February was a month that just plain got away from me. It was as bitterly cold in Ohio as I can remember. I was feeling poorly as I prepared for Akronomicon and ended up leaving the event early when I got quite ill. Three days later, I was admitted to the MetroHealth hospital in Cleveland Heights. I was there four days and received excellent care on all fronts.
I came home on Friday the Thirteenth, which made my Saintly Wife Barb nervous. I don’t understand that. She’s never even seen any of the movies. All kidding aside, she took wonderful care of me as I slowly recovered from the debilitating effects of being too damn old for my own good.
If my being physically ill wasn’t enough, the child-molester-in-chief and his vile cronies and his idiotic supporters ramped up their awfulness way past 10. You saw the news. You know the evil they continued to unleash on our country and the entire world. I wish Hell would take them all right now.
The purpose of my daily “Things That Make Me Happy” posts is to embrace whatever joy each of those days brought me and to share that joy with all of you. We must hold on the little things as we pray for better big things to come our way.
Here are the books and more that brought me considerable joy in the otherwise shitty month of February.
February 1: Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang. The long title says it all. The best non-fiction book I’ve read in years.
February 2: Sabrina Carpenter singing and performing “Manchild” at the 2026 Grammy Awards. Her lively appearance made me smile from the start. The choreography and props were amazing. One of the best awards show performances ever.
February 3: Do Women Need Sex Entertainment Vol. 1 by Yachinatsu and Sono Yoshioka. Broke and single, Sono takes an admin job at an escort agency catering exclusively to women. A delightful, funny and gentle sex romp. Mature readers only.
February 4:: The Muppet Show is back and I loved it. It had the funny quirky feel of the original but still felt fresh. I was grinning like a kid all through the episode. Let’s hope this is just the launch of a new series!.
February 5: Godzilla Legends: Mothra: Queen of the Monsters by Sophie Campbell and Matt Frank. IDW continues to produce amazing Godzilla series. This one is a different and fascinating take on one of my favorite Kaiju. Recommended.
February 6: Mana to Miniskirts by Tanya Mondragon. A gamer nerd is struck by a gender-change virus and navigates her new reality like a D&D campaign. Transgender romances are often formulaic, but this one takes a different approach and is well-written to boot.
February 7: Akronomicon 2026 was a winter horrorland of actors, creators, creatures and vendors. I was thrilled to connect with old friends like Brinke Stevens and Nancy Anne Ridder. I will be back in 2027.
February 8: My Girlfriend is 8 Meters Tall by Wataru Mitogawa. This manga is more charmingly saucy than sexy as normal-size student Yumeji tries to make life a bit easier for his childhood friend Chieri. I love these characters and this series.
February 9: Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine. I love the Late Show band and I’m guessing/hoping the new name means we have not seen the end of this wonderful group of musicians. Long may they make musical magic!
February 10: “See the USA in Your Chevrolet!” I’ve never been a car girl, but when I listen to rising country artist Brooke Lee singing a modernized version of that tune, I’m filled with warm nostalgia. What a wonderful way to celebrate the brand’s 20-year anniversary!
February 11: Godzilla Kai-Sei Era #1-6 by Tim Seeley and Nikola Cizmesiga. IDW is breaking the rules with all kinds of different takes on the Great Scaly One. I prefer traditional Godzilla, but I can’t deny these are very interesting.
February 12: MetroHealth. I spent four days in Metro’s Cleveland Heights facility. It was excellent. A comfortable large room. Staff that was efficient, friendly and kind, and who always used my correct name and pronouns. Top marks all around.
February 13: MetroHealth. Comics writer Jenny was the celebrity of my floor, almost as big as the soap opera star who was there a while back. I enjoyed talking to staff members about comics. I didn’t have an appetite, but they surely fed my ego.
February 14: MetroHealth. An amusing thing about my stay at the Cleveland Heights hospital was people telling me about the deep divide in their families. They were divided between Marvel and DC. This took me back to the 1960s.
February 15: Sensation Comics #38 (Facsimile Edition). I always get a kick out of these DC editions featuring complete issues of rare Golden Age titles. It’s like time-traveling to a different era of heroes, gangsters and Nazis.
February 16: Live with Kelly and Mark. Saintly Wife Barb got me hooked on this talk show. The banter between Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos pairs well with a breakfast sandwich. We both love the daily “Stump Mark” segment. Pleasant viewing.
February 17: Doctor Doom Epic Collection: Enter...Doctor Doom. I lean towards Victor being the quintessential Marvel villain. These 1962-1969 tales tales show his beginnings and development. Six decades later, he still intrigues me.
February 18: The Leopard from Lime St. by Tom Tully. Yes, this is a blatant rip-off of Spider-Man with the young hero getting powers from a radioactive leopard. But, gosh darn it, it’s funky fun and I’m enjoying it immensely.
February 19: The Gorgon (1964). I’d not seen this British horror movie until it aired on Svengoolie recently. I saw the ending coming but the film itself was well acted with decent suspense and a real sense of tragedy. I liked it.
February 20: Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography was a gift from a Facebook friend. She was the most famous transwoman of the 1950s and beyond, yet I knew little about her. This great book is filling in the gaps for me.
February 21: The Complete Yancy Street Gazette. The YSG was one of the first fanzines I subscribed to. It was also one of the first I wrote for. I made lifelong friends though its pages and I am thrilled to see those issues again.
February 22: Men’s Adventure Quarterly #9. It’s been a minute or three since I last wrote about this fine magazine. This issue has gators galore. Lots of great men’s adventure mags history and chilling croc attacks. What’s not to love?
February 23: Barb found this box while going through stuff. It’s full of my dad’s cuff links and tie clips. He didn’t get many chances to use them because he worked six days a week, but he most definitely had style. I’ll showcase some of these pieces in the near future.
February 24: Tombstone French Fry Crust Pizza (Loaded Bacon Cheddar). Frozen pizza’s a go-to here. This was a hit. You could taste the “french fry” and the bacon and cheddar complimented it. Warning: it loses something if you eat it cold. Heat the leftovers up.
February 25: Taylor Tomlinson Prodigal Daughter (Netflix). What a sensational stand-up special! Hilarious, insightful, moving, spiritual. It hit so many marks for me. One of the best stand-up acts I’ve seen in years.
February 26: Black Cat Books in Medina. There are many reasons to love this place. One of them is the monthly Tatum’s Top 5. It’s rare when my interest is not piqued by one of this woman’s choices. She has excellent taste. Now excuse me while I order one of her latest recommendations.
February 27: I hadn’t driven my SUV since just before my recent hospital stay. Today, I drove it for the first time in three weeks. I went to the Medina Library and Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop, Cleveland’s best. I’m on the road again.
February 28: Saintly Wife Barb bought a new car. It’s a Cadillac XT4 and, if I’m a very good girl, she may even give me a ride in it. Seriously, she deserves this vehicle and I am over the moon happy for her.
Here are the “best of show” winners.
BEST COMIC BOOK: Doctor Doom Epic Collection: Enter...Doctor Doom
BEST BOOK: Separation of Church and Hate
BEST MOVIE OR TV SHOW: Taylor Tomlinson Prodigal Daughter
BEST PERSON: Barb Isabella
BEST OTHER THING: The Complete Yancy Street Gazette.
As I mentioned in my previous bloggy thing, I have no convention appearances scheduled until July when my son Ed drive to Chicago for G-Fest. I can hazard a guess as to why this is the case, but I’m honestly not crushed by this situation.
This will give me the time to finish one major project and make a lot of headway into a second. If the months go as smoothly as I would like, I may be able to add a few small projects to the mix. This excites me.
If, perchance, you are someone who wants to invite me to appear at your comics convention or store, e-mail me and we can work out the various details of such appearances. I’ll do my best to accommodate you.
That’s all for today. I’ll be back with more bloggy fun in the very near future. See you then.
© 2026 Tony Isabella
