I’m doing three conventions in four weeks. I’m already feeling the
post-convention aches and pains. Still, after a summer of pretty
much staying in my Medina home, I have an overwhelming urge to hit
the road and connect with my fellow comic-book fans and industry
professionals. Alert the media and the authorities in Detroit, New
York City, and Columbus.
THE DETROIT FANFARE is the first stop on my three-convention tour.
It takes place September 24 and 25 at Cobo Hall. You can get the
pertinent information on the show and its great line-up of guests
by going here
Two weeks later, I’ll be at THE NEW YORK COMIC-CON, October 13-16,
at the Javitz Center. For info on this event, go here.:
The final stop on the tour - unless I add some more conventions for
later in the year - is one week later. I’ll be a guest at WIZARD
WORLD MID-OHIO COMIC CON on October 22-23 at the Greater Columbus
Convention Center. The scoop on that show, always my favorite of
the year, can be found here.
At this time, I am not scheduled to appear on any panels at any of
these three conventions. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be easy to
find during the events.
At the Detroit FanFare, I’ll have an artists alley table from where
I’ll be signing things I’ve written, selling first edition copies
of 1000 Comic Books You Must Read, and also selling hardcovers and
trade paperbacks from my recent garage sale.
For the most part, I will only sign books and comics I’ve written.
I will not sign any Black Lightning comics I did not write...with
one exception. If you want me to sign individual issues of Black
Lightning Year One or the trade paperback of the series, I’ll do so
for $50 a signature. I have not read this series, I do not endorse
it in any way, shape, or form, and I think Dan DiDio was an idiot
for telling his editors I couldn’t be hired to write it. It is a
thing unclean to me. But I’m willing to get my hands dirty for a
hefty price. See how much fun I am at parties?
Copies of 1000 Comic Books You Must Read will be $20 each while the
other hardcovers will be $5 each and the trade paperbacks at a mere
$2 each. All proceeds from these sales will help support me in the
manner to which I have become accustomed, i.e., not being dragged
away to debtors prison.
At the New York Comic-Con, I won’t have a table, but I will likely
be signing at the Ardeen Entertainment/Atlas Comics booth for a few
hours each day of the show. I assume there will be copies of The
Grim Ghost and other fine Ardeen/Atlas publications for sale at the
booth. But, within reason, if you bring me something I’ve written,
I’ll sign it while beseeching you to buy The Grim Ghost and those
other fine Ardeen/Atlas publications.
At Wizard World Mid-Ohio Comic Con, I’ll also have an artist alley
table and will be selling pretty much the same kind of stuff that
I’ll be selling in Detroit. There might also be Halloween candy.
It’s happened at past Mid-Ohio conventions.
Besides signing and selling, there’s something else I’d like to do
at all three of these events. I’d like to meet with publishers and
editors who would like to discuss hiring me to work on projects for
them...and I’d also like to meet artists who’d like to work with me
on projects. If you’d like to set up a meeting prior to any of the
conventions, e-mail me here.
This isn’t a blanket “I’m desperate for work” notice. My interest
is in writing things that appeal to me and which I can write to my
own high standards. Good paying work will take precedence over
lesser paying work, just as upfront money or money on completion of
the work will take precedence over back-end deals. But I will come
to these discussions with an open mind and with the hope I can do
something extraordinary. Talk to me.
One last note.
If you’re a convention promoter who would like me to appear at your
event, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. Depending on where
your convention is, I generally ask for hotel and travel expenses,
as well as reasonable table space. On my end, I always promote my
convention appearances in all the venues available to me.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
BATMAN #200
I told you about the above piece of art a couple days ago. At the
time, I described it as the color guide to the Neal Adams cover for
Batman #200 [March 1968]. Given that Neal had signed it, I thought
he had probably done the color guide. However, just to be sure, I
contacted my pal Anthony Tollin, who was one of DC’s top colorists
and production people for many years.
Here’s Tollin’s first e-mail:
It's obviously the original hand-colored "silverprint" for the
cover of BATMAN #200, almost certainly colored by Jack Adler.
(Silverprints tended to turn brown with age, due to the acids in
the paper.)
DC colorists colored on silverprints during the 1960s and early
1970s, which were replaced by special matte-finish darkroom
photostats in the early 1970s and later xeroxes.
Since Jack Adler did the cover color separations as well, he
probably did the minimum necessary to show the editor what he was
going to do. The colored silverprint has all the actual coloring
with minimal indication of the 100% Magenta background surprint.
Both are accurate to the finished cover.
Of course, had I colored the cover, I would have gone over all the
background cover art in red colored pencil or tempora paints to
better simulate the magenta surprint, but my cover coloring had to
be sent to Chemical Color in Bridgeport for separations. Since Jack
himself was doing the actual color separations, he didn't need to
complete all this busywork as a guide to himself, so did the
minimum he could get away with. It was staff work, anyway, not
freelance...back when Jack was the on-staff cover color separator.
Not much to look at since Jack didn't have to complete it...but
still an interesting relic from an historic issue.
Tollin followed up with a second e-mail:
It's definitely authentic. A fan doing it would've done a much
neater job, but 1960s DC colorists tended to just indicate when
possible...and not even stay within the lines if they were going to
separate it themselves.
One last thing...I still think it's by Adler, but it could possibly
have been by Sol Harrison considering that it was an important
anniversary cover.
Thanks, Tony!
******************************
My multiple front war against my Vast Accumulation of Stuff goes on
and on. The pile of clothes to be donated to a charitable group is
fast approaching four feet in height.
There are over a hundred t-shirts in the pile, some of them comics-
related. Should I pull them out and offer them on eBay or at some
future garage sale? Let me know.
The old file cabinet continues to produce wonderful things. In the
latest batch of folders, I found:
An introduction and two full scripts for a character called "Captain
Galaxy". One script is 22 pages and the other is 12. I don’t have
any memory of this science fiction character, but the scripts hail
from the early 1970s and were likely written for a fanzine. When
I have a bit of free time, I’ll read them over and maybe even share
them with you.
The script package for the Captain Universe story I wrote for Web
of Spider-Man Annual #6 (1990), my second and final collaboration
with Steve Ditko. Since the toddler hero of the story was based on
my son Eddie, this package is a keeper. But I’ll likely share it
with you in a future bloggy thing.
Eight pounds of file folders containing mail from 1993 readers of
my “Tony’s Tips!” column in Comics Buyer’s Guide. I had forgotten
how much mail I used to receive before e-mail became the preferred
method of communication. It’ll take me a while to go through these
folders - and there seems to be another two years worth of CBG mail
still in the cabinet - so I might not be going back to my old files
for several days.
Who ever thought cleaning could be this much fun?
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
Monday, September 5, 2011
ADVENTURES FROM AN OLD FILE CABINET
In my ongoing war with my Vast Accumulation of Stuff, I’ve started
going through an old file cabinet that probably hasn’t been opened
in over 15 years. One of the first things I found was a pitch for
a new comic-book title that I wrote and sent to Roy Thomas in, as
best I can determine, early 1972, over half a year before I landed
my first job at Marvel Comics. Asking my bloggy readers to keep in
mind that the copyright notice that runs at the bottom of each and
every installment of this blog isn’t there for show, here is that
brief pitch...
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymys Von Munchausen, the sportsman and
solider of Gottingen, was either the most extraordinary figure of
the 17th century or its most outrageous liar. His exaggerated,
often fantastic adventures have thrilled and entertained millions
since they first appeared in book form in 1785.
This book would treat the Baron’s adventures as gospel truth, but
with typewriters planted firmly in our cheeks. Issue #1 would
introduce the Baron in the story of how he battled some 100 demons
to kidnap a sultan’s daughter and reunite her with the man she had
wanted to marry. Succeeding issues would introduce two companions
for the Baron in Sinbad, who is hiding out from a shrewish wife he
picked up during his travels, and Aladdin, who is on the outs with
the genie of his lamp and is trying to get back in HER good graces
by performing some feats of bravery.
Stories will alternate between the Baron’s adventures against the
Turks, who, in these stories, will be a lot like the Romans that
Asterix fights in Gaul, and his more fantastic adventures. In the
latter category, for example, the Baron invents the submarine some
years before the facts because he has fallen in love with a mermaid
and seeks to steal her away from her father.
******************************
My most recent file cabinet discoveries include:
My 26-page script for a Beware the Creeper comics story. This had
received the unofficial blessing of DC publisher Carmine Infantino
and would have appeared in a Creeper fanzine I wanted to publish.
I lack the courage to read this old script at this time, but what’s
interesting about it is that it’s written in the two-column script
format learned from Stan Lee’s Secrets Behind the Comics. I wrote
a dozen or so fan scripts in this format before abandoning it for
the format I used to this day.
My original plot and script for Black Goliath #1. This file folder
also contains photocopies of Paty Cockrum’s design for the villain
of that first issue.
Another comic-book pitch I sent Roy Thomas in early 1972. When I
run it in a future bloggy thing, you’ll see why I hesitate to say
too much about it now.
A file folder containing a letter and a postcard sent to me by the
noted author Robert Bloch. They thank me for sending him copies of
Marvel comics and magazines that either adapted some of his stories
or wrote about his work.
A file folder containing over two dozen postcards and letters from
DC editor Murray Boltinoff. Some of these might well run in future
bloggy things.
A file folder containing a seven-page script I wrote for a planned
Christian-themed comic book that was subsequently pecked to death
by pious baby ducks...and the way too much correspondence between
myself and the editor during the process. God save me from editors
and hangers-on who have to pray over every panel in a script. If
this story ever appeared, it was without my name on it. I’d made
sure the contract included a clause allowing me to withhold the use
of my name if I felt editorial changes had substantially diminished
the quality of my script. Sometimes, not often, mind you, I used
the brain God gave me.
On another front, I continued to work my way through the clothes in
my office closet. Once we’d cleared away the piles of comics that
had been in front of the closet and were able to open both of its
doors, I realized my wife’s maternity clothes took up much less of
the space than I’d thought. My apologies, o Sainted One.
The good news is that I found a second of those Mid-Ohio-Con 1988
jackets I wrote about yesterday, as well as a John Byrne’s Next Men
jacket that was probably from another Mid-Ohio-Con. Since my taste
in clothing back then ran more towards what I could buy in the late
lamented Warner Brothers stores, I can’t think of any other reason
this jacket would be in my closet.
The bad news is that nothing batters one’s self-image like trying
on clothes that are over two decades old. Apparently, if you leave
clothes in a closet for so long, they shrink. That’s my story and
I’m sticking to it.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
going through an old file cabinet that probably hasn’t been opened
in over 15 years. One of the first things I found was a pitch for
a new comic-book title that I wrote and sent to Roy Thomas in, as
best I can determine, early 1972, over half a year before I landed
my first job at Marvel Comics. Asking my bloggy readers to keep in
mind that the copyright notice that runs at the bottom of each and
every installment of this blog isn’t there for show, here is that
brief pitch...
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymys Von Munchausen, the sportsman and
solider of Gottingen, was either the most extraordinary figure of
the 17th century or its most outrageous liar. His exaggerated,
often fantastic adventures have thrilled and entertained millions
since they first appeared in book form in 1785.
This book would treat the Baron’s adventures as gospel truth, but
with typewriters planted firmly in our cheeks. Issue #1 would
introduce the Baron in the story of how he battled some 100 demons
to kidnap a sultan’s daughter and reunite her with the man she had
wanted to marry. Succeeding issues would introduce two companions
for the Baron in Sinbad, who is hiding out from a shrewish wife he
picked up during his travels, and Aladdin, who is on the outs with
the genie of his lamp and is trying to get back in HER good graces
by performing some feats of bravery.
Stories will alternate between the Baron’s adventures against the
Turks, who, in these stories, will be a lot like the Romans that
Asterix fights in Gaul, and his more fantastic adventures. In the
latter category, for example, the Baron invents the submarine some
years before the facts because he has fallen in love with a mermaid
and seeks to steal her away from her father.
******************************
My most recent file cabinet discoveries include:
My 26-page script for a Beware the Creeper comics story. This had
received the unofficial blessing of DC publisher Carmine Infantino
and would have appeared in a Creeper fanzine I wanted to publish.
I lack the courage to read this old script at this time, but what’s
interesting about it is that it’s written in the two-column script
format learned from Stan Lee’s Secrets Behind the Comics. I wrote
a dozen or so fan scripts in this format before abandoning it for
the format I used to this day.
My original plot and script for Black Goliath #1. This file folder
also contains photocopies of Paty Cockrum’s design for the villain
of that first issue.
Another comic-book pitch I sent Roy Thomas in early 1972. When I
run it in a future bloggy thing, you’ll see why I hesitate to say
too much about it now.
A file folder containing a letter and a postcard sent to me by the
noted author Robert Bloch. They thank me for sending him copies of
Marvel comics and magazines that either adapted some of his stories
or wrote about his work.
A file folder containing over two dozen postcards and letters from
DC editor Murray Boltinoff. Some of these might well run in future
bloggy things.
A file folder containing a seven-page script I wrote for a planned
Christian-themed comic book that was subsequently pecked to death
by pious baby ducks...and the way too much correspondence between
myself and the editor during the process. God save me from editors
and hangers-on who have to pray over every panel in a script. If
this story ever appeared, it was without my name on it. I’d made
sure the contract included a clause allowing me to withhold the use
of my name if I felt editorial changes had substantially diminished
the quality of my script. Sometimes, not often, mind you, I used
the brain God gave me.
On another front, I continued to work my way through the clothes in
my office closet. Once we’d cleared away the piles of comics that
had been in front of the closet and were able to open both of its
doors, I realized my wife’s maternity clothes took up much less of
the space than I’d thought. My apologies, o Sainted One.
The good news is that I found a second of those Mid-Ohio-Con 1988
jackets I wrote about yesterday, as well as a John Byrne’s Next Men
jacket that was probably from another Mid-Ohio-Con. Since my taste
in clothing back then ran more towards what I could buy in the late
lamented Warner Brothers stores, I can’t think of any other reason
this jacket would be in my closet.
The bad news is that nothing batters one’s self-image like trying
on clothes that are over two decades old. Apparently, if you leave
clothes in a closet for so long, they shrink. That’s my story and
I’m sticking to it.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
Sunday, September 4, 2011
DISCOVERIES AND ADVENTURES
It’s the Labor Day weekend and I have no idea how many of my loyal
readers will visit here today. I thought about taking the weekend
off, but I’m having too good a time writing this daily blog. Hope
you’re enjoying it as well and, if you are taking the holidays off
from the Internet, it’s okay. You can always catch up with these
bloggy bits on Tuesday.
I am continuing the struggle against my Vast Accumulation of Stuff
on multiple fronts. My bedroom armoire had two stacks of t-shirts
so tightly packed that the bottom ones were stuck to the wood. I
now have two half-stacks of t-shirts, one stack containing shirts
I can and will actually wear, the other containing shirts that have
some sentimental value for me. My rough guess is that I’m going to
donate around sixty shirts to various charities.
I started going through my office closet on Thursday, albeit at a
more leisurely pace. I’ve only found a couple of items that still
fit me, but I have found two items that might be a worth a little
money. One is a special Superman t-shirt (never worn) designed to
be sold in Cleveland as a fundraiser for Neverending Battle, Inc.,
an ill-conceived organization of which I was a part.
NEB’s purpose was to honor Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the very
city where they created the Man of Steel. The organization died an
ignominious death after putting on the International Superman Expo
in 1988. This t-shirt features Superman flying over the skyline of
Cleveland. The phrase WHERE LEGENDS ARE BORN runs beneath the art.
I don’t know how many of these shirts were made and sold, but this
one is an extra-large.
The other item is easily the rarer of the two. It’s the 1988 Mid-
Ohio-Con jacket (100% nylon shell with 85% acetate and 15% nylon
lining). It’s blue with a gold Mid-Ohio-Con 1988 logo on the left
chest. On the back is a large blue, red, and gold patch featuring
Superman and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Man of Steel’s
debut in Action Comics #1. Size-wise, it’s a large and that means
I never wore it more than once. My best guess is that less than a
hundred of these jackets were made and sold.
I have no idea what these items will bring when I auction them off
on eBay. I just think they’re neat.
On another front, I started going through a file cabinet I haven’t
used in over a decade. So far, I’ve found:
My original “script package” for the Ant-Man story I wrote for The
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #24 (1990). This consists of the index
cards on which I broke down the story panel by panel, the two-page
(single-spaced) plot for the story, reduced photo copies of Steve
Ditko’s pencils for the story with my caption/balloon placements,
my script, and the published story clipped from the issue in which
it appeared. Outside of the photo copies of the art, everything is
the original. I sent copies of the plot and script to Marvel and
kept the originals. With a little coaxing, I could scan all of the
above and run them over a bloggy thing or three.
The color guide for the cover of Batman #200, autographed by artist
Neal Adams. At least that’s what I think it is.
Copies of Sam Hamm’s first draft and revised first draft screenplay
for Batman (1989). I can’t recall how I got these or if I ever got
around to reading them and comparing them to the movie. Over the
years, people have sent me a lot of stuff and probably some stuff
they shouldn’t have sent me. These scripts will go back into the
files until I have time for them. That could be another decade or
so down the road.
Of the file cabinet stuff, the discovery that excited me most was
the pitch for a comic-book title I wrote and sent to Marvel Comics
prior to my being hired by the company in 1972. I sent a bunch of
pitches to Roy Thomas back then and, considering I found this one,
the others might be in the old file cabinet as well.
Tell you what. Come back tomorrow and you can read that old pitch.
I might have a few other surprises for you as well.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
readers will visit here today. I thought about taking the weekend
off, but I’m having too good a time writing this daily blog. Hope
you’re enjoying it as well and, if you are taking the holidays off
from the Internet, it’s okay. You can always catch up with these
bloggy bits on Tuesday.
I am continuing the struggle against my Vast Accumulation of Stuff
on multiple fronts. My bedroom armoire had two stacks of t-shirts
so tightly packed that the bottom ones were stuck to the wood. I
now have two half-stacks of t-shirts, one stack containing shirts
I can and will actually wear, the other containing shirts that have
some sentimental value for me. My rough guess is that I’m going to
donate around sixty shirts to various charities.
I started going through my office closet on Thursday, albeit at a
more leisurely pace. I’ve only found a couple of items that still
fit me, but I have found two items that might be a worth a little
money. One is a special Superman t-shirt (never worn) designed to
be sold in Cleveland as a fundraiser for Neverending Battle, Inc.,
an ill-conceived organization of which I was a part.
NEB’s purpose was to honor Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the very
city where they created the Man of Steel. The organization died an
ignominious death after putting on the International Superman Expo
in 1988. This t-shirt features Superman flying over the skyline of
Cleveland. The phrase WHERE LEGENDS ARE BORN runs beneath the art.
I don’t know how many of these shirts were made and sold, but this
one is an extra-large.
The other item is easily the rarer of the two. It’s the 1988 Mid-
Ohio-Con jacket (100% nylon shell with 85% acetate and 15% nylon
lining). It’s blue with a gold Mid-Ohio-Con 1988 logo on the left
chest. On the back is a large blue, red, and gold patch featuring
Superman and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Man of Steel’s
debut in Action Comics #1. Size-wise, it’s a large and that means
I never wore it more than once. My best guess is that less than a
hundred of these jackets were made and sold.
I have no idea what these items will bring when I auction them off
on eBay. I just think they’re neat.
On another front, I started going through a file cabinet I haven’t
used in over a decade. So far, I’ve found:
My original “script package” for the Ant-Man story I wrote for The
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #24 (1990). This consists of the index
cards on which I broke down the story panel by panel, the two-page
(single-spaced) plot for the story, reduced photo copies of Steve
Ditko’s pencils for the story with my caption/balloon placements,
my script, and the published story clipped from the issue in which
it appeared. Outside of the photo copies of the art, everything is
the original. I sent copies of the plot and script to Marvel and
kept the originals. With a little coaxing, I could scan all of the
above and run them over a bloggy thing or three.
The color guide for the cover of Batman #200, autographed by artist
Neal Adams. At least that’s what I think it is.
Copies of Sam Hamm’s first draft and revised first draft screenplay
for Batman (1989). I can’t recall how I got these or if I ever got
around to reading them and comparing them to the movie. Over the
years, people have sent me a lot of stuff and probably some stuff
they shouldn’t have sent me. These scripts will go back into the
files until I have time for them. That could be another decade or
so down the road.
Of the file cabinet stuff, the discovery that excited me most was
the pitch for a comic-book title I wrote and sent to Marvel Comics
prior to my being hired by the company in 1972. I sent a bunch of
pitches to Roy Thomas back then and, considering I found this one,
the others might be in the old file cabinet as well.
Tell you what. Come back tomorrow and you can read that old pitch.
I might have a few other surprises for you as well.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
Saturday, September 3, 2011
RANDOM SATURDAY
I’m continuing my attacks on my Vast Accumulation of Stuff. This
month, I’ve started going through closets and drawers gathering up
clothes to be donated to charitable organizations. I’m working on
my Vast Accumulation of T-Shirts at the moment. Prior to my garage
sale, someone e-mailed me asking if I would have any comic shirts
on sale. I didn’t...because I couldn’t imagine there would be any
market for my old shirts. Did I err?
Nightmare scenario. Someone buys my old shirts to harvest genetic
material from them and clones an army of me. Shudder.
On discovering piles of t-shirts on our bed, Sainted Wife Barb said
I should clean out the maternity clothes that fill roughly half of
the closet in my office. She’s pretty sure she won’t need them at
any time in the future. Her wish is my command, especially since
it means I’ll be able to fit all my hanging clothes in the closet.
They are currently spread out over four closets.
Besides going through the clothes, this month is when I start going
through various boxes and file cabinets in search of cool stuff to
sell on eBay. I’ve asked a friend of mine to design the official
“Tony Isabella Certificate of Authenticity” which will accompany all
such sales and certify the buyer has purchased an item from my Vast
Accumulation of Stuff.
Once the certificate is ready, the eBay sales will begin. I’ll let
you know when that happens.
******************************
The “I, Alex Cross” movie I mentioned the other day is also filming
scenes in nearby Akron, Ohio. The Northeastern Ohio area has fast
become a popular location for movie-makers. As I also mentioned,
this movie was going to be shot in Detroit, but Republican Governor
Rick Synder screwed that up. Alas, that sort of thing could easily
happen in Ohio as well.
Ohio elected the despicable John Kasich as our Governor last time
around. He’s a former Lehman Brothers executive and a former Fox
News employee. He immediately set out to sell off the state to
his business cronies while trying to cast firefighters, policemen,
and teachers as villains. He’s hired out-of-town pals for various
state positions, giving them raises while cutting the pay of those
state workers who actually work for a living. He won’t live in the
Governor’s mansion, which means the state is paying for security at
his own home. He is, of course, trying to enact laws and policies
that would make it more difficult for people to vote, mostly those
people most likely to vote against him and his ilk. Currently, he
is making a grab to take over municipal income tax collections, a
move which has enraged both Democratic and Republican mayors.
Casting politeness aside, Kasich is scum.
In other news, the fate of Matthew Fox, who is one of the stars of
the Alex Cross movie, is still undecided at this time. He has been
accused of assaulting a Cleveland bus driver. At present, the case
is before the city prosecutor, but at least one TV station seems to
think a formal arrest is imminent. I’ll keep you posted.
******************************
Recommended reading: If you’re looking for something very different
in police procedurals, check out the Sonchai Jitpleecheep novels by
John Burdett. Jitpleecheep is a detective in the Royal Thai Police
Department, a devout Buddhist, and the son of a Thai bar girl who
now owns one of the popular brothel/nightclubs in Bangkok. Burdett
fills these books with great characters, brutal criminals, social
issues, police corruption, and political intrigue. I’ve never been
to Bangkok, but these books make the city come alive for me. I’ve
read and enjoyed the first three books in the series - Bangkok 8,
Bangkok Tattoo, and Bangkok Haunts. Waiting for me to finish the
writing gigs on my desk is The Godfather of Kathmandu, the fourth
in the series...and there’s a fifth book due in January.
Bangkok 8: ISBN 978-1-4000-3290-7
Bangkok Tattoo: ISBN 978-1-4000-3291-4
Bangkok Haunts: ISBN 978-1-4000-9706-7
The Godfather of Kathmandu: ISBN 978-1-4000-9707-4
Vulture Peak: ISBN 978-0-3072-7267-6
******************************
Recommended Archie: I think every comics fan should read an Archie
comic every day. Especially after looking at the blood and gore on
the covers of a whole bunch of DC’s super-hero titles. Geez!
Jughead Double Digest #172 [$3.99] is good for what ails you. It
starts with “Treasure Hunt,” a funny new story by Paul Kupperberg
(script), Tod Smith (pencils), and Terry Austin (inks). The issue
also reprints several stories written by Craig Boldman, my all-time
favorite writer of Jughead stories. But, wait there’s more. Lots
of other Jughead stories, one-page gags, and tales starring Hot Dog
and That Wilkin Boy. Riverdale, take me home!
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
month, I’ve started going through closets and drawers gathering up
clothes to be donated to charitable organizations. I’m working on
my Vast Accumulation of T-Shirts at the moment. Prior to my garage
sale, someone e-mailed me asking if I would have any comic shirts
on sale. I didn’t...because I couldn’t imagine there would be any
market for my old shirts. Did I err?
Nightmare scenario. Someone buys my old shirts to harvest genetic
material from them and clones an army of me. Shudder.
On discovering piles of t-shirts on our bed, Sainted Wife Barb said
I should clean out the maternity clothes that fill roughly half of
the closet in my office. She’s pretty sure she won’t need them at
any time in the future. Her wish is my command, especially since
it means I’ll be able to fit all my hanging clothes in the closet.
They are currently spread out over four closets.
Besides going through the clothes, this month is when I start going
through various boxes and file cabinets in search of cool stuff to
sell on eBay. I’ve asked a friend of mine to design the official
“Tony Isabella Certificate of Authenticity” which will accompany all
such sales and certify the buyer has purchased an item from my Vast
Accumulation of Stuff.
Once the certificate is ready, the eBay sales will begin. I’ll let
you know when that happens.
******************************
The “I, Alex Cross” movie I mentioned the other day is also filming
scenes in nearby Akron, Ohio. The Northeastern Ohio area has fast
become a popular location for movie-makers. As I also mentioned,
this movie was going to be shot in Detroit, but Republican Governor
Rick Synder screwed that up. Alas, that sort of thing could easily
happen in Ohio as well.
Ohio elected the despicable John Kasich as our Governor last time
around. He’s a former Lehman Brothers executive and a former Fox
News employee. He immediately set out to sell off the state to
his business cronies while trying to cast firefighters, policemen,
and teachers as villains. He’s hired out-of-town pals for various
state positions, giving them raises while cutting the pay of those
state workers who actually work for a living. He won’t live in the
Governor’s mansion, which means the state is paying for security at
his own home. He is, of course, trying to enact laws and policies
that would make it more difficult for people to vote, mostly those
people most likely to vote against him and his ilk. Currently, he
is making a grab to take over municipal income tax collections, a
move which has enraged both Democratic and Republican mayors.
Casting politeness aside, Kasich is scum.
In other news, the fate of Matthew Fox, who is one of the stars of
the Alex Cross movie, is still undecided at this time. He has been
accused of assaulting a Cleveland bus driver. At present, the case
is before the city prosecutor, but at least one TV station seems to
think a formal arrest is imminent. I’ll keep you posted.
******************************
Recommended reading: If you’re looking for something very different
in police procedurals, check out the Sonchai Jitpleecheep novels by
John Burdett. Jitpleecheep is a detective in the Royal Thai Police
Department, a devout Buddhist, and the son of a Thai bar girl who
now owns one of the popular brothel/nightclubs in Bangkok. Burdett
fills these books with great characters, brutal criminals, social
issues, police corruption, and political intrigue. I’ve never been
to Bangkok, but these books make the city come alive for me. I’ve
read and enjoyed the first three books in the series - Bangkok 8,
Bangkok Tattoo, and Bangkok Haunts. Waiting for me to finish the
writing gigs on my desk is The Godfather of Kathmandu, the fourth
in the series...and there’s a fifth book due in January.
Bangkok 8: ISBN 978-1-4000-3290-7
Bangkok Tattoo: ISBN 978-1-4000-3291-4
Bangkok Haunts: ISBN 978-1-4000-9706-7
The Godfather of Kathmandu: ISBN 978-1-4000-9707-4
Vulture Peak: ISBN 978-0-3072-7267-6
******************************
Recommended Archie: I think every comics fan should read an Archie
comic every day. Especially after looking at the blood and gore on
the covers of a whole bunch of DC’s super-hero titles. Geez!
Jughead Double Digest #172 [$3.99] is good for what ails you. It
starts with “Treasure Hunt,” a funny new story by Paul Kupperberg
(script), Tod Smith (pencils), and Terry Austin (inks). The issue
also reprints several stories written by Craig Boldman, my all-time
favorite writer of Jughead stories. But, wait there’s more. Lots
of other Jughead stories, one-page gags, and tales starring Hot Dog
and That Wilkin Boy. Riverdale, take me home!
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
Friday, September 2, 2011
RANDOM FRIDAY
Before I commence the random news and views for your entertainment
and edification, some personal notes...
I’ll be announcing the rest of my 2011 convention appearances next
week. If there are convention promoters who would like to have me
at an event, they can e-mail me. Let me know what kind of support
(hotel, tables, travel expenses) you can provide and we can discuss
it from there. The same holds true for comics retailers who would
like me to sign at their stores.
If you’re a creator, editor, or publisher seeking to have me review
your book or comics in my Comics Buyer’s Guide column or in “Tony
Isabella’s Bloggy Thing,” your best chance of accomplishing that is
to send it to me. I can’t guarantee a review, but I probably won’t
see your book or comics any other way. Also, I can’t/won’t review
anything from a PDF or online link. I have tried and it’s just not
within the comfort zone of this old caveman. To send me a review
copy of your book or comics, or anything else you want to send me,
the address remains:
Tony Isabella
840 Damon Drive
Medina, OH 44256
********************
Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (DC; $19.99].
Really? I mean, really?
I owned and managed a comics store when these issues first saw the
light of day. I remember watching the sales of The Flash plummet
month after month. I don’t remember anyone having a kind word for
this interminable story. Indeed, I remember readers hating it with
a passion. I remember thinking my pal Bob Ingersoll could’ve told
the whole story in one issue and it would have been so much better
than what DC did publish. I remember thinking I could have dealt
with this faux-crisis in two pages or less. Justifiable homicide.
Self-defense (which, as Ingersoll so often reminds us, includes the
defense of others). Police and civilians are allowed to respond to
lethal force with lethal force. It’s too bad you had to kill that
villain, Flash, but it was a righteous shoot.
Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (DC; $19.99].
Really? I mean, really?
The Black Lightning series I did with Eddy Newell in the 1990s was
almost universally praised. That series has never been reprinted by
DC Comics in way, shape, or format. But they reprinted the entire
tedious “Trial of the Flash.”
Really? I mean, really?
Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (DC; $19.99].
ISBN 978-1-4012-3182-8
********************
The chair is dead. Long live the chair.
My office chair, the one where my ass has rested comfortably during
the writing of nearly everything I’ve written for the past 15 or so
years, has been taken from my office. It broke this week and now
lists dangerously to the right, much like most of the United States
of America. I could lie and tell you I was taking my old writing
companion out to a beautiful farm where it could chase rabbits all
day, but the sad brutal truth is that, come Sunday night, it will
be out on the lawn for a Monday morning removal by the city trash
collectors. If any of my readers wish to preserve this little bit
of comics history, he or she is welcome to drive to my house before
the arrival of the trash collectors.
My new chair? It’s too early in the relationship for me to discuss
it. It’s just getting to know my ass.
********************
Archie #623 [$2.99] stars the Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, and
the Bingoes (from “That Wilkin Boy”) in “Banded Together,” a book-
length story by Dan Parent (script), Fernando Ruiz (pencils), and
Rich Koslowski (inks). The Archies and the Pussycats get caught up
in a bitter competition between Simon Cowell of The X Factor and J.
Lo of American idol. Meanwhile, the Bingoes try keep their reality
show about their struggling band.
Two things make this issue notable:
Archie and Valerie (of the Pussycats) resume their romance, much to
the consternation of Betty and Veronica. Both Cowell and J. Lo try
to exploit the relationship to their own advantage.
Cowell and J. Lo are shown in a fairly unfavorable light throughout
the story. They are petty and even underhanded as they try to beat
each other for ratings. That’s harder humor than we usually see in
an Archie comic book. I kind of liked it.
********************
Recommended manga: Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka [Vertical; $16.95 per
volume]. Black Jack is an unlicenced surgeon of superhuman skill
and knowledge. He charges extraordinarily high fees and is berated
as a medical mercenary, but, frequently, his humanity will surprise
his patience. There are usually just over a dozen stories in each
book and they often fall squarely in the realm of science fiction.
Every now and then, an episode will shed some light on Black Jack’s
past. If you like House, you’ll love Black Jack.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
and edification, some personal notes...
I’ll be announcing the rest of my 2011 convention appearances next
week. If there are convention promoters who would like to have me
at an event, they can e-mail me. Let me know what kind of support
(hotel, tables, travel expenses) you can provide and we can discuss
it from there. The same holds true for comics retailers who would
like me to sign at their stores.
If you’re a creator, editor, or publisher seeking to have me review
your book or comics in my Comics Buyer’s Guide column or in “Tony
Isabella’s Bloggy Thing,” your best chance of accomplishing that is
to send it to me. I can’t guarantee a review, but I probably won’t
see your book or comics any other way. Also, I can’t/won’t review
anything from a PDF or online link. I have tried and it’s just not
within the comfort zone of this old caveman. To send me a review
copy of your book or comics, or anything else you want to send me,
the address remains:
Tony Isabella
840 Damon Drive
Medina, OH 44256
********************
Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (DC; $19.99].
Really? I mean, really?
I owned and managed a comics store when these issues first saw the
light of day. I remember watching the sales of The Flash plummet
month after month. I don’t remember anyone having a kind word for
this interminable story. Indeed, I remember readers hating it with
a passion. I remember thinking my pal Bob Ingersoll could’ve told
the whole story in one issue and it would have been so much better
than what DC did publish. I remember thinking I could have dealt
with this faux-crisis in two pages or less. Justifiable homicide.
Self-defense (which, as Ingersoll so often reminds us, includes the
defense of others). Police and civilians are allowed to respond to
lethal force with lethal force. It’s too bad you had to kill that
villain, Flash, but it was a righteous shoot.
Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (DC; $19.99].
Really? I mean, really?
The Black Lightning series I did with Eddy Newell in the 1990s was
almost universally praised. That series has never been reprinted by
DC Comics in way, shape, or format. But they reprinted the entire
tedious “Trial of the Flash.”
Really? I mean, really?
Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (DC; $19.99].
ISBN 978-1-4012-3182-8
********************
The chair is dead. Long live the chair.
My office chair, the one where my ass has rested comfortably during
the writing of nearly everything I’ve written for the past 15 or so
years, has been taken from my office. It broke this week and now
lists dangerously to the right, much like most of the United States
of America. I could lie and tell you I was taking my old writing
companion out to a beautiful farm where it could chase rabbits all
day, but the sad brutal truth is that, come Sunday night, it will
be out on the lawn for a Monday morning removal by the city trash
collectors. If any of my readers wish to preserve this little bit
of comics history, he or she is welcome to drive to my house before
the arrival of the trash collectors.
My new chair? It’s too early in the relationship for me to discuss
it. It’s just getting to know my ass.
********************
Archie #623 [$2.99] stars the Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, and
the Bingoes (from “That Wilkin Boy”) in “Banded Together,” a book-
length story by Dan Parent (script), Fernando Ruiz (pencils), and
Rich Koslowski (inks). The Archies and the Pussycats get caught up
in a bitter competition between Simon Cowell of The X Factor and J.
Lo of American idol. Meanwhile, the Bingoes try keep their reality
show about their struggling band.
Two things make this issue notable:
Archie and Valerie (of the Pussycats) resume their romance, much to
the consternation of Betty and Veronica. Both Cowell and J. Lo try
to exploit the relationship to their own advantage.
Cowell and J. Lo are shown in a fairly unfavorable light throughout
the story. They are petty and even underhanded as they try to beat
each other for ratings. That’s harder humor than we usually see in
an Archie comic book. I kind of liked it.
********************
Recommended manga: Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka [Vertical; $16.95 per
volume]. Black Jack is an unlicenced surgeon of superhuman skill
and knowledge. He charges extraordinarily high fees and is berated
as a medical mercenary, but, frequently, his humanity will surprise
his patience. There are usually just over a dozen stories in each
book and they often fall squarely in the realm of science fiction.
Every now and then, an episode will shed some light on Black Jack’s
past. If you like House, you’ll love Black Jack.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
Thursday, September 1, 2011
RANDOM THURSDAY
Let’s start with a non-comics story from my youth. I was scolded
by Bozo the Clown. Though Sts. Phillip and James Church, which was
also where I attended elementary school, I was a member of the Cub
Scouts. Just about every kid my age did so because it was thought
to be a good thing for helping us grow up into fine young Catholic
men. The actuality was that the good kids were the good kids and
the bad kids - though never as bad as those public school kids who
were certainly going to burn in Hell - were still the bad kids. I
was generally considered a good kid.
Bozo the Clown was something of a TV franchise in those days with
many cities having their own version. Our troop went to a taping
of the Cleveland edition. One of the activities was a contest to
see which scout could blow up a balloon to bursting the quickest.
The prize was forgettable. Or, at least, I forgot about it within
hours of the contest.
There’s always going to be the kids who cheat even when there’s no
good reason for it. In this case, some of those bad kids I talked
about above were blowing up their balloons and then squeezing them
between their knees to pop them. Sharp-eyed Bozo caught them in the
act and had the taping stopped.
Bozo then proceeded to scold us Catholic boys, good and bad alike,
for cheating in this solemn contest. I wasn’t one of the cheaters,
but I was really embarrassed for my troop, my school, and my church.
I feared Bozo would have us tossed out of the scouts.
An, the innocence of youth. There were far worse scandals going on
in our churches and schools, but I would not learn of them for many
years. At that time, I couldn’t imagine too many things worse than
to be chastised by Bozo the Clown. When the episode aired, I saw
that the contest had been cut from the show.
I graduated from the Cub Scouts to the Boy Scouts and was excited
about that. The Boy Scouts held their meetings in that strange old
house at the end of the school parking lot. But I lost interest in
the Boy Scouts when I realized the bad kids were not just still in
the scouts, they were the big shots of the troop. Decades later,
my son Eddie would likewise lose interest in the Boy Scouts for the
same reason. From my youth to his, from Cleveland to Medina, some
things never seem to change. More the pity.
********************
Recommended manga: Bakuman [Viz Media; $9.99 per volume]; story by
Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata. If those names look familiar,
these two talents are also the creators of Death Note.
I’ve reviewed Bakuman previously, but six volumes in, this tale of
two young men determined to become manga legends is as thrilling as
ever. In the latest volume, having achieved their goal of landing
a series in Shonen Jump, the team faces personal and professional
problems that could put an end to their dream.
Bakuman is compelling reading that offers a fascinating look at the
Japanese comics industry. I urge you to give it a try.
********************
The Best of Archie’s Weird Mysteries [Archie; $9.95] reprints five
issues of the 2000-2001 comic book based on the animated cartoon of
the same name. Written by Paul Castiglia with art by Fernando Ruiz
(pencils) and Rick Koslowski (inks), the stories are good fun for
readers of all ages. However, the gem of the trade paperback is “A
Familiar Old Haunt,” a clever and very funny send-up of Scooby-Doo.
The volume also includes bonus features like a “Guide to Fighting
Vampires” and a cool interview with Castiglia and Ruiz. Definitely
a good buy for your ten bucks.
ISBN 978-1-879794-74-0
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
by Bozo the Clown. Though Sts. Phillip and James Church, which was
also where I attended elementary school, I was a member of the Cub
Scouts. Just about every kid my age did so because it was thought
to be a good thing for helping us grow up into fine young Catholic
men. The actuality was that the good kids were the good kids and
the bad kids - though never as bad as those public school kids who
were certainly going to burn in Hell - were still the bad kids. I
was generally considered a good kid.
Bozo the Clown was something of a TV franchise in those days with
many cities having their own version. Our troop went to a taping
of the Cleveland edition. One of the activities was a contest to
see which scout could blow up a balloon to bursting the quickest.
The prize was forgettable. Or, at least, I forgot about it within
hours of the contest.
There’s always going to be the kids who cheat even when there’s no
good reason for it. In this case, some of those bad kids I talked
about above were blowing up their balloons and then squeezing them
between their knees to pop them. Sharp-eyed Bozo caught them in the
act and had the taping stopped.
Bozo then proceeded to scold us Catholic boys, good and bad alike,
for cheating in this solemn contest. I wasn’t one of the cheaters,
but I was really embarrassed for my troop, my school, and my church.
I feared Bozo would have us tossed out of the scouts.
An, the innocence of youth. There were far worse scandals going on
in our churches and schools, but I would not learn of them for many
years. At that time, I couldn’t imagine too many things worse than
to be chastised by Bozo the Clown. When the episode aired, I saw
that the contest had been cut from the show.
I graduated from the Cub Scouts to the Boy Scouts and was excited
about that. The Boy Scouts held their meetings in that strange old
house at the end of the school parking lot. But I lost interest in
the Boy Scouts when I realized the bad kids were not just still in
the scouts, they were the big shots of the troop. Decades later,
my son Eddie would likewise lose interest in the Boy Scouts for the
same reason. From my youth to his, from Cleveland to Medina, some
things never seem to change. More the pity.
********************
Recommended manga: Bakuman [Viz Media; $9.99 per volume]; story by
Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata. If those names look familiar,
these two talents are also the creators of Death Note.
I’ve reviewed Bakuman previously, but six volumes in, this tale of
two young men determined to become manga legends is as thrilling as
ever. In the latest volume, having achieved their goal of landing
a series in Shonen Jump, the team faces personal and professional
problems that could put an end to their dream.
Bakuman is compelling reading that offers a fascinating look at the
Japanese comics industry. I urge you to give it a try.
********************
The Best of Archie’s Weird Mysteries [Archie; $9.95] reprints five
issues of the 2000-2001 comic book based on the animated cartoon of
the same name. Written by Paul Castiglia with art by Fernando Ruiz
(pencils) and Rick Koslowski (inks), the stories are good fun for
readers of all ages. However, the gem of the trade paperback is “A
Familiar Old Haunt,” a clever and very funny send-up of Scooby-Doo.
The volume also includes bonus features like a “Guide to Fighting
Vampires” and a cool interview with Castiglia and Ruiz. Definitely
a good buy for your ten bucks.
ISBN 978-1-879794-74-0
I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2011 Tony Isabella
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