Thursday, September 1, 2016

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY (August 2016)

There are terrible people in the world and they speak and do evil  on a daily basis. There are also people, events and creations that bring great joy to my life. Every day, on my Facebook page and on Twitter, I remind myself of the wondrous blessings of my existence in a feature I call “Things That Make Me Happy.”

At the end of each month, for my bloggy thing readers who might not be following me on Facebook or Twitter, I collect the items posted during that month. Here’s what I posted in August...

August 1: Tara Reid channeling the cover of Action Comics #1 in the new Sharknado movie...and I lost it when she flew over Niagra Falls ala Astro Boy.

August 2: Getting paid. When a check arrives in the mail, it always lifts my spirits a little and sometimes a lot.

August 3: Kick-ass women. In all of Syfy’s Sharknado Week movies, women were as heroic as men and often the primary heroic force in those films.

August 4: All-New Wolverine. A relatable hero raising her clone kid sister. A pet wolverine. A horny Fin Fang Foom. What’s not to love?
             
August 5: Sainted Wife Barb. Face it, this tiger hit the jackpot on our wedding day and every day since.

August 6: Being on the same page with your editor and knowing that editor is going to help you make a great comic book.

August 7: My daughter Kelly. She’s determined, fun, kind and smart. I would go on about her, but even this brief praise will doubtless embarrass her.

August 8: Seeing such genuine joy on the faces of so many Olympics champions. Nice to watch dreams come true.

August 9: Writing my first comic-book series for a major publisher in way too many years. Yes, I am a tease.

August 10: Watching Ultraman The Complete Series. Getting the 39-episode, four-disc set for under eight dollars.

August 11: The look on the faces of my kids when I walked into our family room while they were watching the Olympics. I had a little plastic cup taped to my forehead. I told them I didn’t understand why Michael Phelps was so high on this cupping stuff.

August 12: That photo of the nine-year-old Katie Ledecky getting an autograph from Michael Phelps. I’ll think of it whenever I sign one of my comics for a kid.

August 13: The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime. It’s 900 pages of history and inspiration.

August 14: Juggling several writing projects at the same time and making headway on all of them.

August 15: Seeing so many old friends at the spiffy NEO Comic-Con:  Gary and Laura Dumm, Don Simpson, Joe Hovorka and more.

August 16: Hearing the first promising news about an old friend who has been going through tough times for years.

August 17: The first day of school. Seeing young parents walking their kids to school always gives me hope for the future.

August 18: The eternal wonder that is William Shatner. He has s new show - Better Late Than Never - debuting on NBC in the fall.

August 19: The new animated Batman movie done in the style of the 1960s TV show and featuring the voices of Adam West, Julie Newmar and Burt Ward.

August 20: News of the first-time ever Godzilla anime. A new movie from Toho, a new movie from Legendary. What a terrific time to be a Godzilla fan.

August 21: The Akron Comiccon. One of my favorite conventions and - WOW - do they have a great guest line-up for this year’s show!

August 22: Robb Armstrong. His Jump Start comics strip is one of my favorites and I’m currently reading/enjoying his book Fearless: A Cartoonist’s Guide to Life.

August 23: Larry Lieber’s Rawhide Kid. Always entertaining stories with more than a few classics along the way. Look for the return of my “Rawhide Kid Wednesday” series in tomorrow’s bloggy thing.

August 24: PS Artbooks. I enjoy reading their reprints of vintage comics from the 1940s and 1950s, even when the stories themselves aren’t exactly classics.

August 25: Image Comics celebrates its 25th anniversary. They have made comics better for creators and fans alike.

August 26: Scarlet Witch #8 by James Robinson & artist Tula Lotay. A satisfying done-in-one issue that also advances the overall arc. We need some comic books like this.

August 27: Our new 65" 4D tv, bought to celebrate something I can’t tell you about yet. But it’s real good.

August 28: Jack Kirby. No explanation required.

August 29: NBC’s Better Late Than Never. Winkler, Shatner, Foreman, Bradshaw traveling through Asia. Funny and informative. Barb and I watched the first episode on Sunday and were amazed how much they  got into the 46-minute running time.

August 30: Getting back to watching Jessica Jones on Netflix with my son Eddie. Five episodes to go.

August 31: That moment when you break a writer’s block by figuring out what was causing it.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff. Could be another installment of “Citizen Tony.” Could be the start of another convention report. Could be reviews of books, comic books, movies or TV shows. Could be anything. You just never know with me.

© 2016 Tony Isabella

3 comments:

  1. August 27th? Hmmmmm......
    http://io9.gizmodo.com/report-greg-berlantis-pitching-a-black-lightning-show-1786056604

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loved the latest Sharknado and the last scene hints at the return of another character in a sequel. The crossovers between Fin Shepard and Colton West are just wonderful. We really need a combined menace of flaming Sharklantulas to bring them together.

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  3. Not gonna spoil anything, but I take it that the new TV was paid for with a damn nice paycheck from Hollywood.

    Can't wait to see how they do Tobias Whale.

    ReplyDelete