Monday, June 15, 2020

I DON’T KNOW

A wise friend of mine, his claim to wisdom only mildly compromised by his being my friend for half a century, told me that one of the smartest answers anyone can give is:

I don’t know.

This is my attempt to be smarter.

I don’t know...why I designated recent bloggy things as mini-blogs. A blog is a blog is a blog and I shan’t be using that term again. Some of my blog entries will be long and some will be short, but they will all be as entertaining, informative or both as I can make them.

I didn’t know...whether I would stay in the comics industry or make my perhaps long overdue departure. It has been a tiring few years with DC Comics being DC Comics, with vile click-bait sites turning me into a target for trolls and legitimate sites following their lead, and with a seeming lack of interest in my comic-book writing from comics publishers who fail to realize they could splash “From the creator of Black Lightning” on covers of any comic books I would write for them. I didn’t know, but then I got a whole bunch of e-mails and online posts from fans, friends and readers who have told me how much my work these past 48 years has meant to them. The comics industry needs me. It doesn’t realize that it needs me, but, yeah, it does.

I don’t know...what my next major project will be. This month, I’m finalizing my taxes, writing a pitch for a comic-book project that would star a friend of mine, writing some pitches for episodes of a TV series and creating a character/concept for another friend of mine. That last could be a movie or TV series. Which, as I think of them, could all be considered major projects. Except the taxes, of course. There I’m just looking for a big refund check.

I think I know...what my next major project will be after I finish the above. I’m talking July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic-Book Life of Tony Isabella Volumes 2-8. But I’ll likely need to do some crowd-funding to make it work.

I don’t know...what platform to use for that crowd-funding. I need to buy research materials, namely old comic books. Those materials will likely cost thousands of dollars. My aim would be to finish a volume every six months. What do you think would be the appropriate  platform for a project like this?  
 
I don’t know...why DC Comics decided a pandemic was the right time to upend distribution to comics retailers in such a chaotic manner. I’m sure they have stated reasons and will state more reasons if those aren’t convincing, but I’ve learned from painful experience not to think about why DC does the things it does because it makes my head hurt. I’ve also learned not to trust the publisher, but am always willing to be shown I can trust it.

I don’t know...how comics retailers, who are, in so many ways, the backbone of the comics industry are going to survive the pandemic and the chaos in the industry. I hope they do survive and thrive, but I’ve not been a comics retailer since 1989. I owned a terrific comic shop, the best in the Cleveland area, but that shop had this one glaring weakness: I was a lousy businessman.

I don’t know...if the comics industry will continue to provide work and opportunities for all those who have suffered from the present chaos and troubles. I think it’s unlikely I’ll have a role in this, though it won’t be for lack of trying. Interested parties can e-mail if they want to work with me.

I don’t know...when conventions will be possible again. Right now, there are two events remaining on my 2020 schedule. There would’ve been three, but the Grand Rapids Comic Con, which, make no mistake, is a fine event, told me they were giving me a year off because it was an election year and because of my anti-Republican posts on my social media. The two events on my schedule are the Lorain County Comic Show (July 25; a food bank fundraiser) and the Akron Comicon (November 7-8). I plan to honor those commitments, but, honestly, I’ll be surprised if either goes forward.

I don’t know...what a mostly out-of-work writer like me can do to help our beloved comics shops through this rough patch. I do have a plan how I can help in a small way and, once I’ve figured out all the details, I’ll announce it.

I don’t know...precisely when my Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales will start. I do know they will be one-on-one by appointment only. My best guess is that they will start in late June or early July. I’ll have details on those sales in the near future.

As to the world outside the comics industry and me...

I don’t know...what I can do support Black Lives Matter beyond my online posts and my work with characters of color. I try to donate what I can, but, beyond my social security checks and my Last Kiss checks, there isn’t much going into my bank account.

I don’t know...what I can do to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic. I take the appropriate precautions I can keep myself and those around me safe, but we all know the anti-science crowd is against actual science. I know people who think the pandemic is some sort of evil government conspiracy.

I don’t know...what I can do insure that super-villains like Donald Trump and his goons are voted out of office, charged for their high crimes and thrown into prison for the rest of their lives. But I’ll continue to support Democratic candidates while urging my readers to vote every Republican out of office. I’ve seen what that party has become and, if you’re being honest with yourselves, you see it as well. I wonder which convention will not invite for that.

Here’s the thing about saying “I don’t know.” That does not need to be a permanent condition. I can and will try to figure things out, to learn the things I need to learn and to be able to proclaim with relative confidence that I actually know some things.

Stay safe and sane, my friends. I’ll be back soon.

© 2020 Tony Isabella

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