Don’t get me started. I mean that literally. Generally, I commence these “made me happy” pieces by detailing all the excrement I went through the previous month as a contrast to the things that brought me joy. Not this time. I’ll sum up the past three months by letting you know it was too much for me. Way too much. I don’t even want to think about it, much less write about it. So...
Without further adieu, here are the things that brought much-needed joy to me in July...
July 1: Simba is home again. She never really left. I feel her presence throughout our home. I often catch glimpses of her in her favorite spots. We will love her forever and we know she loves us too. My little buddy.
July 2: Black’s Myth by Eric Palicki and Wendell Cavalcanti. So a private detective werewolf, a half-djinn and The Minotaur walk into a mystery. That’s not exactly what happens, but what does happen is
an entertaining bit of spooky noir. Recommended.
July 3: The 24-hour Godzilla channel on Pluto TV. Okay, yes, I have seen these movies at least a dozen times over. But I never dreamed I’d be able to turn on the TV and always see Godzilla, anytime, day or night, for free! All praise the great scaly one!
July 4: Pluto TV also has a 24-hour channel devoted to the cinema classes from by The Asylum. Between this and the Godzilla channel, I’m almost wishing I could afford to retire. I think I need we need a bigger TV.
July 5: My new Weony blood pressure monitor. More consistent than my previous one. The downside is no longer ignoring I really need to adhere to a meal plan for my Type 2 diabetes. I’ll let you know how that goes.
July 6: Published around this time last year, Amazing Fantasy #1000 celebrates Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary with a terrific anthology of short stories by a variety of top comics creators. The issue is an absolute delight. Kudos all around.
July 7: Dead Man’s Party #1 by Jeff Marsick and Scott Barnett. One of my random Indy Planet buys, I liked it so much I ordered issues #2-5. The protagonist is an assassin given a diagnosis of incurable cancer. There are delicious twists.
[I finished the five-issue series and am thrilled to report it was great to the last page. Recommended.]
July 8: Days of Sand by Aimee De Jongh. When it comes to the next round of comics awards, I’ll be shocked if this powerful story of a government photographer in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of 1937 isn’t among them. It’s an instant classic.
[Days of Sand was eligible for some of this year’s awards. It got nominated, but did not win. It should have.]
July 9: Sweetness & Lightning by Gido Amagakure. A widowed school teacher with his young daughter share meals and the cooking of the meals with a neglected student. A bit heavy on the recipes, but so charming and heartwarming.
July 10: I Am Batman 2: Welcome to New York by John Ridley follows Jace Fox (who’s *a* batman not *The* Batman) to the Big Apple. Good intentions are soon complicated by politics and a terrifying serial killer. Looking forward to the third book.
[I Am Batman has been cancelled. DC’s vision of what makes for good comics is so far removed from mine that it could be company policy to cancel anything I like.]
July 11: Will Meugniot’s Adventures of Cat Passmore, Sub: Human is so deliciously fresh and fun it could’ve been picked from the fruit tree of the comics gods. It delighted me from start to finish. You can get it from Indy Planet...and you should!
July 12: A Jeopardy player revealed that, in his younger days, he used to create fake library cards so he could take out more books.Host Ken Jennies quipped, “Best Jeopardy crime ever!”
July 13: Bokksu Snack Box. Barb and I deserved a treat for what we went through in June. We’re getting a box of delicious stuff from Japan every month. Biggest likes so far: the white strawberry candy and the 20th Century Pear Biscuit.
July 14: The Out-Laws. This just released action comedy stars Adam Devine as a bank manager whose future in-laws are bank robbers on the run from their murderous partner. It’s 95 minutes of goofy fun, crazy action and a terrific supporting cast.
July 15: We have a new refrigerator in our kitchen. We had to buy it because our just-five-years-old fridge kicked the bucket. We’re hoping to get at least seven years out of this one. Now comes the restocking of the food.
July 16: Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge. I haven’t enjoyed a HGTV show this much since they rebuilt the Brady house. Crazy designs. Lots of Barbie history. Now I want them to build Avengers Mansion or the Hall of Justice.
[I am not kidding about either of those. Come on, HGTV. Time to get your share of the super-hero market.]
July 17: A Very British Affair: The Best of Classic Romance Comics. Curated by David Roach, this anthology of love comics features some amazing art, writing with a distinct British accent and a sense of the history of these magazines. Well worth reading.
July 18: My pal Mike Buckley is making his first comics convention appearance in far too long as a guest of the Gem City Comic Con at the Dayton Convention Center, July 22-23 in Dayton, Ohio. Mention my name and he’ll sing to you.
[Nobody asked Mike to sing to them. The fools!]
July 19: Casa Isabella has a spanking new driveway, which glistens in the sun. Seriously, in direct sunlight, it’s darn near blinding. Yes, the future is so bright we’ve got to wear shades. We will be able to park on it in a few more days.
July 20: From IDW, Bermuda by John Layman, Nick Bradshaw and Len O’Grady is a four-issue sci-fi thriller. Fast paced action, solid characters and a satisfying ending. If there’s a trade paperback, get it for your home, public or school library.
July 21: Lonesome Days, Savage Nights #1 by Steve Niles, Salvatore Simone & Syzmon Kudranski. From 2020, a werewolf on the side of the angels fighting the criminals who killed his beloved. I loved this first book. Where’s the second already?
[The second book is in the works, but clearly not progressing fast enough to suit me.]
July 22: Dark Blood by Latoya Morgan. A decorated soldier is home, living his life while dealing with Deep South racism. Experimented on without his knowledge, he now has powers he doesn’t understand. A dangerously engaging series. Highly recommended.
July 23: Finding Dee #1 by Dee Fish. “Sometimes Finding Yourself is a Transition.” A charming, funny and down-to-earth comic book about the cartoonist’s transition. It was published in 2017 and there’s a collection due this fall. Take my money.
[I bought and am enjoying all the issues published to date. I’ll be writing about them when I do my next “queer comics” blog.]
July 24: Executive Assistant Iris by David Wohl, Eduardo Francisco and John Starr. Back in 2011, I read some issues of this secretary, bodyguard and assassin. I liked them and meant to read more. Now I have and I like them even more.
July 25: Chu Volume 2: (She) Drunk History by John Laymen and Dan Boultwood. Saffron Chu, the master criminal sister of “my asshole cop brother Tony” returns with hilarious time-spanning capers that had me chuckling throughout. Highly recommended.
July 26: Our shiny new driveway was installed a week earlier, but we couldn’t park our vehicles on it until this date. Not only does it look fantastic, but it’s a lot safer for an old guy who walks with a cane a significant part of the time.
July 27: By most accounts, Comic-Con International in San Diego was a big success despite the impact of the writers and actors strikes.Related media fans found their way to the comics creators, panels and vendors and enjoyed themselves. Thumbs up.
July 28: Todd McFarlane Toys is producing a Black Lightning figure that’s due out in the fall of this year. I can’t wait to buy two of them, one for me and one for the lucky college that will eventually get my Black Lightning archives.
[This will be a WalMart exclusive and could be in their stores as early as mid-October.]
July 29: Netflix has added a bunch of intriguing looking movies and TV shows from South Korea. I liked the first episode of Mr. Queen and will be sampling others. I just wish Netflix wasn’t being such a dick when it comes to the writers strike.
July 30: NEO Comicon 2023. The one-day event was the largest in the show’s history. Thousands of attendees. Tens of thousands of comic books, Funko figures and more. Great comics creators and craftsman. Pure joy for the fan’s heart.
July 31: NEO Comicon 2023. One of the really cool things about the event was hanging out with my pal Mike Buckley, who I haven’t seen in several years. Also on hand was Tom Orzechowski, who was one of the best hires I ever made as a Marvel Comics editor.
I feel better now. I hope you do, too. I’ll be back soon with more bloggy thing fun.
© 2023 Tony Isabella
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