THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN FEBRUARY

Stuff happens and it’s not always good stuff. Which is why, every day on Facebook and Twitter, I remind myself of what brings me joy in this hard world of ours. Here are the things that made me happy in February.

February 1: My morning American Airlines flight to the North Texas Comic Book Con was great. Comfortable seat on aisle (8B) with no one in front of me or next to me.

February 2: The North Texas Comic Book Show. The sensational event was packed with terrific comics creators from the 1970s and beyond. So many good moments with old friends. I recommend this convention to fans and comics creators alike.

February 3: Doing my cheesy Godzilla sketches for Amy Chi and her son. Such a pleasure to meet her...and, yes, I will be doing more cheesy sketches when you least expect it.

February 4: Chatting with Neal Adams in the waning hours of North Texas Comic Book Con. A great deal of the benefits creators now get are because Neal fought the battles decades ago. I’m still learning from him and appreciate his friendship.

February 5: Getting a shout-out from Svengoolie on his February 2 airing of The Giant Claw. We met at the Hall of Heroes Convention in Elkhart, Indiana.

February 6: Dan Davis doing a fine job drawing my pal Tom Batiuk’s Crankshaft comic strip. It’s such a seamless transition I have to keep reminding myself of Dan’s involvement.
                                                                              

February 7: Michael Roberts’ Hot Type, Cold Beer and Bad News: A Cleveland Reporter’s Journey Through the 1960s. A great book about a less-than-great newspaper. I worked at The Plain Dealer for about three years and this book brought back some memories.

February 8: Gail Simone asking and receiving answers from fast food chains on comics preferences. What a fun thing! She recognizes the great responsibility that comes with her power as one of the best people in comics.

February 9: The woman who hit my SUV causing thousands of dollars in damages admitted her full liability in the matter. We will even get our deductible back.

February 10: The Halsey-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live was the best and most complete episode of the season. Great sketches. Great musical performances. More, please.

February 11: Realizing that, even beyond Black Lightning, my comics and other work has meant so much to so many people. I say this with gratitude for the kind words.
                                                                                     

February 12: Alter Ego #157. Editor Roy Thomas and interview ace Richard Arndt have outdone themselves with incredible material onGolden Age Wonder Woman writer Joye Murchison and the Silver Age’s Barbara Friedlander.
                                                                                  

February 13: Lindor Valentine's Day Strawberries and Cream White Chocolate Truffles. Sinfully good. I only regret I didn’t receive any for Mistress Day.
                                                                                      

February 14: Scooby-Doo Team-Up #46. Writer Sholly Fisch and artist Dario Brizuela delivered an hilarious adventure teaming the Scooby Gang with my favorite super-hero. Many LOL moments. Thanks, guys.

February 15: Gotham. This final season is crazy wild with wonderful performances, bizarre characters and unexpected plot twists in darn near every scene. I like that it’s coming to its end and loving the ride up to that.
                                                                               

February 16: That Chevy Equinox TV Commercial with the alligators is brilliant! I need to see the car’s “Surround Vision technology” in a “creature feature” as soon as possible.
                                                                                  

February 17: Revealed in a new Progressive commercial: the usually denigrated “Jaime” has an amazing house, wife, kids and musical chops. For years, he’s been nothing but comedy relief in the ads. I love seeing Flo and her lackeys rendered speechless.

February 18: Saintly Wife Barb’s birthday celebration. Last night, we had a great time at Rockne’s with Eddie, Kelly, Aunt Nora, Uncle Terry, Aunt Pat, Cousin Heather and her son Zack.
                                                                                  

February 19: Gotham City Garage. This was recommended to me by one of my Facebook friends. I got the first volume from my library and enjoyed it. Will review it soon.

February 20: Sholly Fisch and Scooby-Doo Team-Up. Both should be nominated for every comics award for which they’re eligible. I’d vote for them.

February 21: Pensacon 2019 was bigger and better than ever. It’s my favorite convention. I’ll come back as often as I’m invited. This event truly represents the best of fandom.

February 22: A Pensacon magical moment. Sharing the ride from the airport to the hotel with Pinky and the Brain: Maurice LaMarche and Rob Paulsen.

February 23: Doing fun informative Pensacon panels with the Longbox guys, Kevin Grevioux, Mark Maddox, Barry Gregory, Ande Parks, and others. Hope to do more in 2020.

February 24: Dinner at Pensacola’s fabulous Fish House, which was all decked out as Hogwarts. My photo was taken for their “wall of fame” of presidents, astronauts, entertainers and more. I’ll be the guy people point at and say, “Who the heck is that guy?”

February 25: J.D. and Oscar, who grew up next door to us in Medina, live in Pensacola. With their wives Haley and Megan and Oscar’s son Harrington, they came to Pensacon. First con for them. So great for Eddie and I to spend time with them.

February 26: Being warmly greeted by old friends and making so many new friends. It’s a Pensacon tradition!

February 27: Mike Ensley and the Pensacon crew. Mike is one of the most moral, upstanding people and his crew, especially my beloved Maria, are efficient, friendly and unfailingly kind.
                                                                                 

February 28: Marvel won four well-deserved Oscars this year. Black Panther and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse were outstanding in every way. My congratulations to all who worked on them.

Reminder: I’ll be at the Big Apple Comic Con, Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, at The Penn Plaza Pavilion, Pennsylvania Hotel, 401 7th Avenue in New York City. I’ll be doing a Bronze Age panel with my pal Arvell Jones and moderating a Q&A session with Mike Colter of Luke Cage. I’d love to see a bunch of my bloggy readers at the con.

If you’re planning ahead, I’ll be a guest at the Great Philadelphia Comic Con, April 12-14 at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Avenue, Oaks, PA. Keep watching the bloggy thing for news of my other 2019 convention appearances.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN JANUARY

My life got off to a hectic, often rocky start in 2019. On the plus side, I visited the set of Black Lightning in Atlanta and attended the show’s second season wrap party. On the minus side, I had some personal problems demanding my attention. I looked on in horror as the Dumpster President, his administration and the Republicans in general proved themselves even more horrible than I already knew they were. DC Comics couldn’t think of anything better to do with Black Lightning that reduce him to Batman’s sidekick in the really unimpressive Batman and the Outsiders stories in Detective Comics and elsewhere. Even so...

Hope springs eternal. There were always cool things in my life that made me happy. Every single day. As I’ve been doing for some time now, I shared those spiffy things with you on Facebook and Twitter.  I’ve got some catching up to do, but here are the things that made me happy in January...

January 1: Deadpool 2. I watched it New Year’s Eve. Never mind how sad it is that I watched it on New Year’s Eve. This is as hilarious and as wonderful as the first film. I may be developing a man-crush on Ryan Reynolds.

January 2: Yesterday’s Rose Bowl party at Casa Isabella was great fun. Wonderful family, food and neighbors. Plus: Ohio State won, even if it was more nerve-wracking than it should’ve been.

January 3: The Masked Singer. Despite my active dislike of one of the four panelists, I loved this crazy competition show. We need a lot more just plain silly on TV.

January 4: Decoy starring Beverly Garland. From 1957. Until a buddy send me the DVDs, I’d never heard of this groundbreaking TV series. It’s amazing!

January 5: Congress is more wonderfully diverse than ever and the Democratic Party has the House. It’s going to be a tough struggle  going forward, but, for now, I’m pleased.
                                                                             

January 6: Black Lightning wrap party. Seeing the happy cast and crew. Realizing they had jobs because of something I did 40 years ago. Telling them how much their creativity, dedication and talent mean to me. I love them all madly.

January 7:  Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won the well-deserved 2019 Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture - Animated. It has a total of 23 wins and 32 nominations across a wide variety of film awards.

January 8: That insanely wondrous Walmart ad promoting the chain’s online grocery pickup and featuring a dozen famous Hollywood cars. I laughed out loud when I spotted Fred Flintstone’s ride.

January 9: I mastered Lyft! My driver on Monday’s ride to the set was an actress/singer who has done background work on Atlanta-based TV shows. My driver on Wednesday’s ride to the airport asked for my autograph.

January 10: The love and respect I was shown by literally everyone on the Black Lightning set. I think of them as family and they made me feel like part of their family.
                                                                               

January 11: Sitting behind Salim Akil and his bank of monitors as he directed scenes. It was amazingly educational and had me in awe of how good he, the cast and the crew are.

January 12: Watching a Black Lightning set being built on Tuesday morning and then filming on it Tuesday night.

January 13: I could do a month of “Things That Make Me Happy” based on my trip to the Black Lightning set. But [I saved] them for the series that ran in “Tony Isabella’s Bloggy Thing.”
                                                                                 

January 14: DC Comics Bombshells. This World War II-based alternate take on the DCU is way more fun than most of their “normal” titles. I’m three collected volumes into the series and eager to read more. Great comics.

January 15: Deadly Class on Syfy. The special preview showed a lot of potential. I’ll keep watching and give the comic-book series a second chance.

January 16: The businesses that stepped up to help federal workers screwed over by the Dumpster’s petulant extortion attempt. This is the real America.

January 17: Gilette’s “The Best Men Can Be” advertisement. Though I have been using cheaper shaving products, I’m going back to the Gilette products.

January 18: Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is the NFL Rookie of the Year. Congratulations to him and his team.
                                                                             

January 19: Taking an hour each night to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy with Saintly Wife Barb. If I were on the shows, I’d freeze, but, sitting on the couch in my pajamas, I’m on fire!

January 20: I’m enjoying the current Black Panther-centric series of the Avengers on Disney XD. Great stories and twists. Stan Lee’s cameo in the episode “T'Chanda” made me smile.

January 21: Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I’d stopped watching this a while back, watched its NBC premiere and fell in love with the show all over again. I literally laughed out loud at the Holly Gennaro gag.
                                                                                

January 22: Daily Show correspondent Dulcé Sloan. Her comments on Martin Luther King Jr Day were bold, brash, hilarious and rang with truth and wisdom. I love her madly.

January 23: Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. A good man whose positions mostly align with mine. He hasn’t declared yet, but, at the moment, he’s my preferred choice for the Democratic Party presidential candidate.

January 24: My dentist and doctor appointments went well. I always do better with my life’s aches and pains when I know what’s causing them.
                                                                              

January 25: Pete Souza’s Obama: An Intimate Portrait. It’s nice to remember when we had a decent, intelligent person as our President and to have hope of a return to that standard.

January 26: Making great headway on a comics sorting project that I neglected far too long. Phase one will be completed by the end of the weekend.

January 27: The Black Lightning TV series was nominated for a GLADD award for best drama. It’s a well-deserved honor. I’m over the moon thrilled for my friends who work on the show.

January 28: The Screen Actors Guild named the cast of Black Panther as best movie ensemble. Star Chadwick Boseman’s acceptance speech was powerful and inspirational.
                                                                               

January 29: Jordan Calloway. This fine young actor was sensational in Khalil Payne’s redemption arc on Black Lightning. The series is creating new stars every episode.

January 30: Talking Black Lightning and diversity via speaker phone with John Jennings and his class at the University of California Riverside. We do this about once a year and it’s always fun for me and, hopefully, informative for his great students.
                                                                              

January 31: Marie Kondo. With my Vast Accumulation of Stuff still taking up too much room, I’m turning to The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up for inspiration. It’s a start.

Reminder: I’ll be at the Big Apple Comic Con, Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, at The Penn Plaza Pavilion, Pennsylvania Hotel, 401 7th Avenue in New York City. I’ll be doing a Bronze Age panel with my pal Arvell Jones and moderating a Q&A session with Mike Colter of Luke Cage. I’d love to see a bunch of my bloggy readers at the con.

I’ll be back here tomorrow with the things that made me happy in February. See you then.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

BIG APPLE COMIC CON (March 9-10)

New York, New York! My next convention appearance is the Big Apple Comic Con, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, at The Penn Plaza Pavilion, Pennsylvania Hotel, 401 7th Avenue in New York City. Show hours are 10 am to 7 pm on Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday with early admission available.

Regular general admission tickets are $30 per day or $45 for a two-day pass. On Saturday, children under 14 can get into the show for $15. On Sunday, children under 14 can get into the show for $10. On both days, kids under eight are free. On Sunday, at the box office, all US Military personnel and NYC municipal employees can get into the convention at half-price.

You can buy early admission tickets for $75 per day. This gets you into the show an hour early and includes special deals and special gifts. I’m going to do my best to be behind my table for the early birds, but you’ll have to bring your own worms.

Founded and owned by Mike Carbonaro in 1995, the show is just shy of its 25th anniversary. The guest list is incredible: William Shatner, Mike Colter from Luke Cage, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Brent Spiner, Kathleen Turner, David Gerrold, Ann Robinson from The War of the Worlds, Frank Cho, Jim Steranko, Bill Griffith, Ramona Fradon, Arvell Jones, Larry Welz, Peter David, Sy Barry, Bob Camp. Danny Fingeroth, Jim Salicrup and many more.

I’ll be appearing at the convention both days, joined by my Saintly Wife Barb. When I’m not doing panels or trying to say hi to my old friends or bugging the Godzilla, King of the Monsters guests about that upcoming movie, I’ll be at my table selling Isabella-related stuff and signing autographs.

I’m doing two panels on Saturday, both of them in the Globetrotter Room. I think that means you have to sink a three-point shot before I answer your questions.

At 11:45 am, I will be moderating and appearing on “From The Bronze Age to TV” with my dear friend Arvell Jones. Arvell and I created Misty Knight in an issue of Iron Fist, though Chris Claremont did the heavy lifting on developing the character in later issues. We will be talking about our other Bronze Age work and discussing our love for Simone Messick, who plays our daughter Misty on Luke Cage, the Defenders and Iron Fist.

I’ll also be discussing Black Lightning, now the star of a hit TV show going into its third season; Black Goliath/Bill Foster (from Ant-Man and the Wasp); Tigra, who will be starring with Dazzler in a new animated series on Hulu; and maybe even the Elementals from Spider-Man: Far From Home, who may or may not be the same villains I created while writing the Living Mummy. I’ll try to get an answer  on that before the panel. Following this panel, there will be a photo opportunity with Mike Colter, Arvell and myself.

At 12:40 pm, also in the Globetrotter Room, I’ll be moderating the “Mike Colter: Sweet Christmas in March” Q&A session with the star of Luke Cage and the currently in post production Evil. According to the Internet Movie Database:

A skeptical female clinical psychologist joins a priest-in-training and a blue-collar contractor as they investigate supposed miracles, demonic possession, and other extraordinary occurrences to see if there's a scientific explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.

As moderator, I’ll be facilitating the audience asking questions of the talented Colter. But, in case you get all shy on us, I’ll have questions about both Luke Cage and Evil for Mike.

Because I’m flying to New York, I’m limited in what I can bring to sell. The Isabella items will likely include Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands, Black Lightning Volume One (reprinting my original run from 1977-1978), July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic-Book Life of Tony Isabella and an assortment of posters and prints. While I do charge for my signature, I think my prices are very reasonable:

Any items purchased from me: no charge.

All other items: $5 each.

Items signed in front of a grading company witness: $10 each.

Photos are free.

If you’re cosplaying at Big Apple, especially if you’re cosplaying as a character I created or wrote, please stop by my table so I can get a photo with you for my blog, my Facebook page, my Twitter feed and just to show my family and friends the cool people I hang out with at conventions.

If you want to interview me at Big Apple, I’ll do my level best to accommodate you.

One more thing. I will be flying in to New York on Wednesday, three days before the Big Apple convention. This is to give me the chance to have meals with old friends I don’t see often enough. Depending on my schedule, this might also allow me to get together with some of my Facebook fans and friends.

For interviews or meetings, you will need to e-mail me as soon as possible. I don’t go online while I’m traveling, so I’ll need your contact information before I leave.

I enjoy visiting New York, the place where I started my long comics career. I’m especially looking forward to the Big Apple Comic Con. I hope to see you there.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

           

TONY GOES TO FREELAND: CONCLUSION

Previously in Tony Isabella’s Bloggy Thing:

I flew to Atlanta/Freeland to attend the Black Lightning season two wrap party and to spend two days on the set during the final week of shooting for that season. I’ve been writing about the trip, but, as I commence this final installment of my report, I’m heading back to my home in Medina, Ohio and thinking of the conversation that I had during my final hours on the set...

Wednesday morning. I had a good night’s sleep after my twelve-plus hours on the set on the day and night before. I woke up feeling fine, sad that I was leaving all my friends on the set, but happy to be returning home to my family.

The Lyft driver who picked me up for the ride to the airport turned out be a fledgling actor and model. He was the manager of his four-year-old daughter, who was already doing some modeling. We chatted. He was thrilled to learn I was the creator of Black Lightning. When we got to the airport, he asked for my autograph.

The Atlanta airport was crowded. I had hours to kill before I could board my flight home. I had intended to buy a day pass to the Delta Sky Club, figuring I could eat breakfast there and relax. Much to my disappointment, Delta has changed its operation and only accepts the Delta American Express card. They don’t even take cash. Seems like an odd policy to me.

The airport TGIF was more receptive. I asked the hostess if I could get a table in the back and hang for a couple hours. The restaurant accommodated me, earning my server a very good tip. It was during my hours there that I started thinking about my comics career. Mostly that it may be over.

When I began this series of blogs about my trip - a report delayed by circumstances to a ridiculous extent - I started it with these two paragraphs:

If it doesn’t get any better than right this minute, if I never get to write another Black Lightning comics story or any other comics story, if I never again stand in front of an audience to speak of the character and work that has defined my career, if I never again visit the home city of Jefferson Pierce and his family, if this is it, the finale, the slow walk away from the things I love about the comics industry, then, you know, it’s okay.

I’ve had success other comics creators dream of achieving. I have created iconic characters that entertain and inspire. I’ve written great stories and worked with great artists. I’ve seen my proudest creation turned into an amazing hit television series by actors and crew members and directors and producers and writers who embraced my vision for that creation.

What prompted those somewhat gloomy paragraphs was a conversation I had on set with...forgive me, but, for my own reasons, I’m going to keep the identity of the person to myself. The individual asked me when my next Black Lightning comics series would be coming out. I had been dreading this question the entire time I was in Atlanta because I didn’t have a happy answer for it.

I responded that, though I pitched several Black Lightning projects to DC, including one set in the show’s universe, DC had passed on all of them. Against my strong objection, DC intended to reduce my creation, a headliner and the star of a hit TV series, to Batman’s support Negro in Batman and the Outsiders. Despite my explaining it to DC, the powers there could not grasp how insulting that is to the character, to the many people to whom the character is so important and, lastly, to the character’s creator. Because why not ignore the many millions of viewers who watch the TV series for the sheer nostalgic value of revisiting a concept from the 1980s?

I added I had also pitched a graphic novel and a new take on a currently benched super-hero. Those were also rejected by DC. Nor was I given any indication that DC wanted to work with me on future projects. DC seems to have kicked me to the curb.

I added that there were no projects from other comics publishers on my horizon. Apparently, it is lost on publishers that comic books written by me could include the header “From the creator of Black Lightning.”

This conversation made me sad. I said I might have to accept that my comics shelf life had expired. I could write books, of course. Not best sellers, perhaps, but fun and interesting books. I could, despite my frightening lack of business acumen, try to self-publish comics in print or online. I could continue speaking at libraries and schools. I could continue going to conventions, most of which will pay me an appearance fee. But I could not do the things I loved most: writing comics and, more specifically, writing new Black Lightning stories until the day I die.

The person with whom I was speaking had an expression of disbelief on their face. I had created so many iconic characters, they said. I had written great stories. Several of my creations were appearing in cartoons, movies and TV shows. What was wrong with DC and other comics publishers? 

 

All I could manage in response was a line I have used many times in the past. 

 

Forget it, Jake, it’s Comicstown.

The comics industry has never truly made sense to me throughout my 46 years in the business. It would be foolishly optimistic for me to think it will suddenly start making sense.

My career has become bipolar. I get amazing love and respect from the Black Lightning series, as well as from others working in the entertainment field. The same from TV news programs that interview me...and from most of my fellow comics professionals...and from the fans...and from many conventions. Libraries and schools love having me as a speaker. Yet, when it comes to the actual comics industry, it’s the sound of crickets. Quiet crickets at that.

I think I know some reasons for the comics industry disinterest in me. I’m good for one and maybe two great comic books a month. The big companies like writers who can write six or seven books a month for them, even if those books are substandard. Which is not to say all comics by prolific writers are substandard. Some are excellent. I’ll point to former Cleveland resident Brian Michael Bendis as an example of the latter.

I’m not fond of crossovers and other comics stunts. They’ve become tiresome over the decades. I’ve not been shy about expressing this opinion in my various columns.

I’ve committed to discussing the comics industry with honesty and integrity. The bullshit, whether from corporations or creators or sleazy gossip-mongering dingle berries, serves no purpose in either improving or promoting our art form.

I’m not a West Coast guy and I’m not an East Coast guy. There’s an entire country between Los Angeles and New York City. This country is often ignored by the powers at the big companies.

With continuity changing every year at the big companies, I admit I can’t keep up with it. It’s why my submissions generally work the corners of the shared universes. A reboot of the Creeper. A comic starring the Mole Man. To work in the mainstream continuities, I would need a patient editor willing to explain that continuity to me.

That I may not write any more comic books depresses me more than I can express. There are doubtless some who will be gleeful at this situation. The Internet and our current dumpster president do bring out the worst in people.

I do take some comfort in knowing, as stated above, that if this is all I get, it’s still more than many comics creators have gotten. It’s certainly more than the online naysayers have ever achieved. Maybe now I will get the chance to read all the books and comics I own that I haven’t read. Maybe now I’ll watch all those DVDs I own that I have never watched. Good lord, do I really own all those shark movies? I need a bigger house.

I’m grateful for the blessings in my life. For the unfailing love and support from my family, friends and readers. If I walk away, I won’t be tossing my costume in the trash. I’ll hold on it to remind myself of the great experiences I’ve had, most certainly including my days on the Black Lightning set. At the end of the day, I have had and have a good life.

Thanks for coming with me on this journey. Whenever it may lead and however long it continues, I hope you’ll continue to join me on it. You’re the Crosby and Lamour to my Hope.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

           

TONY GOES TO FREELAND: PART FOUR

Previously in Tony Isabella’s Bloggy Thing:

I flew to Atlanta/Freeland to attend the Black Lightning season two wrap party. That was Saturday, January 5. Sunday was a day or rest. previous installments of this series. Sunday was a day of rest for On Monday, I went to the studio where Black Lightning is filmed for an exciting, educational and very long day on the set. You know all about that because you’ve been faithfully reading my bloggy thing reports on this trip. We continue...

Tuesday morning did not get off to the greatest of starts. I passed on the hotel’s breakfast buffet, figuring I could grab juice and a doughnut on the set. That was a good choice. I wanted to get to the set as early as possible.

Atlanta weather didn’t cooperate. Maybe it was the rain, but I was unable to get a connection to Lyft. I asked the hotel clerk to call a taxi for me. Though the cab companies were having communication problems as well, she did manage to get me one. The cost was twice what the Lyft would have cost me.

There were three scenes scheduled to be filmed, but I had time to kill before that would happen. I wandered towards the back lot to see the faux storefronts. I was recognized by the set designer - as I mentioned yesterday, the crew were told I would be visiting the set - and he asked if I would mind visiting the construction area. Some of his crew members were comics fans and they had brought some comics I’d written hoping to get them signed.

It’s hard for me to describe how I felt as all these hard-working craftsmen thanked me for creating Black Lightning and thus giving them jobs. Whether they read comic books or not, everyone who works on the series gives it their all.

I got a tour of the construction area, which is enormous, and the back lot. The Vampire Diaries had also been filmed there. One crew chief asked me if I wanted a job as a painter. They were rushing to meet a deadline.

You want to talk deadlines? The crew was building a set that would be filmed on that very evening. The set is extremely cool, but if I told you about it, I would be ruining a key part of the finale. Indeed, I’m not going to be able to tell you much about any of the scenes that were being filmed that day.

Sidebar. This was the last week of shooting for the second season. Several crew members were wondering about their next gig. But not all of them. Some would be moving to a studio across town for the filming of the Stargirl series, featuring the character created by Geoff Johns. I assume Geoff will be involved in the new show even beyond his role as an executive producer. I told the crew that he’s a swell guy and they should say “hi” to him from me. If you’ve been following this blog over the past few years, you know it was Geoff who reached out to me and made possible my mostly happy reconciliation with DC Comics. End of sidebar.

It’s hard to pick just one “greatest moment” from my visit to the Black Lightning set, but getting to wear the Black Lightning vest is way up there. This vest was originally worn by Cress Williams in the earliest episodes, but was soon replaced with one that fit his heroic frame much better.

This vest is now used by the stand-in for lightning purposes. There are two switches that allow the vest to light up. However, the show does digitally enhance the vest’s lighting before the episodes are aired. You get more zap for your buck with this show.

The pod is one of two (soon to be three) in Gambi’s Lightning Lair beneath his tailor shop. When my friend Neil Ottenstein saw me in this photo, he described it as the “Tony Isabella action figure in its original packaging.” When I joked that I was joining the cast in the third season, another pal dubbed me “Short Circuit”...which would be cruel if it weren’t also hilarious.

There were three scenes filmed. The one that took the longest was a fight involving Black Lightning, Lightning and Tobias Whale. I’m not going to tell you about it - no spoilers here - but it’s going to be awesome when it airs.
                                                                          

During one of the resets, China Anne McClain saw me, squealed with delighted, came over and hugged me. That’s right. I got hugged by a super-hero.

This was the first time I’d seen her in her suit. She looked great. She liked my “Pop’s Barber Shop” shirt - from Luke Cage - and was surprised to learn I had also created Misty Knight. She told me I was even cooler than she knew.

This is the kind of love and respect I got from everyone working on Black Lightning. Cress came over to say hi. I spent a lot of time with Marvin Jones. I was introduced to Bill Duke. Christine Adams came over to say hi and tell me she would be rehearsing a special scene with Jennifer Riker that day; she was disappointed I wouldn’t be there when they filmed the scene on Wednesday. Today was going to be my last day on the set.

I talked comics with Jordan Calloway. I talked with writer/director Oz Scott about one of the characters they hadn’t quite figured out completely and let him know anyone on the show could always contact me if they had any comics-related questions. I met and spoke to a couple dozen members of the crew. I have seldom seen such a large group of people who were so committed to the work and each other. They had each other’s backs and that was a beautiful thing for me to experience.
                                                                                

I had lunch that day with Jordan, Marvin and the amazing Bill Duke. We talked basketball. We talked about Agent Odell, the character played by Duke on the series. We talked about the comics industry. We talked about lynchings and other atrocities committed against  even after the Civil War, with Bill recommending a book - Without Sanctuary - that I bought and read. I could only read a few pages of it a day. It’s horrific, but also part of our history we dare not forget.

Mara Brock Akil joined us on the set as the afore-mentioned fight scene was being finished. She had an idea for a development for the next season of the series. Though there had been no announcement of the third season at that time, everyone on the set seemed confident that there would be another season.

When Salim seemed less than enthused by Mara’s idea, she turned to me and Jamon Brown, saying “let’s ask some writers.” Much to Mara’s (and my) delight, I fleshed out the idea in a matter of minutes. I don’t know what Salim thought about this, but I will be writing it up and sending it to Mara.

Mara also asked me if watching everyone work had stripped the magic from the show for me. I told it had only increased my admiration. I don’t know how they manage to do such great work day in and day out. My sense of wonder remains intact.

The final two scenes would be filmed in another building across the way from the building we’d been shooting it. It took maybe fifteen minutes for them to move all the equipment and craft services over to the second building. I was mightily impressed.

The first of the two remaining scenes was a silent scene with Agent Odell. But who needs words when you have the marvelous command of Bill Duke? His expressions were downright unnerving and that’s all I can tell you about the scene without giving away some cool stuff in the finale.

The final scene for the day’s shooting featured Tobias Whale. It’s another scene I can’t tell you anything about it, save that it was shot on the just-build set I mentioned earlier.

There had been talk about my doing a cameo, but that final scene of the day was the only one with extras and I was about as wrong for one of those parts as a human being could be. If I get to the set as often as I would like next season, I’ll almost certainly get a cameo. Heck, some of the folks think I should get a speaking part. Hmm...where does Grace (Chantal Thuy) buy her comic books?

I had a conversation with Mara before we finished for the day. I told Mara I would write up her idea and send to her. Along with another take on it that wouldn’t be part of Black Lightning. She told me she loved my creativity and spirit and asked to take a selfie with me. I was flying.

I had a conversation with someone else that was more serious. I’ll talk about that conversation in the concluding chapter of the report on my visit to Atlanta and the Black Lightning set.

I’ll be back soon with that finale.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

I'LL RETURN IN MARCH

Some quick updates:

I'm very excited about returning to Pensacon for my fourth year in a row. Be sure to check out my previous bloggy thing for the skinny on that fantastic event. I'm spending today and tomorrow getting ready for what I know will be a fun weekend.

Full-size bloggy things will return on or about March 1. It's no secret I've been struggling with stuff for the past few months. I am dealing with a variety of issues, which include incredible anger at the Dumpster President and his vile followers, more than a few concerns/hassles with the comic-book  industry, and a couple personal matters. 

Don't fret. I'll get it all sorted out. I always do.

I am making some changes to my schedule in the hopes of getting myself and my life on a more even keel. I'm not canceling any convention or other appearances. Indeed, I'll be adding some events very soon. 

Things like interviews and podcasts are on the back burner for now. I'm committed to doing some of these in March. 

I have all sorts of "odds and ends" to handle over the next few weeks. These are things I want to get off my "to do list" by the end of March, clearing the decks for new projects. Whatever those projects turn out to be.

If you're waiting on something from me, I'll try to contact you either before I leave for Pensacon or shortly after my return from Pensacon.

If you want to contact me about anything, the best way to do so is via e-mail. Not via Facebook or Twitter or even comments to this blog. E-mail me. It helps me keep track of stuff.

Thanks for your continued patience and support. Always forward.

Tony Isabella

TONY'S TIPS #292

This week in TONY'S TIPS at Tales of Wonder...The Unknown Anti-War Comics, edited by Craig Yoe and featuring comics by Steve Ditko, Joe Gill, Denny O’Neil and more; The Con Artist, a murder mystery by Fred Van Lente that's set at Comic-Con; and Supers: A Little Star Past Cassiopeia by Frédéric Maupomé with art by Dawid: http://blog.talesofwonder.com/?p=1361