing for Marvel Comics. It wasn’t long before he was drawing great-looking comic books for both Marvel and DC, including the Micronauts, Captain Atom, Swamp Thing, Firestorm, Batman Year Three and many others. He also drew the first Creature Commandoes story (written by J.D. DeMatteis) in DC’s Weird War Tales #93.

                                                                                 

The Creature Commandoes will be an animated feature under the new James Gunn regime. As co-creator, Broderick is getting some richly-deserved recognition and the occasional check for his participation in the fan-favorite series. Hopefully, there will be a whole lot of cool Creature Commandoes merchandise to go along with the animated feature and more checks to my pal.

                                                                        
Coming soon will be a Kickstarter campaign for Bronze Star by Mike Baron and Pat Broderick. It’s described as “a dark, violent and fun weird western about love, revenge and supernatural terror from the minds of two legendary comic creators.” I’ve seen some of the mind-boggingly amazing art for this graphic novel and plan to be one of the first backers once the Kickstarter is launched.

Pensacon Day One ended at 8 pm. Eddie and I were both pretty tired and didn’t want to hit one of the many fine restaurants that were near our hotel. Big mistake.

Since it doesn’t have a restaurant, the Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach has opened a pizza delivery outfit right in the hotel. We ordered a pizza from them. Big mistake. It was expensive and not very good. Rest assured, sub-standard pizza didn’t remotely diminish our love for Pensacon. Next year, we’ll push through any fatigue and go to one of those many fine restaurants within a brisk walking distance of the hotel.

Coming soon: my report on Pensacon Day Two.
   
© 2023 Tony Isabella

BLOGSPOT HAS GONE INSANE

This is a test of sorts. Blogspot is removing years old posts claiming their contain malware or viruses. So I'm re-posting a blog they removed for this reason to see what happens.

TONY ISABELLA’S BLOGGY THING
Tuesday, December 3, 2016

IT STARTS WITH PENSACON 2017

My 2017 convention is coming together, though I am reconsidering my original plan to do two conventions a month from February through November. I’m not closing the door on doing conventions beyond the ones listed today, but they will have to be the right conventions.

My first convention of 2017 will be Pensacon, the Pensacola Comic Con, February 17-19, at the stellar Pensacola Bay Center. I had a blast at this event in 2016 and am excited to be returning for my second appearance.

The Pensacon 2017 guest list is as cool as it gets. If I list all of the guests, my gushing over them would fill this entire bloggy thing. From the media guest list, I’m very much looking forward to meeting and perhaps interviewing John Wesley Shipp of two different versions of The Flash and Tara Reid of Sharknado fame.

The comics guests include old friends like Neal Adams, Mike Grell, Steve Scott, Scott Shaw, Jose Delbo, Dave Dorman and many others. I hope to have a surprise for one of those fine gentleman when we see each other at the show.

I’ll have more information on Pensacon when we get a bit closer to it. In the meantime, you should visit the show website.

My second convention of 2017 is the Great Lakes Comic-Con, February 24-25, at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan. It will be my first time at this family-friendly event. As with Pensacon, I’ll have more to tell you as we get closer to the event. You can visit the GLCC website here.

Here’s the rest of my 2017 schedule so far...

March 11-12: Fantasticon (Toledo, Ohio)

March 17-19: Wizard World Cleveland [TENTATIVE!]

April 1-2: Gem City Comic Con (Dayton, Ohio)

April 29-30: Fantasticon (Lansing, Michigan)

May 19-20: East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (Philadelphia)

July 14-16: G-Fest (Chicago)

July 27-30: PulpFest 2017 in Pittsburgh [TENTATIVE!]

August 20: NEO ComicCon 3.0 (North Olmsted, Ohio)

October 20-22: Grand Rapids Comic-Con (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

October 28-29: Akron Comicon/Monsterfestmania (Akron, Ohio)

There are some non-convention appearances under discussion for 2017 - libraries and schools - and perhaps a couple store appearances. If you’d like me to appear at your convention, library, school or bachelorette party, email me.

In addition to these appearances, I’m hoping to hold a whole bunch of my famous Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales this summer, right here in my home town of Medina, Ohio. I might even have some guest comics creators at some of these sales. I might even present a convention-style panel or two. Because I’m just crazy enough to do stuff like that.

That’s all for today. Come back tomorrow for a new installment of my hard-riding “Rawhide Kid Wednesday” series.  
 
© 2016 Tony Isabella