THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN MARCH

 

I’m happy. Almost as happy as I have ever been in life. It’s not like getting a job at Marvel Comics. It’s not marrying Barb and having our kids. It’s not the Black Lightning TV series. But it is almost up there. When I revealed this to an online friend of mine, her response was:

“Are you crazy, girl?”

I know I live in a country and a time when my trans community is under vile attack. I know there are people close to me who are not completely on board with my transition. There are more than a few obstacles in my path. On the other hand…

I look in the mirror every day and see I’m becoming the person I am and who I want to be. I’m getting tremendous support from my therapist and my doctors. I’m blessed with local allies like OutSupport Medina and friends. I’m especially thankful for the overwhelming love and respect I received from the comics and other online communities. I am lucky to have all of the above and much more.

I am writing things that inspire me and speak to my life and the world around me. I have the great privilege of being there for my online pals who ask great questions and who tell me about their lives and who just want to cry on my shoulders or get a virtual hug when they need it. That I can still be a positive in so many lives after all the years make my soul glad.

As do these things that made me happy last month.

March 1: Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Non binary People and Their Families. Interviews by Peggy Gillespie. Inspirational personal stories. Powerful messages. A beacon to a better future.

                                                                       

March 2: Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre by Tom Scioli. Literary heroes unite to battle the King of the Monsters. The Great Gatsby. Jules Verne. The Time Machinst and more. It’s insane fun with the trade coming out in July.

March 3: Pop Culture Jeopardy was a thoroughly enjoyable show. I thought the competition was exciting and fierce. Colin Jost was amazing at its host. I hope we get a second season.

March 4: Hornsby & Halo by Peter J. Tomasi and Peter Snejbjerg. Unwitting children of Heaven and Hell sent to live on Earth to preserve the peace. Intriguing characters and setting. It’s well worth checking out. The trade is due in October.

                                                                            

March 5: Justice League Unlimited #1 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Star Sapphire saving a dying man with the power of love brought a tear to my eye, The issue also has a very nice use of Black Lightning.

March 6: Justice League Unlimited #2 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Seeing the original Challengers of the Unknown back in action was a wonderful surprise. They were my favorite DC team of the 1960s and still are.  

                                                                                

March 7: Wife Gets Smart, Makes Husband Happy: Supermarket Comic Strip Ads of World War II. Nat Gertler covers comics history no one else covers in fun and informative collections. My pal Nat is a comics treasure.

March 8: Redcoat #7 by Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch. An emotional, often heartrending done-in-one tale of the price that immortality takes from Simon Pure. This deserves an Eisner Awards nomination for best single issue.

March 9: Saturday Night Live. Lady Gaga and Bowen Yang. We need a queer rom-com starring these two. They had amazing chemistry in their SNL sketches. Hey, Hallmark, the ball is in your court. Time to expand your viewership.

March 10: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man wasn’t the show I expected. Its ten-episode first season featured a whole lot of changes to the original canon. Even so, it definitely held my interest and I look forward to a second season.

March 11: Hyde Street by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Most of the Ghost Machine titles are among my favorites. This unnerving book with continuing characters reveals the evil found in every city and how it meets its reckoning on this street.

                                                                           

March 12: Merry Little Batman. The most bizarre Batman animated feature ever. Young Daimien wants to be a Batman just like his protective dad. The movie is violent at times and runs a tad too long, but it remains a delightful film.  

                                                                                

March 13: Transphoria Vol. 1. From Lifeline Comics, this is a 90 page graphic anthology about Trans and Non Binary experiences of gender euphoria across a wide range of genres. It’s wonderfully affirming and entertaining. Highly recommended. 3-13-25.

March 14: RetroFan #37. Ed Catto follows the impossible to follow Michael Eury as editor and does a fine job. Great articles on the Jetsons, Saturday Morning Rockers, Glamorous Ladies of Wrestling and more. My favorite magazine.

March 15: Secrets of the Unknown...Alan Class by Nick Neocleous has a great interview with the man who brought American comics to the U.K. from 1959 to 1989. There are lots of cool covers and fun facts. A long overdue book.  

                                                                                   

March 16: Created and drawn by Rob Davis, The Spirit of Route 66 #1 is a great start to the series. A man inherits a ‘66 T-bird and journeys on the famous highway. There’s something unusual about the car and therein lies the fun. Recommended.

March 17: Reuben fried rice. This is a St. Patrick’s Day special at Medina’s House of Hunan, my favorite restaurant. I don’t know how long it will be available, but you should 100% rush to enjoy this delicious stuff.

March 18: From Adventures into the Unknown #126 (August 1961), “Heavenly Heavyweight” by Richard Hughes and Ogden Whitney is one of those genuinely heartwarming tales that often appeared in ACG titles. Hughes knew how to tug at my heartstrings.  

                                                                                      

 

March 19: Roxy. A classic British romance comics weekly now has a mostly new anthology featuring modern talents updating classic strips like The Getaway Girls, 80 pages of love and adventure. More please.

March 20: Captain America: Brave New World. It’s a terrific film that fit nicely into its just under two-hour run time. I love new characters Joaquin Torres and Ruth Bat-Seraph and hope to see more of them in the MCU. More to come.

March 21: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #34 by Mark Waid and Fran Galan. I’ve enjoyed this title since it was launched, but this issue’s team-up of Batgirl, Jimmy Olsen and the Super-Pets just plain tickled me. What a fun story!

March 22: Lucky Loser: Adventures in Tennis & Comedy by Michael Kosta. A fascinating story of Kosta’s journey from tennis pro to comedian. My only quibble is that it ends his first appearance on The Tonight Show. Too soon. I need a second book.  

                                                                               

March 23: The Residence. Darkly humorous series about murder in the White House. Great performances by Uzo Aduba as world’s greatest detective Cordelia Cupp and Randall Park as an FBI agent. Two episodes in, Barb and I are hooked.

March 24: Mark Evanier’s always-wondrous News from Me blog has been providing daily links to compact fact checks on the lies and misinformation vomited out on the public by Trump, Musk and other Nazis. It’s indispensable reading.

                                                                            

March 25: Metamorpho the Element Man #1. Wow! It’s as if writer Al Ewing and artist Steve Leiber were channeling Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon for this thoroughly delightful issue. I’ll request the trade from my library in September.

March 26: Boston mayor Michelle Wu is exactly the kind of leader our country needs more of. Her life and her policies celebrate the diversity, kindness and progressive thinking that actually make America great.

March 27: Baseball! The Cleveland Guardians won their opening day game over the Kansas City Royals 7-4, scoring three runs in the 10^th inning. The Cleveland Cavaliers also won a nail biter of a basketball game over the San Antonio Spurs.  

                                                                               

March 28: Lost in Taiwan by Mark Crilley is a beautiful graphic novel about an aimless young man who finds new experiences, good friends and himself in an amazing country. Published in 2023, it belongs on every comics fan’s reading list.

March 29: The Pitt. Streaming on Max and starring Noah Wyle, this medical drama is 24 in the ER, but with a larger cast and more story opportunities. Barb and I watched the first episode and we’re hooked. Highly recommended.

March 30: Cleveland Sex & Intimacy Counseling. In 2023, when I was seeking answers to the fundamental question of me, a trans friend recommended CS&IC. My therapist guided me on my journey to Jenny. My life wouldn’t be as happy as it is today without that continuing guidance.

March 31: MetroHealth. I am blessed to have this system for my primary and gender-affirming care. Excellent doctors and staff. Great facilities. No other system in the area makes me feel more seen and more respected. It’s the best!

BEST COMIC BOOK/GRAPHIC NOVEL: Lost in Taiwan by Mark Crilley

BEST BOOK: Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Non binary People and Their Families.

BEST MOVIE OR TV SHOW: The Pitt

BEST PERSON: Boston mayor Michelle Wu

BEST OTHER THING: Cleveland Sex & Intimacy Counseling

My Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales will launch on Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, 9 am to noon at 840 Damon Drive in Medina, Ohio. The summer’s nigh-weekly sales will be bigger and better than ever. Hundreds of hardcovers and trade paperbacks at 30% of cover prices or more. Boxes of comic books with some as low as a buck each. Godzilla stuff. Funko figures. Manga volumes at a dollar each. I’m posting daily previews on my Facebook page and will have more information for you here as we draw closer to the start of the sales.

Thanks for visiting. We’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

NOTES FROM HERE AND THERE

 

Geoff Johns is one of my favorite comics/TV writers. In recent weeks, while recuperating from a severe case of Influenza A, I read  three collections of his recent DC Comics work: Justice Society of America Volume. 1: The New Golden Age, Stargirl and the Lost Children and Justice Society of America Volume 2: Long Live the JSA. They were big connected sprawling, reality-altering epics starring dozens of heroes and villains. Were I retentive enough to add them up, the total would likely be around 100 different characters. That’s a lot more characters than I would ever want to write in a story. When I worked on staff at DC Comics for several hellish months in the 1970s, I used to have nightmares about being ordered to write the Legion of Super-Heroes.

I am impressed at how well Johns handled this huge cast. I found no false notes in his portrayal of all those characters with the sole exception of the Gentleman Ghost. Sorry, Geoff, the Gent would never want to destroy the world. Steal it? Definitely. Destroy it? What would be the challenge or fun in that?

I did enjoy these collections. Not my personal writing interest, but a solid epic nonetheless. However, there was one element I’d like to explore if the opportunity ever came up.

In the shared universe of these collections, Johns puts forward that virtually every 1940s hero had a kid sidekick. Young heroes removed from the timeline and forgotten until they were rescued by Stargirl. One of those sidekicks is Quiz-Kid, the partner of the original and still deceased Mr. Terrific. He has bonded with the current Mr. Terrific, who always strikes me as too arrogant to be a proper role model to a young hero. Even though Johns has softened him for these collections.

Quiz-Kid reminds his new mentor of why the original Mr. Terrific “took on the mantra of fair play in the first place.” That hero found his purpose in helping people who never got a fair chance in life. The kid says:

“There are plenty of threats I see on the news and in the JSA files, but the people like the ones that Terry [the original Mr. Terrific] helped...it seems like they’ve been forgotten.

“So this sphere [a device created from one of the current Mr. Terrific's T-spheres] is searching for those who haven’t had a fair shake. Mothers and brothers and children and grandparents. People who have no one else to turn to.

“Let the rest of the team deal with the people in the costumes, Mr. Holt. And let’s get the Fair Play Club back online. We need to remember why this all started...because the world is filled with people in trouble.”

My heart is more with the ground level world than the universe of challenges to reality and space invaders and such. I think I could tell heartwarming and important and intense stories with this Quiz-Kid concept. With or without Mr. Terrific. On the other hand, watching someone like Holt descend from his lofty perch to deal with regular folks would make for some wonderful character development all around.

                                  

Reading Wikipedia’s Gorgo entry, I see they’ve gotten something wrong again. Although, in this particular case, it might just be because whoever wrote the item is a Steve Ditko fan who failed to ask the writer for the facts. The writer, if you haven’t already guessed, is me, Here’s the pertinent part:

In 1990, Steve Ditko illustrated a back-up story in Web of Spider-Man Annual #6 titled "Child Star.” In this story, Captain Universe creates huge versions of toys based on Gorgo and Konga to battle giant monsters that are attacking New York City. For copyright reasons, Gorgo's name was altered to "Gorga.” This sequence was Ditko paying homage to his earlier work with these two characters in their 1960s Charlton Comics comic book series.

What utter nonsense! Ditko didn’t pay homage to Gorgo and Konga. I did. I wrote a panel-by-panel plot for Ditko and he draw those panels. Ditko may not have gotten credit for many comics stories he plotted, but this wasn’t one of them.

When I heard Ditko was going to be drawing my story, in which a toddler got the Captain Universe power and fought demons (not, as Wikipedia would have it, “giant monsters”), I took advantage of the assignment to pay homage of sorts to two of my favorite Ditko comic books. I did change the names for legal reasons, even though several publishers have since reprinted stories with these characters without, as near as I can tell, any contract with the studios that made the original films. They just did it.

Other than writing the plot and scripting the story, my only other “interaction” with Ditko was through editor Jim Salicrup. Since almost all of the toddler’s dialogue in this story came from things my son Eddie had said, the story was very special to me. I asked Salicrup to inquire if Ditko would be willing to sell the original art to me. Ditko turned me down flat and even seemed offended by the request. I keep hoping the art for this seven-page story will turn up and at a price I can afford, but, to the best of my knowledge, it hasn’t.

Feel free to send Wikipedia a correction on this. But don’t hold your breath waiting for them to fix it.

***************************************

I have canceled all of my convention appearances through July. Although I am recovering nicely from my severe bout of Influenza A, there are still some other medical issues I need to address. I don’t expect these will prove serious, but I’m giving myself as much time to heal as possible.

I’m using this time to write. As Jenny, I have written an eight-page comics story for a major publisher. As both Jenny and Tony, I’ve been writing a bunch of hopefully hilarious Last Kiss gags for my good friend John Lustig. I’ve also started writing the first issue of my new trans super-hero series. I’m not sure if that one will be credited to Jenny or Tony or both. Is it even possible to collaborate with one’s self? At this time, I do not have an artist or a publisher for the new series, but I am moving forward on the writing. Interested parties should e-mail me and I’ll respond as quickly as possible.

I’m also available for paying gigs, be they writing comic books or comic strips or even acting roles. In the case of the last, nudity is off the table unless it’s vital to the story.

Among other possible ventures, I am considering launching my own Patreon page in the very near future. An ongoing YouTube show is less likely, but not impossible. And, of course, my eBay store will be back up and running sometime in April.

Something I am really excited about are this year’s amazing Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales. Hardcovers and trades priced at 30% or less. Comic books, including some priced as low as one dollar. Godzilla collectibles. Funko figures and more.

I have so much stuff already set to go that I’m going to run the garage sales most every weekend through the summer. The opening weekend will be Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, from nine am to noon. If there are customers still buying at noon, I will keep the doors open until they are done. You should probably plan of giving me all your money.

Got questions on any of the above? E-mail me.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

BLACK VULCAN: THE PROBABLY LIKELY CLOSE TO 100% TRUE STORY OF THE WORLD’S MOST MISUNDERSTOOD SUPER FRIEND

 

There are certainties in life. If you are the creator of Black Lightning, one of those certainties is that you are going to be asked several times a year about Black Vulcan. At conventions. In emails. On Facebook and other social media. Even at my garage sales. It’s frustratingly inevitable and I deal with it as best I can. The questions boil down to these.

Is Black Vulcan a rip-off of Black Lightning? Yes.

Was Black Vulcan created to prevent Tony Isabella from getting the royalties I was due? Also, yes, but the real culprit in this theft was not Hanna-Barbera, but DC Comics circa 1977.

Before I proceed, let me clarify today’s very long blog title. I am confident I have the basic story correct. However, since some of the folks involved are no longer with us, I can’t verify what they told me at the time. I can speculate on some elements and my speculations are likely pretty accurate. But there are things I cannot state as absolute truths. They are hearsay, albeit from very trustworthy people, but hearsay none the less.

Let’s start with some inaccurate information on Wikipedia:

Black Vulcan debuted in The All-New Super Friends hour in September 1977. He was created to replace Black Lightning, who could not be used due to disputes between DC and the character's creator Tony Isabella. Vulcan was designed by cartoonist Alex Toth responsible for the look of most Hanna-Barbera superheroes.

Here’s the straight scoop:

I didn’t know Black Lightning was replaced by Black Vulcan on Super Friends until I watched the episode in September 1977. Up until that moment, I believed Black Lightning was going to be on the show. Any claim about a dispute between DC and myself prior to the launch of the series is patently false because I didn’t know about the switch prior to the launch.

When writers who want to get into comics ask me for my advice on that, I tell them two things:

1. Get any creator agreement with anyone in writing.

2. Get a good lawyer to enforce that agreement.

I pitched Black Lightning to Joe Orlando and Sol Harrison in the summer of 1976. Joe was very enthusiastic about my creation. Sol wanted to sell toys to “little black children.” Our agreement called for DC and I to be equal partners in the character. Any decisions would be made jointly by DC and myself. In addition to being paid to write the Black Lightning comic, I would receive 20% of whatever DC might make on the character outside of the comic book itself. Pretty straightforward, but not in writing. I should have known better.

DC began violating this agreement from pretty near the beginning of our “partnership.” I wasn’t consulted on the editor, which I’d assumed would be me. I didn’t object to Jack C. Harris because I thought he was a good editor and a good man. I held and still hold him in high regard.

I was not consulted on the artist for the book. My original plan was to poach one of the young artists I’d worked with at Marvel. I was thinking either Keith Pollard or Ron Wilson. Instead, the assignment went to teenager Trevor von Eeden. Again, I was fine with the choice. Trevor was enthusiastic and talented. It was an actual joy to throw him into the deep end of the script pool and see him swim like a champ.

Sidebar. Trevor was my first choice for my 1990s Black Lightning series and my 2018 Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands. That he didn’t draw either of them was out of my hands. With the 1990s series, I was falsely told he was not available. With the 2018 series, I was told no one at DC would work with him. Having now heard much of what Trevor had to endure from DC prior to 2018, I’m absolutely 100% in his corner.

Getting back to the original Black Lightning series, I was quite happy with Frank Springer inking Trevor. I’d worked with Frank at Marvel and loved his inking. He added a gritty feel to Black Lightning. Replacing Frank with Vince Colletta was not my call. It was DC’s newly-minted “art director” Colletta grabbing all the freelance he could and working on it behind the closed door of his office. DC’s “open doors” policy didn’t apply to everyone on staff.

Hired as an editor, I was demoted to “story editor” when I moved from Cleveland back to New York to take the job. I wasn’t happy about the switch. It was insulting. I describe my six months on staff as my six months in Hell. The only good thing about it was the friends I made. But that’s another story for another bloggy thing.

I moved back to Cleveland. I continued to write Black Lightning for a time. I was told by Joe Orlando and maybe also Jack C. Harris that Black Lightning would be appearing on Super Friends. I wasn’t watching Saturday morning cartoons or really much TV, but I wasn’t going to miss that debut. I probably told my family about this, but, except for my dad, they would have greeted this news with their usual indifference.

Imagine my chagrin when I saw Black Lightning had been replaced by Black Vulcan. My calls to DC the following Monday brought no satisfactory answers. Just a few embarrassed mumbled words about Hanna-Barbera making the switch on its own.

I blamed Hanna-Barbera for this treachery. I even wrote a story, “The Other Black Lightning,” in which a con artist named Barbara Hanna was promoting a sham Black Lightning for her own devious purposes. That turned out to be my final Black Lightning story of the original run.

Here’s what I have managed to piece together since then:

Black Lightning was definitely supposed to appear in the series. That was confirmed for me by more than one Hanna-Barbera person who worked on the show. I was told Black Lightning character designs had been drawn, but I never saw them. I’ve come to doubt these designs were actually done. If they were drawn, they would have been drawn by the legendary Alex Toth. I can’t imagine such Toth art wouldn’t have surfaced in the nearly five decades since they would have been drawn.

My agreement with DC would’ve paid off something like this. Just to keep it simple, let’s say there were ten DC characters in the series and that Hanna-Barbera had paid $1000 per episode for the rights to use them. My cut on Black Lightning would’ve been 20% of 10% of what DC received. About $20 per episode.

DC Comics didn’t want to pay that meager sum out of their $1000. They told Hanna-Barbera they’d have to pay extra to use Black Lightning. The notoriously thrifty Hanna-Barbera responded saying they would just steal the character. Every indication is that DC was fine with that. This wasn’t the first time DC would screw me and it wouldn’t be the last.

Do not equate the DC Comics of 1977 with today’s DC. Back then, there were at least two DC executives who would have delighted in my disappointment. One is long dead, the other is still with us but not at DC. I don’t know if I am universally loved by everyone at the DC of 2025, but, with the firing or forced retirement of the worst of my haters, the venom that existed in 1977 and for many years afterward the venom toward me doesn’t exist. Which is something I’m happy about. I have a genuine fondness and regard for the DC people I have interacted with in recent years.

Hanna-Barbera and the DC Comics of 1977 were co-culprits in this Black Vulcan scheme. I put more of the blame on DC, but that’s a long time in the past and moot at this point. I’m only writing about it in today’s bloggy thing because it keeps coming up year after year, several times a year.

On that note, I’d love it if my wonderful readers tell Wikipedia to correct its Black Vulcan entry. In the meantime, if anyone has Black Vulcan questions, please direct them here. I would love never having to answer Black Vulcan questions again.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

VAST ACCUMULATION OF STUFF GARAGE SALES 2025 PREVIEW

 

It’s been a productive couple of weeks for me. I’ve written Last Kiss gags as both Jenny and Tony. I wrote an eight-page comics story that will be Jenny’s first credit from a major publisher. I’ve started writing the first issue of my new trans super-hero series. I don’t have a publisher yet, but I’m going to write the first three issues to get a jump on things if or when that deal is made. I’ve started mapping out a long autobiographical graphic novel on my life, career and transition to date. Once I get well into that work, I’ll be looking for a publisher for it as well. I’m a busy gal.

I am also working on my 2025 Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sales with the help of my friend Rob Petersen. I plan to have the sales every Friday and Saturday (9 am to noon) starting on May 2 and 3. The only exception will be weekends when I’m going to be attending a convention or other public event. Which won’t happen until June earliest.

This year’s sales are going to be very special because there are tied into some house projects. I am determined to remove all the boxes from one of the bedrooms so it can be turned back into a proper bedroom again. We’re going to get new lighting in our big basement so that I can utilize that space and, in doing so, clear our downstairs family room. Yes, we have two family rooms. As I have told you, we live in a freaking Tardis.

Turning 73 last December and facing a somewhat uncertain future due to Trump and his Nazis destroying our country, I took a long hard look at all the unread books and comics in my house, all the unwatched movies and TV series, and other collectibles. I came to the conclusion I could and should do without them. Which will benefit my customers with, for example, amazing hardcovers and trades being priced at 30% of their original prices. A $100 omnibus edition can be yours for $30. Spend over $100 and you’ll get a 10% discount on your entire day’s purchases.

NOTE: Cash is still king, but I will also be able to accept both PayPal and Venmo.

Some highlights: I’ll have an entire table of Godzilla and kaiju for you. Action figures and other amazing collectibles. Books, comic books and magazines, including many back issues of G-Fan.

We’re beefing up our vintage comic book boxes with great issues, some from the 1960s and priced to sell. The hardcover and trade paperback boxes will feature archives and omnibus editions. I am also opening my boxes of vintage PS Artbooks collections to add to the sales. I’m so excited to offer these to you.

I’ll be selling dozens of Funko Pop and other action figures as I reduce my collection to mostly just characters I created or have a special liking for. As in previous years, all of these will be priced to sell.

I have two and maybe three office boxes of manga writing to be processed. Any adult material will be removed to go into adult mystery boxes. The rest will be priced at just $1 each.

Dollar comics have always been a mainstay of my sales, but they are loss leaders, a product sold at a loss to attract customers. It’s true most everything in my sales are sold at a loss, but the dollar boxes take up a lot of space for what they bring in. I plan to continue having dollar boxes as part of my sales, but I will be limiting them to four boxes. At the end of every sale, I’ll be putting roughly 20% of those dollar comics into mystery boxes. That way, I’ll be able to add more dollar comics to every garage sale.

Speaking of mystery boxes, I hope to make a great many of them. However, I have a problem at the front. Since I’m buying less new books, comics and other things, I’m getting fewer boxes that I can use for mystery boxes. If you have empty boxes, please consider dropping them off at my house. The more empty boxes I have, the more new mystery boxes I can make.

A few other notes. I’ll continue to sign Isabella items for free at my garage sales. But you must purchase at least $20 worth of sale items before I sign your books for free. At conventions, I charge $10 per signature. So this is still a good deal.

I was asked how I will be presenting at my garage sales. As with this year’s convention appearances, I will continue to present as Tony and not Jenny. I’m always Jenny, whether I’m presenting as her or not, but I do this to make those who don’t understand the transgender community more comfortable. I shouldn’t have to do this. I think they should just get over their damn selves and realize I (and others) are just trying to live authentically. We are not a threat to anyone.

If you want to see me presenting as my authentic self, I’ll be at Pride in the CLE in June and the Flaming River Con later in the year. I may even cosplay at both of these events, playing off something in the eight-page story mentioned above.

I may be dealing with my health issues, but I’m more productive than I have been in a long time. These garage sales are part of that greater productivity. That’s why I urge you to come to my garage sales. You’re gonna find a lot of great things at very low prices.

Thanks for stopping by today. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

WHAT I'M WATCHING

 

I’m making some changes in my life, even beyond my transition to my authentic self. Among those changes are altering my movie and television viewing. Oh, I’ll still be watching way more TV than I should. I’ll just be watching a bit less of it. Let’s start with the news programs.

Rachel Maddow is far and away the best political commentator we have. She had a knack for sharing our national terror and doing an impressive job explaining it. I should watch her every night, but I don’t for the simple reason that, some days, Trump and his Nazis are just too much for me to bear. When I do watch her, I’m always that much smarter for it.

I watch three not precisely news shows. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is the best one. Oliver does brilliant commentary and delicious satire/spoofery. His performances are Herculean, a characterization which would doubtless horrify him.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is Monday through Thursday. I think his monologue is better than that of any other late-night host. His short openings as well as his “Meanwhile” and other secondary bits are wonderful and always make me smile. Being subjected to his Colbert Questionnaire by him is a bucket list dream of mine. He’s also a great interviewer, though I don’t always watch those.

I watch The Daily Show Tuesday through Thursday. I don’t watch it on Monday or any other night when Jon Stewart is hosting. I’ve no patience with that dilapidated virtue whore and his “both sides now” garbage. He is more concerned about appearing to be “bipartisan” than he is the very real pain and suffering being visited upon good decent people each and every day of the Trump presidency. I love the correspondents. They are funny and smart. But Stewart can eat a bag of dicks.

One more note on the above not precisely news shows. They can all stop with the Old Man Biden jokes. They aren’t relevant and they fuel the Trumpian rewriting of history that feeds his stupid followers. History will record Biden’s term as a good but flawed four years with him and his administration accomplishing a great deal of good for the American people.

I also kind of watch Good Morning America and Live with Kelly and Mark, mostly to hang out with Saintly Wife Barb. I like most of these people, though George Stephanopoulos can share that bag of dicks with Jon Stewart. 

                                 

 

                 
Streaming surfing is something I do when I’m just too tired to do any writing or even think about it. Netflix is usually good for South Korean films, such as 2024’s Officer Black Belt. Though it pushed the violence a but much at times, this is an engaging film about a talented martial artist who can’t not get involved if someone is in trouble. He’s recruited by a probation officer to be his martial arts officer. Most of their cases involve sexual predators who have been released from prison. It’s a commentary on what the filmmakers consider South Korea’s lax punishment of such criminals.

The two leads are likable heroes who take more than their fair share of lumps. The geeky friends of the martial arts officer play a part in the crime-fighting, nerd heroes if you will. The main villain is a brutal monster who rapes children, He’s scary as Hell. Just seeing him made me uneasy.

The movie was a tad long at one hour and forty-eight minutes, but I did enjoy it. Even if the scenes of violence were hard to take for more than a few minutes. I had to take breaks to keep my head straight.

NOTE: I’m actually never too tired to think about my writing. I might not have energy to write something, but I’m still thinking about it while I watch TV or do other things. I keep a pad of paper at hand to jot down notes.

                         

                                                          

I still watch House Hunters and House Hunters International. Of the two, I prefer the international one because it’s fascinating to see how other countries and cultures live. This is sporadic viewing because they present so many new episodes every week. I record them all, but only watch the ones that catch my interest The episodes make for a nice lunch break. 

                                   

  

Game shows? Barb and I watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, along with the celebrity versions of those shows. I was critical of new WOF host Ryan Seacrest at first, but he’s grown into the job and is a delight to watch. Vanna White, of course, remains a goddess. There should be temples to her.

Jeopardy is more challenging. I like host Ken Jennings, but he’s got some annoying habits. Especially his abbreviating Jeopardy Invitational Tournament to “Jit.” That said, this year’s contest was breathtaking. So many great players and so many tight games. Kudos to tournament champion Matt Amodio, who as regular bloggy readers know, is from Medina, Ohio. His father, Jim Amodio is a comics fan and, occasionally, our lawyer.

Currently, my favorite game show is Pop Culture Jeopardy, which just completed its first season. Host Colin Jost is incredible in that role, funny and personable. The Internet Movie Database says this about the show:

A new twist on the classic quiz show format that combines the academic rigor with the excitement and unpredictability of pop culture; contestants play in teams of three as experts to win the grand prize of 300,000 dollars. 

I do watch some scripted TV. I’ll talk about those shows in our next bloggy thing. See you then.

© 2025 Tony Isabella

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN FEBRUARY

 

I came out as Jenny Blake Isabella on Sunday, February 9, on Facebook and my other social media. The response from the comics community was overwhelmingly loving, respectful and supportive. I admit I got a little teary reading comments from surprised long-term comics friends. There were, of course, naysayers, but those were expected. Overall, the comics community proved to me that we are some of the best people we will ever know.

Saintly Wife Barb and I flew to Pensacola on Thursday, February 13, for Pensacon 2025. It’s my favorite event and I knew Jenny (and Tony) would be warmly welcomes there. I was not wrong. That first day of the convention was amazing. I ended up doing a solo panel on my comics career that was very well received. I caught up with old friends. I was looking forward to more of the same on the remaining two days of the convention and, beyond that, continuing my transition to my authentic self over the months and years to come.

As we should have learned by now, man plans and God laughs. I got sick on Saturday and was only able to come to the convention on Sunday for a couple hours. We flew back to Cleveland on Monday, February 17, my wife’s birthday. A few days later, I was admitted to Medina Hospital.

I had contracted a particularly nasty case of Influenza A. I felt miserable. There were some other issues as well, but those will be discussed at a later date. I was discharged, but I still felt really awful for many days. Except for one doctor’s appointment, I haven’t left the house in over two weeks.

I am on the mend, albeit slowly. On Sunday, March 2, I finally felt well enough to start writing again. As Jenny Blake, I wrote an eight-page script I can’t talk about yet. As Jenny and Tony, I have also written some Last Kiss gags. If it were for my minor mobility issues and the lingering effects of the flu, I would be feeling pretty good right now. Actually, I do feel pretty good, just not as good as I would like.

I’ve canceled all of my convention and other appearances through July. I had to put some other things on hold. Still, it’s great to be able to resume blogging again. I was unable to post my daily “things that make me happy” for much of February. But I want to share the shortened lists of those joys with you. Here are the things that made me happy in February before I was laid low by the flu... 

                                                                         

 

February 1: Akronomicon. I had a wonderful time at Akronomicon, hanging out with old friends, making new ones and chatting with the nicest fans anywhere. These are challenging times, but there are good people here in Ohio and beyond.

February 2: Linda Miller at Akronomicon. Best known for her role in King Kong Escapes, Linda is simply one of the most delightful guests you can meet at a convention. I love when we’re both at a convention and can spend some time together.

February 3: Victoria Price. It was a thrill to meet the daughter of Vincent Price and be her next door neighbor at Akronomicon. Her dad’s work and her work as an author and activist made the meeting memorable for me. 

                                                                         

 

February 4: Akronomicon. Burt Gummer lives! We never saw a body at the end of the last Tremors film. I assume he’s taking some private “Burt Time” with his stockpile of MREs. An award-winning cosplay from the convention.

                                                                         

February 5: Jenny’s Christmas ornament. My dear friend Jess made this. Even if I end up with a Charlie Brown tree, I’ll have a nice ornament for it. The good friends who sent cards and gifts to Jenny also make me happy.                                                        

February 6: Forbidden Worlds Vol. 20 (PS Artbooks). It reprints issues #117-121, cover-dated January-February to August 1964. Four of the issues have absolutely incredible stories by editor and writer Richard E. Hughes and artist Chic Stone.

February 7: Green Opal Salon. My first appointment with the very cool Kylie went very well. My hair isn’t quite there for all I would like to do with it, but it’s a start. If I don’t stare in the mirror too long, I think I look cute. 

                                                                           

 

February 8: Godzilla now guards the entrance to my home office in the form of this fierce wall hanging. It was a Christmas gift from a family member. I’m going to sprucing up my office in 2025 and adding some art and such to the walls.

February 9: Coming out as transgender on my social media was one of the scariest things I have ever done. The love and support I was shown lifted my spirits and gave me hope. I’ll have more to say soon. For now...thank you.

February 10: Tokyo These Days by Taiyo Matsumoto. After 30 years as a manga editor, Shiozawa quits. He finds can’t leave manga behind. Against all odds, he starts planning a magazine of his own. I can relate to this big time.

                                                                           

February 11: The WeatherTech “Golden Girls Go Wild” Super Bowl commercial was a highlight of the game. My first reaction was a gasped “WTF?” but I immediately moved to laughing out loud. One of the most honestly hilarious ads in years..

February 12: Ghosts: “The Not-So-Silent Partner.” Notable for a heartwarming scene between Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) and Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long). The actors deserve supporting role awards for their great work episode after episode.

I was able to resume posting these things that make me happy on Saturday, March 1. You’ll get a full compliment of them at the start of April.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2025 Tony Isabella