MY AKRONOMICON DAY

Burt Gummer lives!

From what I was told, the gentleman above won the convention costume contest. I didn’t get his name, but we agreed that the formidable graboid-slayer wasn’t dead. We never saw his body in the most recent Tremors movie. We concluded he was taking a bit of “Burt Time” to recharge at some undisclosed location, happily living off his stockpiles of MREs.

Akronomicon 2025 was a one-day horror event hosted by the same fine folks who do the Akron Comicon. Like that convention, it was held at Emidio’s Expo Center in nearby Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The facility had had and is still undergoing some renovation. It’ll be even bigger for their next event. That should be in May. When I know more, I’ll share the info with you.

The day started with a twinge of sadness. In years past, WBNX-TV has been the first booth at Akron Comicon and other events. But the station, which had always done a terrific job promoting the con, was sold just before last year’s event. That was their last time setting up at the show. They were the best people and their absence was felt.

There were still many joys to be had at Akronomicon. I got to spend time with my friend Linda Miller (King Kong Escapes and The Green Slime). She is a charming, friendly lady with wondrous stories from her life in Japan and appearing in films there. She is one my favorite people.

I met Victoria Price, daughter of Vincent Price and author of, among other things, Vincent Price: A Daughter’s Biography and The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to my Truest Self. She graciously signed both books for me.

There were many other media guests at Akronomicon, but I didn’t get the chance to chat with them other than to say hello. I did get to spend time with dear friends like Ted Sikora, Jay Fife, Rick Lorenzo, Dan Gorman and Denine Copeland.

The topic of discussion included the adverse effects the current administration will have on our country, our world, and even the comics industry. Many of the comic books you love are printed in Canada. Many of the classy collections are printed in China. I’m not sure there are enough American printers to pick up the work being done in those countries and match the quality and price of those comics and collections.

Among the items I sold were duplicates of PS Artbooks volumes I owned. The customer was thrilled to get them at such reasonable prices. Just one of the reasons you should make plans to come to my cool Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales this spring and summer. I had a nice chat with the customer, directing him to the PS Artbooks website and telling him he could usually find the books discounted InStock Trade and, of course, at much lower shipping costs than ordering them from the U.K.

My next convention guest appearance is coming up soon. I’ll be returning to Pensacon. My favorite convention is taking place on February 14-16. I’ll have more details for you in a few days. In the meantime, thanks to Akronomicon for a good time and thanks to all of you for visiting me here.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

IBIS THE INVINCIBLE

 

Britain's PS Artbooks gets more of my comics-buying dollars than any other publisher. Their hardcover and paperback collections of classic and even not-so-classic comics from the 1940s though the 1960s bring me great pleasure. I get to read comic books I have never read. Even the not-so-classic ones are entertaining. Alas, if Trump’s threatened tariffs happen, these already pricey books may become too expensive for me. I can only sell so much blood to raise money for them and I still use most of my organs. Time will tell.

Ibis the Invincible Vol. 1 presents the first three issues of the Fawcett Comics title from the 1940s. Ibis is an Egyptian prince who battles the cruel Black Pharaoh in ancient times. He is gifted with the powerful Ibistick which can do pretty much anything. Ibis defeats the Pharaoh, but not before the villain plunged the princess Taia into a 4000-year sleep. Ibis uses the Ibistick to join her in this long sleep. When they awaken in the modern era, Ibis and Taia jump right back into the business of fighting often-supernatural evil.

Ibis and Taia first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 [February, 1940] in a story by Bill Parker (writer) and C.C. Beck (artist). Ibis would appear in every issue of that title, backing up headliner Captain Marvel and alongside other heroes like Spy Smasher, Lance O’Casey, Golden Arrow and others. His own title ran for six issues published between 1942 and 1948.

Ibis #1 [1942] has a cover by Mac Raboy and kicks off with a new, expanded origin story by Otto Binder with art opined to be by Pete Costanza. It’s a 68-page issue featuring three other Ibis tales and the usual space fillers. Ibis contends with Asian dictator Ching Fang, the supernatural demon Nightmare (summoned by blackmailing gangsters) and a Mayan bat-god Zoltil. We don’t know who wrote and drew these stories, but each runs 14 pages. I found them entertaining.

Of special interest is the Nightmare story. Having no physical evidence of the crimes against a wealthy socialite, Ibis frames the criminals by teleporting her necklace into the gangster hideout and calling the cops on them. The frightened crooks decide to escape by entering the nightmare dimension where they meet a far more terrible fate than they would faced on Earth. The Ibistick can’t kill, but it can do just about everything else.

Besides a cooler origin story, Ibis isn’t really different from the host of other magician characters appearing in the anthology comics from the 1940s. What made or broke the characters were their gimmicks. Zatara spoke his magic spells backwards. Ibis had the Ibistick, which pretty much any kid could’ve duplicated with sticks from their backyards or nearby parks.

The second issue, published in 1943, is better than the first. Ibis fights a human criminal, the murderous mummy Rameses (an old foe) and Mr. Discord. The criminal gets his mitts on the Ibistick and uses it against Ibis. The best story of the issue is “Ibis Sends Death on a Holiday” by Otto Binder and artist Bob Hebberd wherein our magician hero learns a valuable lesson. The Mr. Discord story is by Bill Woolfolk.

With the third issue [Winter 1945], the page count drops to just 36 pages and the Ibis stories are all written by Bill Woolfolk. Ibis goes up against Jaguar Man, an accidentally-summoned sorcerer and a living musical note. The art is by Gus Ricca.

Ibis the Invincible would stay 36 pages for two of its remaining three issues with the middle one coming in at 52 pages. If PS Artbooks does another volume, they’ll likely have to pad the page count with a non-Ibis comic book or two.

Getting back to the secondary features in these three issues, they are a mixed bag. “Sir Butch” (6 pages) is a very busy humor and fantasy tale written and drawn by Dave Berg.

Issue #2’s “Brother Boot and his pal Curley” (6 pages) stars two fun-loving kids having adventures. Curley looks uncomfortably like the Yellow Kid. The creators are unknown.

Issue #3 has “Mystic Moot and His Magic Snoot” (4 pages) by the legendary Basil Wolverton. It’s always terrific to see Wolverton work. He was all over the comics of the 1940s and 1950s.

When I read vintage stories of heroes like Ibis, I usually look at them with a thought of what I could do with them. But I could not warm up to Ibis. He was too powerful and also too easy to be incapacitated with a knock on the head.

Despite his Egyptian origins, Ibis looked like another Caucasian hero. If I were to write him, I want the stories to reflect his likely Arabic look and his culture. Which would probably lead to tales about the Middle East. I have enough trouble making sense of the 2025 United States and its fascist oligarchs and Republicans. I don’t need to take on even more dysfunctional countries.

Let me know if you enjoy my ventures into the comic books of the 1940s and beyond. I have literally over a hundred PS Artbooks volumes I haven’t read yet.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

RANDOM THOUGHTS TO START THE WEEK

 

Outside my office window, one of my neighbors has just finished clearing the sidewalks up and down the street with his riding snow plow. It’s the kind of thing neighbors do for each other on Damon Drive. We watched each other’s kids and now, that they are grown, we watch each other’s cats. It’s nice.

I’m staying away from live TV today (Monday) because I have no desire to listen to the media normalize the most stone evil people in the United States. Also, my saintly wife gets way too crazy anxious when Ohio State has a major game. I am respecting her wishes not to have the game on. I have a dozen recorded episodes of House Hunters I can watch instead, not to mention movies and such on my streaming channels. I’m good.

But I will take note of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, recognizing one of the greatest Americans of my life and reminding myself that human decency and excellence has existed in the past and will exist again in the future.

What I’ll be writing today, in between yelling at home buyers complaining they can see their neighbors fa mile away and have to drive thirty minutes to work, are random things that crossed my mind. These are things that are too quickly considered for full blogs, but make a nice compilation of subjects. I hope you enjoy them. 

                                                                               

 

Will the real Harvey Bullock please stand up?

I’m getting ready to watch Collector’s Call on Me TV. I see the end credits of The Andy Griffith Show and they include one for a writer named Harvey Bullock. Probably not an earlier career for the character of the same name in Batman comic books and such. But the name keeps popping on other Andy Griffith episodes and other vintage shows. Sometimes as a producer. Eventually, my curiosity sent me to Google. Where I soon learned this Harvey Bullock had a long and fruitful career in television and movies. But this in turn led me to a comics-related question.

There is a wee dispute over who created the Batman character. He first appeared as “Lt. Bullock” in a handful of panels in a tale by Archie Goodwin and Howard Chaykin. No first name. Which killed my theory that Goodwin might have known, if only by name, the TV writer and producer.

The Harvey Bullock best known to Batman fans appeared nine years later in a story by Doug Moench and Don Newton. Though Goodwin is legally credited as Bullock’s sole creator, Moench has not contested this out of respect for Goodwin. It’s pretty clear the two characters aren’t the same. Moench says he got the name from guitarist Hiram Bullock.

Maybe some day I’ll do a deep dive into the work of TV’s Harvey Bullock. Until then, while I’ll probably still do a double-take whenever I see his credit, I’ll remember the two Harveys aren’t related. Unless Gotham’s Bullock had an uncle?

                                                                       

                                                                      

I started reading Kaiju Unleashed: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Strange Beasts by Shawn Pryor this morning. In his foreword, Jason Barr wrote what I thought was a particularly apt summation of the genre:

It is my belief that the kaiju genre offers us, on the surface, not only the basest of thrills, but the genre also reminds us of the potential for humanity to solve, quite literally, the biggest problems. After all, as humans, we measure ourselves by the adversity we face, and the kaiju is a perfect stand-in for the world-shaking moral issues we collectively face alongside our nettlesome individual challenges. We create the beast in order to reassure ourselves that we can slay it, to see if we can measure up to the task. Sometimes, these victories require great sacrifice and redemption, but, in the end, humanity almost always wins, even if it is a big tenuous at times. And even if it is rarely a lasting victory.

                                                                               

    

I enjoyed Black Panther Vol. 1: Reign at Dusk by Eve L. Ewing recently, even though I hadn’t read the apparently years worth of Black Panther comic books that preceded it. T’Challa has been banished from the throne of Wakanda and is a fugitive living in the city of Birnin T'Chaka under an assumed identity. He’s still fighting for his people, but which fewer resources than he had. Ever since Don McGregor put his indelible stamp on T’Challa back in the 1970s, the character has often had to battle against the most incredible odds.

Today, transgender representation is more important than ever in our lives and in our entertainment. This volume introduced Beisa (Natima Ngoza), a trans woman from a neighboring country who transitioned early in life. Her family seems to have accepted her until she refused to follow in her father's footsteps and join the army. An expert thief and Olympic level athlete, she’s investigating politically-motivated disappearances. Which brings her into conflict and uneasy alliance with the Panther.

I love this new character and the matter-of-fact way in which her situation is introduced. Being trans is not the main thing about her. As I said, I love her a lot, so much so that, in my head, I have been shipping her and T’Challa. I hope to see her continue to play a major role in subsequent volumes.

                                                                             

                                          

The Holiday (2006) is my favorite movie I’ve never seen. Or, to be a bit more accurate, I’ve never seen from start to finish. My entire experience with the film has been finding it while channel-surfing and watching the last forty minutes of it. But, wow, do those final moments have an impact on me.

Here’s the Internet Movie Database summery of The Holiday: Amanda lives in LA and is a movie trailer editor. Iris lives in Surrey and is a journalist. The two decide to swap houses for two weeks at Christmas - both trying to forget their troubled love lives, until love finds them anyways.

Cameron Diaz plays Amanda. Kate Winslet plays Iris. Jude Law is Graham, Amanda’s widowed brother who is raising two young girls. Jack Black plays Miles, a Hollywood film composer. Eli Wallach is Arthur Abbott, a famous screenwriter from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Living next door to Amanda’s LA home, he’s befriended by Iris. Those are the key players.

Here’s why I love this movie I’ve never seen in its entirely. It makes me cry in the very best way. One of the medications I take daily makes me more emotional than usual. There are commercials that make me tear up. There’s the Amazon one where a janitor gets to sing on stage in front of his coworkers. The Toyota one where a father and daughter reunite a little girl with her lost dog. I turn on the waterworks when they run.

There are three wonderful scenes in The Holiday that will always bring forth the tears. The first is when Arthur is honored at a special Writers Guild gala to celebrate his career. He doesn’t think people are interested in him and his work until he enters the auditorium to applause and then takes the stage to reflect on his life and work. Go ahead, Read into this what you will. I won’t deny I take this scene personally.

The second is also at the gala. Miles asks Iris to go out with him on New Year’s Eve. When she says she has to return to London before then, he says he’s never been to England. The two friends become something more in that scene.

The third is when Amanda, finally realizing she’s in love with Graham, tells the driver taking her to the airport to stop the car. She gets out, runs across pristine snowy fields, to Graham. When she gets to his house, she sees he’s been crying over losing her. I can’t watch that scene without smiling through my own tears.

So, yeah, I’m a big old crybaby. Screw you.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

BAD STUFF

 

My original plan for today’s bloggy entertainment was to cobble together a bunch of random subjects and thoughts and present this pleasant mix to you. Then the real world got in the way and I knew I couldn’t write a fun blog until I dealt with some of the very bad stuff weighing heavily on my mind and the minds of every decent person. If it’s any consolation, I will do my level best to keep every item as short as possible.

CLIMATE CHANGE. It’s real and it’s terrifying. My heart breaks as I see the devastation and loss from the Los Angeles wildfires and the hardship and losses from the frigid storms that struck so much of the rest of the country. This isn’t some weird theory or woke assault on our freedoms. This is science making us all its bitch due to avarice and ignorance and unthinking right-wing zealotry. Is putting even more money into the already bloated payments to CEOs and stockholders worth all this horror? Can we afford to keep ignoring science even though we’re already facing an uphill battle trying to mitigate the continued damage? Can we not as a caring nation be unitedly disgusted by Trump and his Republican goons politicizing these disasters? It’s worse than Nero fiddling while Rome burned because these human monsters want to push draconian conditions and extreme misinformation on areas in need. Something Democratic Party lawmakers have never done except in the wild fantasies of the Fox News crowd. My dreams, my nightmares are haunted by the deadly fire and ice I watch on the news. It is literally Hell on Earth.

TRUMP. The Constitution is crystal clear on this matter. Donald J. Trump cannot be President of the United States. Yet he will be sworn in. The Republicans in Congress will not honor their oaths of office. They are driven in turns by fear, greed, lust for power and an unreasoning hatred of the “evil” minorities who exist only in their deranged minds. The Supreme Court justices, even those not appointed by Trump, will not uphold their oaths of office. Even the Democrats, who should and do know this clear truth, will not oppose his inauguration. So the worst man in our nation’s current history – bully, con man, coward, crook, liar, racist, rapist, insurrectionist, traitor – will again become the President of what we all hoped was the greatest nation on earth.

With Trump will come a noxious collection of clearly unqualified appointees, avaricious billionaires and arguably insane zealots. They will gut the various agencies they are supposed to guide for the benefit of the American people. They will visit hardship and soul-deep misery on innocent people. They will make every day less safe for all of us and for the world.

If you voted for Trump and any other Republicans, you are in my eyes, as vile as they are. Maybe you were too lazy to do even the most basic homework exercising an informed vote requires. Maybe you thought they hated the same people you hate. Maybe you foolishly think their cruel and self-centered policies won’t hurt you just as much as they will the decent people who voted against Trump and his fellows. Maybe you’re criminally stupid. Or maybe, like Trump and his ilk, you are actually evil. Whatever you are, I will always wish ill for you. I will always wish your happiness and hopes crumble into the foul-smelling dust of your souls. As much as I cherish redemption stories, and have written more than a few of those, I fear you are beyond redemption. You are damned by your own actions.

SAY GAY! For more reasons than I can possibly emulate at this time, the constant attacks on the LGBTQ+ community are something I take very personally. The attacks on trans people, adults and kids, are especially heinous. For Republicans, it’s a replay of Ronald Reagan’s bogus “welfare queens” gambit. It worked then and, even though Reagan is presently burning in Hell for that and so many other sins, the GOP plays this tune over and over again. They target a group of innocent folks just trying to live their lives and work their evil to convince their dumbass voters that these people are somehow a bigger threat to our country than corporate greed, corrupt officials and gun violence. The GOP make Marvel’s Hate-Monger look like an amateur...and he was probably Hitler. They’ve been joined by so-called Christians who, obviously given their support of Trump, haven’t a clue as to actual Christianity. They disgust me.

I ask you to raise your voice in support of the LGBTQ+ community in all its wondrous variety. If you can, I ask you to donate to organizations that work to protect and elevate that community. I ask to reject the GOP-driven hate. Because, in so many ways, we are all part of the community.

PRESERVING HISTORY. Joe Biden was not my perfect president. Can there ever be such a person for a rational human being? But, if his actual history is preserved, if the evil ones don’t succeed in rewriting history, I believe the future will be far more kind to him than our times were and will recognize him as one of our greatest and most successful leaders. Biden did many good and even great things during his four years and did them under the most challenging of circumstances. Trump and his mob never stopped claiming Biden’s election was fraudulent. Even so, Biden served our country and the world well. He deserves our respect.

PATHETIC TROLLS.Whenever I write something like today’s offering, I know certain individuals are joining to try to post comments on it. Some are people who faced karmic and actual consequences for criminal actions against me and paid a price for that. Some are the usual right-wing zealots who naturally hate people like me. There is even a demented creep who was booted off the original Official Tony Isabella Message Board in the World Famous Comics days and, more than two decades later, still keeps trying to hurt my feelings or something. What all of these lowlifes have in common is that you never see their comments here. I reject them before they appear. This is my blog. I simply don’t want to give such bad people even a moment’s fame. So they comment for an audience of one who smiles at how small they are.

DAVE CHAPPELLE.Is there some clause in Saturday Night Live’s contract with NBC specifying they must have a certain number of toxic hosts every year? Or are they trying to appeal to the same clueless audience that watches Fox News?

There are so many better talents available to SNL. Amber Ruffin. Dennis Leary. Kat Dennings. Roy Wood Jr. Neil Degrasse Tyson. Desi Lydic. Itkarsh Ambudkar. Alok Vaid-Menon. Jason Statham. Michael Strahan. Kathy Bates. Ted Danson. And those are just the first dozen names that popped into my head.

Heck, if I’m not doing a convention that weekend, I’d be willing to host the show. As long as they guarantee I get to appear in at least one sketch with Bowen Yang.

NEIL GAIMAN. You utter piece of shit.

That’s a wrap for today’s bloggy thing. I’ll be back soon with happier stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

AKRONOMICON (February 1, 2025)

 

My next convention guest appearance will be at the unleashing of the first Akronomicon, Saturday, February 1, 2025, from 10 am to 7 pm at Emidio’s Expo Center, 48 E. Bath Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Produced by the same folks who do the Akron Comicon every year, it’s a celebration of contemporary and Classic horror featuring vendors, artists, celebrity guests and movies. I’m on the guest list by virtue of the many and seldom-discussed horror and monster comics and magazines I wrote or edited for Marvel Comics back in the 1970s.

                                                                           

The guest list for this inaugural Akronomicon is amazing. Let’s start with VICTORIA PRICE, daughter of Vincent Price, one of my all-time favorite actors. A public speaker, she’s the author of the memoir, The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self and Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography. Last I heard, she’s my next-door neighbor. I’m looking forward to meeting her and, hopefully, not talking with too much.

                                                                         

LINDA JO MILLER, the star of King Kong Escapes, is also on the list. She’s one of my favorite convention guests, always fun and gracious to her many fans. She has so many great stories about her life and career in Japan. I’m looking forward to seeing her again.

Other guests include:

Richard John Walters - My Bloody Valentine 3D

Devanny Pinn - Black Mass

Tina Krause - Silent Night, Bloody Night 3: Descent

Lisa Neeld-Infante - The Girl 2

Morrigan Thompson-Milam - Martian Girl Massacre

Eddie Deezen. - Grease, Dexter's Laboratory

Jon Abrahams - Terrifier 3, House of Wax

Lew Temple - AMC's The Walking Dead

David Hayes - Horror Writer

Scott Versago - Tattoo Artist

James L. Edwards - Actor

Chris Hahn - Axe Giant

Shawn Burkett - Don't F@#k In The Woods 1 & 2

Kelsey Livengood - Actress

Sonya Thompson - AMC's The Walking Dead, Zombieland

I know the fans are looking forward to meeting and chatting with them during the day. Me, too.

Akronomicon has announced the times for this year's Indie Horror Movie schedule and Horror Movie Cosplay Contest. They’re excited to have a great collection of local Indie Horror Talent at their show this year!

MOVIE SCHEDULE

11 am: The Girl 2 (1 hour, 34 minutes)

12:45 pm: Blood and Breakfast (1 hour, 24 minutes)

2:15 pm: Let’s Get Young (5-minute short)

2:25 pm: One Too Many (19 minutes)

3 pm: Martian Girl Massacre (15 minutes)

3:30 pm: The Legend of Crick Foot (1 hour, 12 minutes)

5:00 pm: Cosplay Contest

My booth will my usual mix of comics, books, and spiffy things not unlike my garage sales. If you have any Isabella comics or other related items you’d like signed, there’s a charge of $10 per item. I hope to see you on February 1.

Akronomicon is the first of many comics and other conventions I will be attending in 2025. Keep watching this bloggy thing and my social media for more news.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

MY CHRISTMAS CINEMA FESTIVAL

 

It was a few days before Thanksgiving when I read a fun article about offbeat Christmas movies. In years past, I have viewed and written about Christmas horror movies. I thought I would switch it up a bit. Alas, my master plan was somewhat derailed because I took ill after Thanksgiving and remained that way through most of December as well. I even had two visits to the ER and a five-day stay in a hospital. Talk about your holiday cheer!

I did manage to watch six offbeat films, one of them in a actual movie theater. With a warning that there will be spoilers, let’s get into this kooky Christmas film festival.

KRAMPUS (2015)

From the Internet Movie Database: A boy who has a bad Christmas accidentally summons a festive demon to his family home.

Old habits die hard, so, yes, the first movie is a horror-comedy from director Michael Dougherty, who co-wrote it with Todd Casey and Zach Shields. It has a pretty decent cast, including Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman & Conchata Ferrell.

Demon and monster sightings in this movie are not overwhelming, but when they happen, they are effective. The title character has a history of invading the homes of children who have lost the Christmas spirit and slaughtering their families. The boy’s grandmother was one such survivor.

This is actually a pretty scary movie with the comedic elements serving mostly to set the table for violence. But this is by no means a gore-fest. It is frightening without scattering body parts all over the place.

SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS AHEAD

Krampus wipes out the boy’s entire family. Though the boy takes back his earlier lack of Christmas spirit, he seems to be killed as well. But, then, he wakes up and everything is back to how it was before Krampus made his appearance. The movie ends with the demon looking at snow globes on a tree, snow globes which show the families he has spared from death. But I’m not convinced this is a happy ending. My take: the souls of his victims are trapped in the globes reliving their last Christmas over and over again for all eternity. Baubles to amuse Krampus.

SPOILERS OVER

SPOILERS OVER

SPOILERS OVER

If you haven’t seen this movie, one of many featuring Krampus,it is definitely worth watching.  

                                                                       

BAD SANTA (2003)

From the IMDB: A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.

Bad Santa is a Christmas dark comedy crime film. It was directed by Terry Zwigoff and written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. It stars Billy Bob Thorton as the title character with Tony Cox as Marcus Skidmore (the Little Helper) and Lauren Tom as Skidmore’s equally larcenous wife. Brett Kelly is excellent as the lonely kid. Lauren Graham is a bartender with a Santa Claus fetish.

This is a crude film. Lots of drunk and sex jokes. Yet, somehow, Thorton, Cox and Kelly pull it all together and make it work. If you had told me I would enjoy this movie, I’d have thought you were nuts. But I did enjoy it, so much so that, had I not gotten sick, I would have watched Bad Santa 2.

                                                                             

THE REF (1994)

From the IMDB: A cat burglar is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve.

I’m amazed I hadn’t seen this movie. I’m a big Dennis Leary fan and, here, he’s his best smart-ass self. Director Ted Demme, who had worked with Leary in the past, kept that persona up front at all times. The movie was written by Richard LeGravenese and his sister-in-law Marie Weiss.

The Ref is hilarious with relatable characters and subsequent character growth. My therapist told me it’s an annual Christmas event in her family and that some of her family keep asking her if she’s this kind of therapist. She tells them she is. You know any therapist of mine has to have a sense of humor.

                                                                             

RED ONE (2024)

From the IMDB: After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security must team up with a notorious hacker in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

Saintly Wife Barb and I watched this at an actual movie theater, which is rare for us. The commercials had been running for a few weeks and they won us over. Though the film is garish and silly, it did make for a fun night.

Security Honcho Dwayne Johnson is his usual self, the character we’ve seen in many other films. I find the persona entertaining, though his attacks on Biden and subsequent support of Trump did diminish my regard for him personally. I don’t think I’ll ever be forgiving of anyone who voted for the felonious traitor and his equally vile Republicans sycophants.

J.K. Simmons’ portrayal of Santa was a winning take. There was typically good work from Chris Evans and Lucy Liu. Kristofer Hivju was hilarious as Krampus, Santa’s estranged brother. All in all, Red One delivered heart-warming moments along with crazy laughs. It’s one of those Christmas flicks I can see becoming an annual event.  

                                                                                 

 

LOVE HARD (2021)

From the IMDB: An LA girl, unlucky in love, falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for the holidays, only to discover that she's been catfished. This lighthearted romantic comedy chronicles her attempt to reel in love.

From Wikipedia: The title is a portmanteau of Love Actually and Die Hard, the respective favorite Christmas films of the main characters.

My therapist recommended this movie when we were talking about the holidays. Yes, I have holiday-related issues, but I’ll write about them some other time.

Love Hard was a compelling romcom. Leads Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang were likeable despite her cynicism and his deception. It was easy to root for them, not that the outcome of this film was ever in doubt. There are good reasons many people find romcoms comforting. Happy endings are almost always assured. I was truly impressed by Yang. I plan to check out more of his work in the near future.

                                                                     

TRADING PLACES (1983)

From the IMDB: A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

Trading Places is the oldest film in my mini movie marathon, one I hadn’t re-watched in at least two decades. I remember it mainly for the great performances by Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott and Jaime Lee Curtis. It’s also when I fell in love with Curtis.

The movie was directed by John Landis and written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. It’s not an overwhelmingly Christmas film, though Christmas does figure into the plot. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are more essential to the story. Viewing it again, I was reminded how dark it is at times and how certain events make me uneasy.

SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS AHEAD

Dan Ackroyd’s character tries and fails to commit suicide only because of a gun that doesn’t fire. Later in the movie, he dons blackface, always a stomach churner for me. Even more so, the millionaires’ agent ends up sewn into a gorilla suit and likely sodomized by an actual gorilla. As much as I like other parts of this movie, I don’t think I’ll watch it again.

SPOILERS OVER

SPOILERS OVER

SPOILERS OVER

What’s your opinion on the holiday-themed movie reviews I have been doing in the bloggy over the years? Especially in the realm of horror movies, there are multiple flicks for every holiday. And I do mean every holiday. I could even do a bunch of reviews for Presidents’ Day, though nothing is as chilling as the sad reality of Trump’s reelection.

Let me know if you’re interested in more holiday film festivals. Let me know if you want me to stick to horror movies or expand into other genres. Also, if you have suggestions for any upcoming holidays, feel free to send them along.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

MY NEW SUPER-HERO SERIES

 

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve seen mention of my creating a new super-hero comics series. My post-Thanksgiving hospital stay and subsequent recovery slowed me down, but I’m feeling very close to 100% of pre-illness Tony and eager to get back to work on this and other projects. But I could use some help in an area of this creation. There’s no payment involved, but you will get a “special thanks” mention if the series makes it to press.

The protagonist is a young trans woman about 21 years old. She has been on her own since she was 16 and working her way through college. Which means she doesn’t have a lot of money for clothes and hair. Just the basics.

Physically, she’s not tall. She is feminine and thin and almost completely passable. Due to her appearing/dressing in an average style. She’s pretty without being a knockout.

I’d love to see photos of young trans women who also dress in basic styles. I want this new character of mine to be as real as I can. If you’re a young trans woman in similar circumstances, I would love to hear from you. If you’re not trans but have photos you think would be useful to me, I’d also love to hear from you. You can e-mail me directly or through Facebook Messenger. I want to have the pitch ready to go by this time next week.

I’m pretty excited about this character and the kinds of stories I can tell with her. She’s been in me for several months now and it’s time to share her with the world.

It’s premature until my pitch is finished and ready to be shown, but, at that time, I’d be interested in hearing from artists or publishers who would want to partner with me on this. When that time comes, you know how to contact me to start discussing terms of that partnership.

I’ll be back soon with some belated holiday cheer.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

AKRON COMICON COMICS HAUL

 

I never was able to write a proper report on Akron Comicon 2024, as wonderful as it was, but I have now read all of the comics I bought or was given at the event. It’s a healthy stack. I’m only going to write about the ones I liked because I’m swearing off negative reviews of comics, especially indy comics, for this new year. I’m a sweetheart of a human being.

My pal Craig Boldman’s The Adventures of Cap’n Catnp #4 [Hooha Comics; $5] is designated a “Special Cat Nap Issue” in that the lead character isn’t seen in the comic. We get a glimpse of him in various disguises and a house ad or two. Instead, the issues has stories of sidekick Womble the Wonder Gerbil, Inspector Drummond and the short Good Rat/Bad Rat.

In the Womble outing, the gerbil hero finds it difficult to stay awake to fight crime during the day because he’s nocturnal. It’s a funny concept and the high point of the issue.

Meanwhile, Drummond finds his job in jeopardy because the Cap’n has been capturing all the crooks and villains. But perhaps the feline felon-buster is doing that job too well. Another funny tale from one of my favorite cartoonists, Boldman had a stellar run on Jughead, which is worthy of the archives treatment.

Adventures of Cap’n Catnip is a solid squarebound comic printed on glossy paper with bright colors. It’s 36 pages of critter comedy. Recommended. 

                                                                               

 

Exciting Comics #31 [Antarctic Press; $4.99] is the 100^th Legacy Issue of the title. The original series, which introduced the Black Terror and other 1940s super-heroes, ran 69 issues and AP has published an additional 31.

The second and third stories are the stars of this 56-page comic book. In a tale by writer Dan Johnson and artist Dan Gorman, we see the transformation of Atomic Blonde into the more powerful Blondeshell. That’s followed a crazy fun team-up of quirky 1960s heroes Herbie and Fatman the Human Flying Saucer by writer John Holland and artist Larry Guidry. That’s a lot of entertaining bang for your five bucks.

                                                                                

Sitcomics Presents The Heroes Union Binge Book #1 [$4.99]. It’s 68 pages introducing a new generation of heroes by Roger Stern, Darin Henry, Ron Frenz, Sal Buscema and Chris Nye. I confess I’m a bit conflicted on this one. The writing and art are top-notch, but there’s so many characters and so many plots that it’s hard for me to follow. I definitely recommend the book, but think the creators and readers would have been better served by a more focused premiere.

                                                                           

It’s Only an Island If You Look at It from the Water #0 by story guy Tom Hutchison and artist Jason Hehir [Big Dog Ink} is an eight-page trailer to what seems to be a sequel to the original Jaws. Names have been changed. The island is called Harmony and a street has been named for Chief Rhodey. But this brief taste has a decent sense of dread. If there are subsequent issues, I’ll buy them.

                                                                        

Mayhem Inc 80pg Ginormous by George Broderick Jr. [Comic Library International; $19.95] is a cosmic quest featuring Crimefighter Dude, Strongarm Armstrong, Go-Go Rilla, the Rampaging Caribou and many other characters from my pal George’s seemingly endless imagination. His cartooning chops are so vast I’m forever in awe of them. This is a big thick bundle of fun for readers young and old alike.

                                                                         

William Russell’s Psycho Sal #1 by Chris Hays and Marcelo Salaza [Charter Comics]. It’s 1986. Rain pours down on New Orleans as a serial killer terrorizes the city that has known so much tragedy over the years. A special agent is on the trail of this fiend, but the bodies keep piling up. At the convention, Russell was my next door neighbor and gave me a copy of an exclusive and sold out trade edition. The writing, art and production values are of the highest quality. Standard issues are priced at #14.95. I’m hoping for a reasonably priced collection in the future.

                                                                                 

                                                               

U-Knighted [Route Eight Studios] is a Kickstarter anthology by several Akron-based comics artists and writers. Its contributors include Cameron Blakey, Dan Gorman, Chris Kasmar, Damion Kendrick and Robert Kraus. During the Comicon I had a brief conversation about the group with one of the above. I learned about what they do and how they work together. We discussed the possibility of my working with them and even possibly writing some comics material for the studio. Anything like this would be quite a ways off, as I have two personal projects on my desk, but it’s something that could happen.

A SIDEBAR IN WHICH I BREAK MY WORD ABOUT NOT WRITING ABOUT COMIC BOOKS I DON’T LIKE. While I won’t mention this comic by name, I will say it triggered my “ick” response. Picture the cliché of a slovenly fan whose “love life” consists of doing the nasty with bedsheets featuring life-size anime characters. Not heeding his cries that he always put them in the washing machine when they “got too sticky,” they come alive and slash him with swords. Do they kill him? I’ll never know. I won’t read another issue of this series. There might be a market for this comic book series, but it sure ain't me. END OF SIDEBAR.

                                                                       

Zira #1 by Nathan Pinsoneault, Stacie Pinsoneault and Colin Richards [819 Comics; $6]. The title heroine is a sorcessess and creature-hunter. The style is somewhat reminiscent of 1970s and 1980s fantasy/horror anthologies. Though the writing and art didn’t quite click with me, I think the characters and creators showed a lot of potential. Definitely worth checking out.

                                                                          

Finally, we have Don Simpson’s Victory Folks #1 [Fiasco Comics; $20], 44 magazine-size pages featuring dozens of super-heroes and super-villains going at it in a cool adventure that frankly left me speechless. My friend Don’s exuberance in drawing armies of public-domain characters is infectious. Heck, it inspired me to dip into the well-traveled public-domain territory myself, as you will hopefully see in a project I’m currently developing for myself. Which is all the tease you get for the moment.

Akron Comicon is always a great time and always features lots of great comics creators. I plan to attend year after year and hope to see you there too.

I’ll be back soon with some belated holiday cheer.

© 2025 Tony Isabella