Sunday, July 3, 2016

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY (June 2016)

It seems like a long while since I’ve written one of these bloggy things of mine, but that’s mostly because events happen so fast in our world and with such devastating consequences. We live in a time when we are challenged daily by evil people. Some of them are open terrorists and criminals. Some of them are the Republican candidate for President and those who would abandon all morality and reason in supporting him. As much as I pray we can - and, if I have what you would recognize as faith, it’s faith in my fellow men and women and in the eventual triumph of good over evil - I sometimes wonder if we will prove up to the challenges we face.

In past months, I have alternated between two daily features on my Facebook page and on Twitter. One month I would post items from “My Other Bucket List,” things I strive for or want to accomplish outside my creative goals, and “Things That Piss Me Off,” which is sorta self-explanatory. However, challenging times demand I seek the light on a daily basis.

I have started posting and will continue to post a daily addition to the long list of “Things That Make Me Happy.” Which is also self-explanatory.

Here are the “Things That Make Me Happy” from June...

June 1: Justice League Unlimited and the comic book based on that most wonderful of animated shows.

July 2: Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo. I’m rereading the entire run in those big collections from Fantagraphics and Dark Horse. I read a story a day, so I know I’m going to read at least one great comics story every day.

July 3: Monthly lunch with Herd brothers Bob Ingersoll, Roger Price and Thom Zahler at On Tap in Medina. Great company, good food, good prices. Though I wish our distant Herd brothers and sisters could join us, they should know we’re thinking of them.

July 4: Comic-book references from President Obama and members of the Supreme Court. What would make me happier is if our President established an annual comics medal for outstanding service to our American comics art form. The first one should go to March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell.

July 5: Godzilla. I could never compute all the happy hours I have spent watching the movies and the cartoons, and reading the comic books. Time well spent.

June 6: Lucy Knisley. This cartoonist is an American treasure. If you need proof of that, check out Something New, her newest work.

June 7: Black Lightning. I am humbled by the love and respect shown my creation. I will always strive to be worthy of that love and respect.

June 8: Mark Evanier. My friend of nearly half a century is one of the best writers and finest people I have ever known.

June 9: Facebook. I figured it for a useful promotional tool. Never dreamed it’d become my favorite online port of call. Thanks to my roughly 5000 friends for making it so.

June 10: The Simpsons on FXX. Even when I’m too tired to channel-surf properly, there’s laughs to be had with Homer and his family.

June 11: Doctor Who. I’m years behind watching the TV show and way behind reading the comic. Even so, I just plain love the Doctor and hope to start catching up with him soon.

June 12: Early morning trip to the grocery store. Pleasant people singing along to the music. Calling all angels, indeed.

June 13: That I still have hope for the future.

June 14: Valiant Comics. Their intricate universe can be daunting, but they do an excellent job of making their comics accessible to new readers.

June 15: Ryan Ottley’s Grizzly Shark. Big dumb fun. Trust me here. I’m the guy who has ordered both Shark Exorcist and Sharkenstein.

June 16: Watching Game 6 of the NBA finals with my son Eddie at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Indianapolis.

June 17: Spending time with my old friend Scott Shaw. It’s a joy I haven’t experienced in way too many years.

June 18: Hanging out at the hotel bar with much younger than me comics people Christina Blanch, Lee Cherolis, Jackie Crofts, Brian Wyrick and others. I don’t know if they get anything out of it, but such times keep me engaged and keep me feeling young.

June 19: Indy Pop Con. I love this Big Tent event that includes so  many diverse fandoms. I love meeting a potential new audience for my own work.

June 20: Cleveland Cavaliers. History-making 2016 NBA champ. LeBron James named MVP of the finals. It’s been 52 years coming and, damn, does it feel good.

June 21: Cosplay. Whether the cosplayer wears an intricate outfit or a more modest effort, they make cons that much more fun.

June 22: Cleveland’s peaceful celebration of the Cavaliers winning the NBA championship. On Sunday night, there were only five arrests at the downtown celebration. I hope we do even better for today’s victory parade.

June 23: End of Watch by Stephen King. A thrilling and satisfying conclusion to the Bill Hodges trilogy. Well done, sir, well done.

June 24: Seeing some of my favorite garage sale customers for the first time since 2014. I missed you.

June 25: Bill Dever’s B-Movie Nation with its thousands of B-movie articles. I visit it daily and so should you. You can find it here.

June 26: My son Eddie. He’s a capable, caring, hard-working grown-ass man. I love when he comes to conventions with me.

June 27: American Kaiju in Marvel’s New Avengers. Gamma rays and other pseudo-science stuff turn a man into a patriotic Godzilla wannabe. It’s like they wrote this just for me.

June 28: Lambiek Comiclopedia. It’s a wonderful source for info on artists from around the world. Visit it here.

June 29: Getting up in the morning ready to hit the keyboard and do my writing thing.

June 30: Three young boys and their mom waiting for the library to open. When the doors open, they excitedly chant “Library! Library!”

I hope my little shout-outs brought smiles to your faces. I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

1 comment:

  1. I enjoy whatever you can, and care to, write about. Your blog posts (and your comics — I rationed out the so-glad-it-finally-happened Black Lightning collection to approximate the stories' original periodical nature) are certainly a thing that makes me happy, immeasurably augmented by the personal encounters we've had over the years. I hope you have a fun Fourth with your family and that life's latest travails are in the rear-view mirror soon.

    ReplyDelete