THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN SEPTEMBER

 

Madness. I can’t read one of my local newspapers or watch the news on TV without being horrified by the growing insanity of the current administration and its supporters. Obviously, as a transwoman, I’m in their crosshairs, but so are so many other decent people. I would be swallowed up by that darkness if I did not believe that, ultimately, decency will carry the day and the criminals will be subjected to the justice they deserve.

In the meantime, I write. I work on what will be my final comic books and pop culture garage sales of the year. I prepare for my first convention appearance as Jenny Blake, my authentic self. I try to be as supportive as possible for my LGTBQ+ community, for the comics community and for all those I cherish. And, I do this one other thing to keep my spirits high.

Every day, I seek out and write about something in my life that brings me joy. It’s a little thing, but it does wonders for my heart and soul. I hope these daily snippets likewise bring joy to all of you as well.

Here are the things that made me happy in September.

September 1: The Charlton Companion by Jon B. Cooke (2020) is the story of the “All-In-One” publisher. I’ve read Charlton comics since the early 1960s and was utterly fascinated by all I didn’t know about them. A great book of comics history.

September 2: Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Sixteen by J. Michael Straczynski and Phil Noto. Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and well over a dozen heroes and villains walk into a fancy French restaurant. Hilarity ensues. Highly recommended.

                                                                       

 

September 3: K-Pop Demon Hunters (Netflix). The title explains the concept. Interesting characters. Catchy songs. Some genuine emotion and peril. Besides, I’m a sucker for a good redemption story. A hundred entertaining minutes. Recommended.

September 4: Nobody 2. Good violent fun for the whole family. Or maybe not. For me, seeing Bob Odenkirk, family and friends deal with bad people fills me with joy. Sharon Stone is hilarious as the main villain.

September 5: Our son Ed is running for Medina City Council at large. Saintly Wife Barb and I picked up his lawn signs and t-shirts. We’re so proud of this fine man. With his engineering expertise, he’s the best candidate.

September 6: Hansel and Gretel. Stephen King teams with the late Maurice Sendak for a fine retelling of the classic fairy tale. It doesn’t shy away from the gruesome elements of the story, but is still a great book for children of all ages.

September 7: Young Men in Love. Edited by Joe Glass and Matt Miner, this queer romance anthology is just under 200 pages of interesting stories and terrific full-color art. Recommended for queer and straight readers alike.

September 8: My every other year eye examination could not have gone better. My eyes have not changed in the two years since the last exam. It’ll help to see clearly as I begin learning how to do makeup. Will I have Betty Davis eyes?

September 9: The new seasons of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are here! I cherish spending a relaxing hour every weeknight in a space where words and facts still mean something. If only our country could follow suit.

September 10: Jeopardy. On the September 10 episode, the correct answer to a clue about ME TV was “Who is Svengoolie?” The world needs more Svengoolie. Might I suggest an appearance on the next Celebrity Jeopardy?

                                                                           

 

September 11: Bandette Volume Five: The Wedding of B.D. Belgioue by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover. From the first time I met “the greatest thief in the world,” I’ve loved the charming pixie and this is the best book in the series.

September 12: DC Finest: Superboy: The Superdog from Krypton. I am totally loving this collection of stories from 1954 and 1955, almost all of which I had never read before. The writers are too often unknown, but there’s real heart to these tales.

September 13: My dear pals Sam Maronie and Kevin Kenney-Maronie visited my garage sale on their way to Skunkfest in nearby North Ridgeville. (Yes, that’s a thing.) It was an unexpected delight to see them and made my day. 

 

September 14: Movie Monster Comics Treasury also known as Retro Comic Reprints #351. Available from Barnes & Nobel, it collects cinema-based Dell horror comics. Interesting takes not always based on the seeming source material.

September 15: The Avengers in the Veracity Trap! by Chip Kidd & Michael Cho. It’s as if they asked “What would 12-year-old Tony love?” Maybe something with the early Avengers, Marvel Monsters and Loki? Yep, they nailed it.

September 16: I’m enjoying Teachers Week at Wheel of Fortune. No Jefferson Pierce references, but Vanna White was nice to look at in her semi-sexy teacher outfits. But, I ask, when are going to get Trans Comics Creators Week?

September 17: Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider's Guide to Jeopardy! by Claire McNear. This delivers on its sub-title with fascinating information on near every aspect of the game.

September 18: Before Gender: Lost Stories from Trans History 1850-1950 by Eli Erlick. Thirty trans people whose tales change everything I thought I knew about trans history. Gender studies are among my new jams.

                                                                         

 

September 19: DC Finest: Metamorpho the Element Man. Jesus loves me, this I know, because I have this great collection of all the early Metamorpho stories. If He could arrange for me to write a Metamorpho series, I’d be in Heaven.

September 20: We joined the fabulous Jess and her boyfriend Rick for the lady’s birthday dinner at Akron’s legendary Luigi’s, the home of great pizza and more. A wonderful time was had by all and I only waddled a little bit afterwards.

                                                                         

 

September 21: Bernd das Brot. He’s a depressed loaf of German bread who has been a star for 25 years. I want to write a Bernd comic. Who better? I’m a baker’s child living in Trump’s fascist America. It could be my Howard the Duck!

September 22: Reptisuarus #6 (October 1962). I’m having the best time reading this Charlton title. It’s the big goofy-looking red lizard fighting Communists with all the cold war hilarity you’d expect. These are classic monster comics.

September 23: Justice League of America #42 (February, 1966). As a kid, it thrilled me to see Metamorpho appearing here. But I was disappointed it’d be years before he made another appearance and that the intriguing Unimaginable never returned.

September 24: Gorgo #12 (April, 1963). Reptisaurus, the original version, guest-stars, fighting invading aliens alongside Gorgo and his mom and establishing they are part of the same universe. Konga feels left out.

                                                                   

 

September 25: Dracula Book Two: The Brides by Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones with Jose Villarrubia. There has never been a more evocative and gorgeous examination of Stoker’s classic character than this series. Most highly recommended.

September 26: Doing “The Element Man” as seen in Metamorpho #8 October 1966). “Make like a metal. Get hot like an acid. Shake like a test tube. Man, be solid and life’s just a gas! Yeaaah!” Dance with me, you fools!

September 27: Welcome to the Maynard by James Robinson and J. Bone is a cinematic blockbuster waiting for someone smart enough to make it. A magic hotel. A feisty house detective in training. Thrills. Mystery. Suspense. Not to be missed.

September 28: House of Guinness (Netflix). A historical drama set in 19th Century Ireland isn’t my usual fare, but Barb wanted to watch it and I love watching stuff with her. The characters and setting are intriguing. I’m hooked.

                                                                         

 

September 29: Cryptology. Having enjoyed other works by editor Peter Normanton, subscribing to this quarterly magazine of retro horror was a no-brainer. Terrific articles and visuals on comic books, movies and more. Highly recommended.

September 30: Doug Wagner. I sort of stumbled into following this writer. His quirky comedy/horror/noir comics, such as I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer and Klik Klik Boom, speak to me. If I see his name on a title, I’ll read it.

BEST COMIC BOOK/GRAPHIC NOVEL/MANGA: Dracula Book Two: The Brides by Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones with Jose Villarrubia.

BEST BOOK: The Charlton Companion by Jon B. Cooke

BEST MOVIE OR TV SHOW: K-Pop Demon Hunters (Netflix)

BEST PERSON: Ed Isabella.

BEST OTHER THING: Bernd das Brot

Some quick reminders. My final 2025 comic books and pop culture garage sales are Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11, from 9 to noon at 840 Damon Drive, Medina, Ohio.

Akron Comicon is my next and perhaps final convention appearance of 2025. It’s Saturday and Sunday, November 9 and 10, Emodio’s Expo Center, 48 E Bath Rd, Cuyahoga Falls, OH . Hours are 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday.

I’m available to appear at conventions and other events. However, I will need the events to cover my hotel and travel expenses, and, as I sometimes need a cane, provide me with a booth that’s easy to get in and out of. Interested promoters should e-mail me sooner rather than later.

I’m also available for paying acting and writing gigs. Interested parties should also e-mail me for these.

That’s all for now. Stay well, be strong and be kind to others. If we stick together, we can create a better country and world. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

JENNY MAKES A WISH LIST

 

At my most recent therapy session, I got to musing about my regrets that I would likely not achieve certain goals. One that came quickly to mind was I would never be given The Colbert Questionaire by Stephen Colbert.

The Colbert Questionnaire is a recurring segment on the canceled (but not until May) Late Night with Stephen Colbert. Asked of celebrity guests, it’s “15 questions to cover the full spectrum of human experience,” after which the celebrities are said to be fully known. I don’t think anyone on the show is thinking, “Ya know, Stephen likes comic books. We should book that comic-book writer who came out as transgender at the age of 72. She’d be an amazing guest.” Although it would be a great honor for me to appear with the most handsome and witty late-night host in the history of television. I also believe his wife Evie and I would hit it off and go for a shopping and spa day while I was in New York. Just saying.

On the spot, my therapist looked up the Colbert Questionaire and asked me those 15 questions. It was fun and informative. I’m now fully seen by her. That’s progress.

I got to thinking about other “impossible” dreams. You already know me fully enough to recognize where this is going.

WISH: Doing a convention panel where I would ask other guests to answer "The Isabella Questionella," fifteen questions specifically geared to delve deep into comics creators and allow the audience to fully know them.

We pause for just a moment so I can share the parameters of this exercise in yearning. I tried to keep my wishes out of the realm of fantasy. No turning Trump and his vile followers into cute fuzzy puppies and kittens. No ending the unreasoning fear and hatred of transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community in general. No end to the Electoral College. No redistricting based on anything other than geography and population. No Marvel and the Asylum teaming up to make a big-budget movie of It! The Living Colossus starring Selena Gomez, Eric Roberts and me. No difficulty walking in five-inch heels. Though all my wishes are unlikely, they are somewhat grounded in reality. We continue.

WISH: A special edition of Celebrity Jeopardy with contestants Ryan Seacrest, Vanna White and Maggie Sajak.

WISH: A Celebrity Wheel of Fortune episode with contestants Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider and James Holzhauer.

WISH: A Celebrity Family Feud episode with stars from the Marvel Cinematic Universe competing against stars from the DC Cinematic Universe.

WISH: Wheel of Fortune doing a week of shows with all of the contestants being comics creators.

WISH: Daily Show correspondent Grace Kuhlenschmidt getting the chance to host the show.

WISH: Transgender representation on House Hunters and other HGTV shows. They have featured same-sex couples and even a trouple. But where are the trans women and trans men?

WISH: I get to co-host HGTV’s Scariest House in America with the ridiculously wonderful Retta.

WISH: Vacationing in some of those insanely cool houses shown on HGTV’s Zillow Gone Wild.

WISH: I get to play a murderer on Elsbeth, though I would settle for playing the murder victim.

WISH: Having a beer with Dylan Mulvaney.

WISH: Being a guest at twelve different comics conventions in twelve different countries. All in one year.

WISH: A new live-action Rocky and Bullwinkle movie with Martin Short as Rocky, John Cena as Bullwinkle, Lady Gaga as Natasha Fatale and Danny DeVito as Boris Badenov.

WISH: Getting to write my twelve-issue comics adaptation mash-up of Gojira and Godzilla, King of the Monsters.

WISH: Spending two weeks visiting Japan with Saintly Wife Barb, Eddie and Kelly.

WISH: Performing stand-up comedy across the country.

WISH: Appearing as a ghost on Ghosts.

WISH: Getting another chance to edit a black-and-white horror comics anthology not unlike Marvel’s Monsters Unleashed, which was my favorite of the magazines I edited in the 1970s.

WISH: Writing a series for a British comics weekly.

WISH: Dying peacefully at my computer at the age of 100 having written the final page of one of the best stories I have ever written.

WISH: Somehow, someway, my beloved bloggy thing readers managing to make all or some of the above happen.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN AUGUST

 

America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".

The above words come from The American President (1995). They’re part of the stirring impromptu speech President Andrew Barlett (Micheal Douglas) gives near the end of the movie. And they’re so damned true.

America isn’t easy. You gotta want it. Not the Trump version, but the decent, hopeful and intelligent version. Looking back at August, I see an endless tsunami of Trump violating the law and the Constitution on a daily basis and the Republican members of Congress violating their own oaths of office by not standing up to this would-be dictator. I see necessary science and services being gutted to feel the cavernous maws of billionaires and the insanity of zealots. I see increasing savagery from the Gestapo-like ICE and, especially, from the law officers and National Guardsman and military people who are violating their oaths by carrying out illegal orders. And the lies. So many stupid lies. Lies so easily proven false. Hundreds every day and those who support Trump accepting them all as truth. It’s maddening.

Hitting alarmingly close to home are the fresh expressions of anti-trans hate in the wake of the Minneapolis school shooting, whose murderous maker is characterized as transgender without any nuance whatsoever. Yes, he apparently considered himself to be trans for a time. Then he didn’t. Then he de-transitioned. And now there are those calling for trans people to be rounded up and put it camps. To be stripped of their health care. To be forced to de-transition. To be outright executed because they’re trans. This is the country I wake up to every morning.

For those who care about facts, the Gun Violence Archive breaks down mass shooters since 2018. Four of them are transgender. One hundred seven are non-transgender females. Four thousand twelve of them are non-transgender males. The vast majority of all the shooters are CIS white people. The math doesn’t justify the anti-trans hate. But that kind of hate has always been the key to Republican policies.

I've known 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.

August was rough. I got through it with the love and support of my online friends and my real life friends. It also helped that there were so many things that made me happy last month. With sincere apologies, for my lengthy opening remarks, here are the things that brought me joy in August…

                                                                     

 

August 1: Atlas Comics Library No. 4: War Comics Vol. 1. It’s a collection of the first eight issues of 1950s Marvel’s first war title. I was truly moved by “Corporal Stanford, Hero of Anzio,” an incredible story told in a tight four pages.

August 2: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver aired a segment on gang databases and how their arbitrary nature and inaccuracy have serious consequences. If I were writing Black Lightning, I would be all over this story.

August 3: NEO Comicon was amazing! Old friends, new friends, all happy I’m happy as Jenny. I now have an artist I’ve long wanted to work with for my trans super hero comic book and discussed other projects with other artists. More to come. 

                                                                   

 

August 4: The Golden Treasury of Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics by Craig Yoe (2010) is a big beautiful collection of great kids comics by some of our greatest comics creators. It’s well worth tracking down. Hours of fun.

August 5: My Journey to Her by Yuna Hirasawa. An informative and very detailed real-life manga on the author’s gender-affirming surgery in Thailand and subsequent changing her gender markers in Japan. I learned a lot from it.

August 6: Godzilla #1 by Tim Seeley and Nikola Cizmesija with an exclusive Carol and John’s Comic Shop cover. Exciting start to a new series which pits Godzilla and other kaiju against a team of “super-heroes.” I’m on board.

August 7: The Mailman by Andrew Welsh-Huggins is the first in a new series about Mercury Carter, a freelance “mailman” whose gig is delivering odd packages and who lives with the aftermath of a brain injury. He’s an interesting hero. More please.

August 8: My ENJOYNIGHT pajamas. My work attire has been pajamas and t-shirts. I’m embarrassed by how ratty these would get. I love my new “uniforms.” Comfortable cotton, short sleeves, Capri pants. Not a power suit, but I love them a lot.

                                                         

                    

August 9: The Atlas Comics Library No. 5: Police Action. From the early 1950s, it collects the full run of a crime comic that emphasized cops bringing criminals to often violent justice. I remain a big fan of these library editions.

August 1O: Woodworking by Emily St. James. Two trans women. One is a divorced high school teacher yet to emerge from the closet, the other an out student. They and other characters ring true in this gripping first novel. Highly recommended. 

                                                                           

 

August 11: My talented friend Jeff Polier created a very cool Black Lightning shadowbox and sent it to me. I’m impressed by the focus making something like this takes. The piece now has a home in my office.

August 12: Universal Monsters: Frankenstein by Michael Walsh and Toni Marie Griffin. Published by Image Comics, this is a classic and yet fresh take on the classic. Its characters live in the shadows with madness and death all around them.

                                                                       

 

August 13: The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This is the FF movie I’ve been yearning for. The heroes were wonderfully written and acted. The story felt authentic. I loved this movie as much as I loved the new Superman movie.

August 14: Sherrod Brown. No Ohio politician ever fought harder and more successfully for Ohioans than our former senator. He is expected to declare for an open Senate seat soon. He is far and away the best choice for the office.

August 15: Daredevil: Born Again. I got a kick out of Yusef Kahn (Ms. Marvel’s dad) in the series. The chemistry between him and Matt Murdock showed genuine friendship and respect between them. I hope we see more of Yusef and his daughter.

August 16: Flame Con is happening this weekend in New York. It’s the world’s largest queer comics convention. To those who hoped to see me there, I’m going to do my best to join you next year. It’s clearly somewhere I need to be..

August 17: Writer Steve Orlando was the reason I read Avengers Assemble: The Serpent Scenario. Simply put, I enjoy his work and he didn’t disappoint. The Avengers Emergency Response Squad is a genius take on the Avengers. More please.

                                                                       

 

August 18: Sunday’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver delivered a powerful report on the Make America Healthy Again “movement” promoted by that menace Robert Kennedy Jr and equally deranged zealots. Comedy helps me cope with the madness.

August 19: Creature Clinic by Gavin Aung Than is one of the best kids graphic novels I’ve read in years. A young doctor cares for fantastic patients while keeping a big secret from the demanding head of the clinic: her mother. Highly recommended. 

                                                                       

 

August 20: Nagata Kabi uses manga to tell true tales of her and troubles, most self-inflicted. Her latest is My Pancreas Broke But My Life Got Better. Brilliant but difficult to read because her truth is so raw and exposed. She’s a genius.

August 21: Kitty Pryde is a great character, but it seems every writer wants to layer her with new personalities and traumas. I do like Eve L. Ewing’s take on her in Exceptional X-Men, but I dread the next person to write Kitty.

August 22: Savage Dragon #252 by Erik Larsen just surfaced in my Vast Accumulation of Stuff. From 2020, it’s a hilarious salute to classic comic strips like Peanuts, Rex Morgan, Thimble Theater, and Calvin and Hobbes. Very clever stuff.

August 23: The Naked Gun. Saintly Wife Barb and I saw this in an otherwise deserted theater. Many laughs, some misses, but, all in all, a worthy successor to the original. Liam Nesson and Pamela Anderson were wonderful. More please.

                                                                   

 

August 24: Jimmy Olsen’s Supercyclopedia by Gabe Soria and Sandy Jarrel. A super-powerful book is central as the sinister Toy Boy creates an army of super-villains. Multiverse-spanning fun and action as Superman’s pal fights the good fight.

August 25: The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #9. I’m a big fan of DC animated titles like this series. From late 2024, Matthew Cody and Dario Brizuela delivered a cool story making great use of Kite-Man. Had me smiling from start to finish.

August 26: DC’s Batman Smells Robin Laid an Egg holiday special had me from the title. The stand-out stories are Deadman by Marv Wolfman and Dr. Mid-Nite by James Reid, but there’s not a bad tale in the issue. Worth seeking out.

August 27: The Glick Center. I returned to MetroHealth’s main campus for a colonoscopy, It was good, even given what it was. I was properly gendered. I joked with nurses. I don’t remember the actual procedure, which I consider a win.

August 28: Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor by Mark Waid, Bryan Hitch, Kevin Nowlan and David Baron is a big bold thriller that speaks to who Superman is and why he inspires the world. One of the best Superman tales of all time.

August 29: Godzilla #1-6 by Kazuhisa Iwata (1988). Dark Horse did a great job bringing this manga adaptation of Gojira 1984 to the U.S. It conveys the drama and horror of the Japanese version of the movie. I would love to see it collected.

                                                                 

 

August 30: The Thursday Murder Club (Netflix). A wonderful movie with an outstanding cast playing great characters. The mysteries are intriguing and filled with twists. I dearly hope there’s a sequel in the near future.

August 31: Branza’s Bake Haus & Market in Brunswick. I took Barb there for lunch and it was amazing. She had a cabbage roll and a big pretzel. I had the Rachel, a Reuben with turkey. Great food and an amazing market. Highly recommended. 

                                                                   

 

BEST COMIC BOOK/GRAPHIC NOVEL/MANGA: My Journey to Her by Yuna Hirasawa

BEST BOOK: Woodworking by Emily St. James

BEST MOVIE OR TV SHOW: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

BEST PERSON: John Oliver

BEST OTHER THING: The Glick Center

My Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales are winding down for the year. Just two more weekends to go. The second-to-last one will be Friday and Saturday, September 12 and 13, 9 am to noon at 840 Damon Drive in Medina, Ohio. The final one is September 26 and 27. I’m adding new items to the sales every day and I am also planning some very cool surprises for you. With day-to-day living becoming more expensive and the possibility my health care costs will increase, these garage sales (and my eBay store) are important to me. I hope to see you at them.

I’ll be announcing some convention appearances over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’ll be back soon with more bloggy thing fun for you.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

HELLO, WIKIPEDIA. IT'S ME, JENNY.

 

Within a few days of my coming out as trans, someone had changed my Wikipedia page to JENNY BLAKE ISABELLA. It was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Mostly, I was astonished it had been changed so quickly.

However, of late, I’ve become less than enchanted with the page still displaying a photo of my former self. Since Wikipedia doesn’t allow the subject of a page to make changes to it, I was trying to figure out how to get it changed.

My friend Nat Gertler, the publisher of so many cool and quirky books of historical comics, tells me he can fix this for me. He wrote:

Post the image as a blog entry or page with the following text:

Image by Jenny Blake Isabella hereby released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, readable at

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

He added:

Then send me the blog entry address and I’ll carry the ball from there. (Please realize that once you do this, anyone will be able to use this image for just about anything. But that can be a good thing, because people can quickly get this updated image of you more easily than past images.)

I had a long comics career as Tony Isabella. I don’t consider it a dead name. I wrote a lot of good stuff as Tony. I helped a lot of people as Tony. But Jenny is who I am.

It’s not an easy transition, but I’m committed to it. I know it will come with loss and nigh-terror. But it also comes with more joy than I could have imagined.

I’m only writing as Jenny Blake. I have no problem with my older work being credited to Tony Isabella. But Jenny is who I am. I’ll even be attending comics conventions and other events as my authentic self, starting with November’s Akron Comicon.

I look forward to meeting old friends and new...and introducing them to Jenny. I hope you’re one of them.

NEO COMICON 2025

 

NEO Comiccon was held on Sunday, August 3, from 10 am to 4 pm at the North Olmsted Soccer Sportsplex. Those of you who have read my previous accounts of this annual event know the venue is all artificial turf. It’s easier on the feet and legs than any other convention I attend.

NEO covers two huge playing spaces. Plenty of room for creators and vendors. While I was not presenting as my true self per se, the sign on my table identified me as JENNY BLAKE (FORMERLY TONY ISABELLA). With rare exception, every one called me “Jenny” and, in doing so, made me feel seen and welcome. I especially have to give a shout-out to Don Simpson, my friend oF many decades. When he saw me, he came up to me and said “I don’t believe we’ve ever met. My name is Donald.”

My table was next to Don’s, so we did a lot talking about this and that. On the other side of my space was Dan Berger (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and his wife Jessica. They are amazing and we bonded quickly. 

                                                                     

 

Other creators included Marc Sumerak who has written all manner of cool books, making his first convention appearance in years. He has a new book out: Scooby Doo! and the Attack of the Scooby Snacks (An Official Cookbook): From Scooby Snacks and Pickled Vampire Wings to Fried Moombeams and More. Just writing that long title makes me hungry.

Jason Moore is another amazing creator, penciling and inking a library’s worth of great books and comic books. I also chatted with old friends Dan Gorman, Rick Lorenzo, Ted Sikora, and the legendary Gary Dunn.

Besides being the main artist for American Splendor (Harvey Pekar’s groundbreaking series), Gary has drawn a number of non-fiction graphic novels on a variety of Cleveland and other historical subjects. He was also the main artist on my long-running comics panel The Outbursts of Everett True, featuring a belligerent turn-of-the-century comics character I repurposed as a modern-day comics fan. I wrote well over a hundred of these for Comics Buyer’s Guide, Movie Collectors World and other mags. Gary drew or inked most of them. A Facebook friend said I should write a new Everett in which he weighed in on my transition. So I did...and Gary will be drawing it. I don’t know when and where it will appear at this time. But it’s coming!

                                                                      

Steve Benjamin, a friend of over four decades and a member of my wedding party, assisted me at my table. He even brought a photo of when my Saintly Wife Barb and I attended his sister’s bat mitzvah. She’s as gorgeous as ever.

I sold and signed many copies of DC Pride 2025, which presented my first comic-book story as Jenny Blake. I signed a variety of Isabella-written items while selling DC and Marvel archives and omnibus editions at bargain prices.

The convention’s returning charity partner this year was Super-Heroes for Kids in Ohio. To quote the website:

“Super-Heroes for Kids in Ohio endeavors to spread goodwill through simple acts of kindness, recognizes individuals who have battled through adversity, and encourage the involvement of the community to make a positive difference in the lives of others. The group makes costumed visits to children’s hospitals, special needs centers, and various charitable events whenever and wherever they are needed.”

The group occasionally enlists celebrity cosplayers, so it’s not impossible that Jenny Blake might make an appearance with them in the future. What to wear, what to wear.

The high point of the convention for me was the ready welcoming of my authentic self. Jenny was embraced by old friends and made new ones as well.

In the category of more great news to come, I now have an artist for my new trans super-hero series, someone I’ve wanted to work with for a long time. He’ll also run a Kickstarter so we can get the first issue out to you next year.

To sum up, NEO Comicon was fun and fulfilling. I smile whenever I think about the event. You can bet I’ll be back in 2026.

© 2025 Tony Isabella