Call me an incurable optimist, but I always have a little extra bounce in my step at the start of a new year. No matter how dire my country and my world appear to be, there’s always going to be a part of me that thinks “this is the year we turn it all around and be the people and the nation we should be.”
In that hopeful spirit, let’s pass on any litany of people and things that were not as they should have been in the previous month and cut straight to those things that brought me joy in December...
December 1: The Luminous Fairies and Mothra. The joint effort of three Japanese authors, this is the original story that was the basis for the movie. Includes a great afterword by translator Jeffery Angles. Kaiju fans will love this book.
December 2: Adventures into the Unknown #147 [March 1964]. “I’ve Got to Protect Nettie!” by Richard Hughes and Paul Reinman. Though it’s problematic that the protagonist is a Confederate officer, this tale has a lot of heart. It’s why I love this era of ACG comics so much.
December 3: Chic Stone. I loved his inking Jack Kirby at Marvel. But, as I read ACG's Adventures into the Unknown from the 1960s, where he’s usually drew the lead story, I’m bowled over by his ability to draw action, drama and humor with amazing skill. He’s truly an underappreciated comics talent.
December 4: Paul Reinman. I’m gaining a new appreciation for the work of this comics legend as I see his art in ACG’s Adventures into the Unknown. He worked with ghost pencillers from time to time, but the final results are full of life.
December 5: Wheel of Fortune. On the December 4 episode, Medina resident Kari Deeks won $23,921, which total included a Disney Wish Cruise. It’s always great to have a contestant from my home town to root for.
December 6. Saturday Night Live.Weekend Update’s Colin Yost is deliciously hilarious as Secretary of War Crimes Pete Hegseth. I would very much enjoy watching Yost stretch his comedic chops in other sketches as well.
December 7: Viewing online photos of joyful trans women becoming their authentic selves and living full lives. No matter how much hate we face, we all deserve to be ourselves and find our happy endings.
December 8: The Daily Show. Jon Stewart presented an incredibly concise exploration of similarities between our ill-conceived war on Iraq and Trump’s new war on Venezuela. The cherry on this smart sundae was an appearance by Rob Corddry.
December 9: The Daily Show. Activist and author Malala Yousafzai returned to the Daily Show for a simply wonderful chat with Jon Stewart. Her new book is Finding My Way: A Memoir. She is what a hero looks like.
December 10: Stephen Colbert and Taylor Swift. It was one of the best late-night interviews I’ve ever watched. There was obvious chemistry and mutual respect between them, making for a terrific conversation. The more I see them, the more I know these are two of our finest Americans.
December 11: My Perfectly Imperfect Body by Debbie Tung. This is an incredible graphic memoir in which the cartoonist shares her story of her teenage body issues. Frank, honest, vulnerable, it is worthy of Eisner nomination and highly recommended.
December 12: A Christmas Murder Mystery (Amazon). Great fun as a quirky puzzle creator is invited to visit a wealthy family, just in time for the family patriarch to be murdered. I want to see more of Vera Vexley (Morgan Bradley). Recommended.
December 13: Secret Mall Apartment. A group of artists discover an unused space and make it a home of sorts. They live there for four years. It’s a documentary about art, community connection, creative and gentrification. Brilliant.
December 14: Today is the second anniversary of when I started gender-affirming therapy at Cleveland Sex & Intimacy Counseling. Therapy has been of enormous benefit to me as I learn about and reveal who I was all along.
December 15: Newly elected councilperson Ed Isabella (my son) talked to the fourth graders at Sidney Fenn Elementary School where he went to school. He got a glowing review from the Medina City Teachers Association.
December 16: Rain by Jocelyn C. DiDomenick was an impulse buy. How so? I bought all six volumes in this series about a teen male-to-female transsexual. It’s compelling and funny in places. I’m enjoying the heck out of it and recommend it to all of you as well.
December 17: Wheel of Fortune contestant Chantel won $60,200 in the bonus round. However, the solve that made my evening was the main game puzzle. The category was “Who’s Keeping Score?” and the answer was “Superman or Batman?”
December 18: DC Finest Horror: The Devil’s Doorway. I have just started reading this year-long gathering of comics from May 1969 to April 1970. What fun revisiting these tales by great creators like Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, Alex Toth and more.
December 19: I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This by Eugene Yelchin. This graphic memoir relates the creator’s scary journey from making art in Leningrad to a mental health “asylum” in Siberia to America. It’s an amazing work that goes deep into Yelchin’s despair and determination. Recommended.
December 20: Bowen Yang. For the past few years, he has been my favorite Saturday Night Live performer. Immensely malleable. he could take on any role in any sketch. His farewell was funny and moving. I look forward to what he does next.
December 21: My Svengoolie trading cards have arrived. Each box had three pack of ten cards each. I’m opening a pack a day. My first one had a card drawn by Bill Morrison and a shimmer variant (136 of 700 printed) by Jeff Carlson. So much fun.
December 22: If we go by Tony years, I turned 74 today. If we go by Jenny years, it’s two. Either way, I’m still badass, feisty, fun to be around and kinda cute. I hope to travel to a bunch of conventions and stores in 2026.
December 23: Flip by bestselling author Ngozi Ukazu is a tale of high-school body swapping between a brainy black girl and a very tall white guy. There is humor, but the emphasis is on two teens trying to navigate a crazy situation. Recommended.
December 24: Getting birthday and Christmas cards addressed to my preferred name is always joyful, especially when the friends who send them know me so well.
December 25: The Isabella’s 2026 Calendar was my favorite gift of the season. Now my great family can keep me company in my office every day of the year.
December 26: HGTV’s Junk or Jackpot. We get an accumulator whose treasures jeopardize their relationship and a designer who will use the money the collector gets from selling these treasure to renovate their home to make it work for both partners. It’s more heart-warming than you would think.
December 27: Flaming Love (Quality; 1949-1950). I’m reading and enjoying the Retro Comic Reprint of this six-issue series. The art is terrific, The writing is top-notch and more respectful of women than most romance comics of the era,
December 28: Doctor Doom. I got the Doctor Doom Epic Collection on Christmas. The character has evolved in ways unexpected, but I love these earliest adventures and am enjoying rereading them one at a time.
December 29: Last month, I gave the “happy” to the TrueVision storytelling of Harry Lazarus in Adventures into the Unknown. Today, it goes to an article on the process by Peter Normanton in his Cryptology #4. Great article, great magazine.
December 30: Twist Social Club and Landmark Smokehouse were the locations for a girls night out with two friends from my support group. Twist is the neighborhood LGBTQ+ bar I wish was in Medina and the Smokehouse food is terrific. I’ll be back.
December 31: New Year’s Eve and my new tradition. I am recording Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest so that I can still watch the ball drop after I fall asleep in the couch. Please...no spoilers!
Here are the “best of show” winners.
BEST COMIC BOOK: Rain by Jocelyn C. DiDomenick
BEST BOOK: The Luminous Fairies and Mothra
BEST MOVIE OR TV SHOW: A Christmas Murder Mystery
BEST PERSON: Bowen Yang
BEST OTHER THING: Twist Social Club
My first convention appearances of the year will be Akronomicon on Saturday, February 7 and Pensacon, February 22-24. I’ll have more to say about them soon.
Note. If you’re a convention promoter and would like me to be a guest at your event, email me and we can work out the details. I would like to do no more than two events a month.
Happy New Year, friends. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2026 Tony Isabella
