TONY'S TIPS #258

This week in TONY'S TIPS at Tales of Wonder...Batman ’66 Meets Steed & Mrs. Peel by Ian Edginton with artist Matthew Dow Smith; Bill Schelly Talks with the Founders of Comic Fandom Volume One; Marvel's Star Wars: Thrawn #1-2; and a quick update on my convention and signing policies!

EAST COAST BLACK AGE OF COMICS CONVENTION 2018

My next convention appearance will be at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC). I mentioned this in Monday’s edition of “Black Lightning Beat,” but I have more details for you today.

ECBACC has two components. It kicks off on Friday, May 18, with its opening reception and Glyph Awards presentation at the TECH Freire Charter School, 2221 N. Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The reception runs 6:30 pm to 9 pm.

The convention itself is a one-day event taking place on Saturday, May 19, from 11 am to 7 pm at TECH Freire Charter School. Besides having a vendors table at the convention, I’ll also be doing other event-related stuff. We’ll get to that in a bit.

From the ECBACC home page:

The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention, Incorporated or ECBACC, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit literacy and arts organization. The signature event was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 2002 by Mr. Yumy Odom and the organization was registered in 2008. As the forerunner in urban comic book and sci-fi conventions, ECBACC offers year-round programs including the STARS classes for youth in the Philadelphia area and a first-rate professional comic book industry workshop in conjunction with several community-based organizations.

The goals of the convention:

To promote literacy and creativity in youth through comic book writing and drawing workshops.

To offer audiences exposure to some of the leading Black artists and writers in the comic book industry.

To provide outstanding Black writers and artists with a prominent showcase for their talents and the opportunity to engage in networking with their peers.

To promote positive Black images.

 

As usual, the ECBACC poster features incredibly talented people. It also looks like a poster for “the Black Brady Bunch and Alice.” I think you can spot Alice. Not on the poster but a welcome addition to any comics gathering is the ever-dauntless Don McGregor, one of the best writers of comics ever and a dear friend of closing in on half a century. When I reported to work at Marvel Comics in 1972, Don was the first person to emerge from the Bullpen to welcome me to the company. He probably doesn’t remember that, but he’s done so many kindnesses for so many people that he couldn’t possibly keep track of them all.

As with the Eisner Awards nominees, I’m not as familiar with this year’s Glyph Awards nominees as I would like to me. With all of the Black Lightning stuff going on, 2017 was a pretty wild year for me. I will be listing the Glyph nominees on my Facebook page and also commenting on the ones I have read, but if you want to peruse the entire list, you can find it on Newsarama.

What will I be doing at ECBACC? I’ll be participating in two of the convention’s many events. Both are on Saturday.

I’ll be one of several judges for the annual AfriCoz contest. This is a black-centric cosplay competition. I served as one of 2017's judges and the costumes were incredible. Joining me this year will be: Roosevelt Pitt (author at Purge Comics), Aaron Beatty (artist at Phenomenon Comics), Naseed Gifted (author of P.B. Soldier) and award-winning fiber artist Beatty Leacraft. The facilitator of the event is Shenkarr Davis.

We’ll be reviewing the contestants from 1:30-2:00 pm and announcing the winners from 3:45-4:15 pm. Since I’ll be concentrating on the judging, I would love for folks to send me their photos so that I can use them in a future bloggy thing.

I’ll also be doing an “ECBACC Talk” with Don McGregor and Professor William Foster III from 4:30-5:30 pm. Don and I will be sharing our thoughts and experiences from our nearly 100 years (combined) in the comics industry. I’m really looking forward to sharing the dais with two of the best men I know.

Because I’m flying into Philadelphia this time around, what I have for sale at my vendors table depends on what I can fit into my one suitcase. At present, I plan to bring two different Black Lightning posters, a Luke Cage mini-poster, some Black Lightning comic books and trades, copies of my July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic-Book Life of Tony Isabella Volume One, and five different reprints of the classic Green Book travel guides, which were used to steer black travelers to friendly hotels and restaurants in the 1940s and 1950s. These are fascinating books and I always order some copies to sell at ECBACC.

Though I charge for my signature at most conventions, ECBACC is one of the few events where I sign for free. Because ECBACC is more than a convention. It’s a community of creators and educators and fans. I am constantly encouraged and humbled by the support I have received from this community. ECBACC’s organizers and volunteers are like family to me. Seeing them every year is always one of the highlights of my year.

Where else will be in 2018? Here’s my current schedule:

May 26-27: Cherry Capital Comic Con

June 1-2: Vast Accumulation of Stuff garage sale

June 8-10: Fingerlakes Comic Con

June 16-17: VAOS garage sale

August 17-18: TerrifiCon (Connecticut)

August 19: NEO Comic Con (North Olmsted)

September 8-9: Hall of Heroes Museum

September 28-30: Baltimore Comic Con

November 3-4: Akron Comicon

November 9-11: Grand Rapids Comic Con

November 17-18: Great American Comic Convention (Las Vegas)

 

I'll be adding more garage sales throughout the summer and into early fall.

If you’re a promoter looking to have me as a guest at one of your shows, e-mail me and I’ll send you my requirements for appearing. I could do one more show in late June, but the window for that is going to close on May 14.

July is open, but you need to contact me by June 1. I could add an appearance in August if you contact me by July 1, and two events in October if you contact me by September 1.

As I said above, I do charge for my signature at most appearances. Here’s how that works:

Items bought at my table: no charge.

Items not bought from me: 1 free signature and all others after the free one are $2 per item.

Photos you take of me or with me: no charge.

Signature witnessed by a representative from a grading company or having me sign a certificate of authenticity: $5 per item.

If I can find time to arrange some photo shoots, I may start to offer professional head and other shots of me. Yeah, just like the guy who played a zombie in the background of a Walking Dead show. But mine will be much cooler.

If you’re a cosplayer portraying a character I created or am known for writing, e-mail me and maybe we can do some business.

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

© 2018 Tony Isabella

BLACK LIGHTNING BEAT 5/7/18

This is “Black Lightning Beat,” the blog within the bloggy thing in which I share Black Lightning news...and answer your questions as best I can. This time around, we’ll start with some basic facts too many people get wrong.

I am the creator of Black Lightning. Not a co-creator. The creator. Everything important about Jefferson Pierce and Black Lightning was created by me before I pitched my creation to DC Comics in 1976. Up until the moment I inquired about buying out DC’s interest in the character, I received solo creator credit.

Trevor von Eeden is not a co-creator of Black Lightning. He was the original artist of the character and the primary (but not solitary) designer of Black Lightning’s original costume.

The current official Black Lightning credits, which I wrote and to which DC Comics/Entertainment agreed, is “Created by Tony Isabella with Trevor von Eeden.” I wrote it that way because “with” was as ambiguous a word as I could come up with and still insure Trevor got some money from Black Lightning. I knew there are people who interpret (sometimes with malice aforethought) this credit as they see fit. Now you know how I interpret it.

The credit line is somewhat different on the TV series. The series asked me if they could change it and offered me several different options. Do I understand the change? Not really. Does it bother me? No...because they are using the option I picked and because my name (and Trevor’s name) is at the front of every episode. This is a big deal and pushes the line forward for other creators.

Those are the facts. Facts matter. When people get them wrong, that is on them. The facts are still the facts.

In other Black Lightning news...

Did you see the wonderful Skye P. Marshall as a homeless veteran on the May 1st episode of NCIS? Marshall plays Vice Principal Fowdy on the Black Lightning TV series. She delivered a great performance in the episode, not surprising given her talent and that she, herself, is a veteran of the United States Air Force.

On to your questions...

Ben Herman asks:

Is there some personal significance to the name “Colavito”? In your 1990s run on Black Lightning, you had Detective Tommy Colavito. In Cold Dead Hands, you reintroduced the character as Tommi Colavito. And, in the Grim Ghost series you wrote some years back, the actual protagonist was Michael Colavito.

Also...what inspired the gender change from Tommy to Tommi?

 

Rocky Colavito was my favorite baseball player as a kid. He played for the Cleveland Indians. I never quite recovered from him being traded. But there’s more to my use of “Colavito” than you or anyone but me knows. Until now.

In my mind, the Colavito family is very large and has a great many law enforcement people in it. In the comics world of Tony Isabella, Michael is related to Tommi...and there are members of the family you have yet to meet. If and when I have occasion to introduce them in my stories, I plan on doing so.

What inspired the gender change was my realization, after I turned in the script for Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #1, that I had no positive female characters in the story. I had strong women who were evil as fuck, but no counterparts to them. In that version of the strip, Tommy was still male.

Asking myself the question often attributed to Chris Claremont, a writer known for his strong female characters, I wondered why Tommy Colavito couldn’t be a woman. So Tommy became Tommi and I was able to write a brother/sister relationship between Jefferson Pierce and her. A relationship which delights me no end.

Bill wrote:

My wife and I have enjoyed Black Lightning very much! I know you just have to be a proud papa. Will you get a chance to do any work on the TV show?

In a sense, I have been working on the show since before there was a show. Before DC hired Salim and Mara Brock Akil as show runners, Geoff Johns asked me to write a paper called “Black Lightning’s Core Values.” That was sort of the starting point for the TV show.

When the Akils were hired, DC set up a conference call between them and me so they could ask questions about Jefferson Pierce and his world. It was a very productive call.

Last July, the Akils flew me to Burbank to meet with the writers of the TV show. When I walked into the room, I saw a huge whiteboard with the first season’s episodes roughed out very roughly. Still, I saw a lot of myself on that board.

On the other side of the room, I saw art and photos of characters being considered for the series and also a list of names of other characters being considered for the series. A whole bunch of those characters were my creations.

In the writers room, I was asked so many questions I lost track of them. I was answering questions about things I had written forty or more years earlier. The writers had not just read the comic books, they had clearly studied them.

As the series played out on television, I saw a lot of me in those episodes, coupled with the amazing additions to the story that came from the Akils and the writers...and the brilliant performances of Cress Williams and the other cast members.

From time to time, noting similarities between things I did in Cold Dead Hands and things in the TV series, I am asked if the show got those things from me or visa versa. My honest answer is that I am not at all certain.

Both Cold Dead Hands (which I started work on before there was a TV show) and the series start from the same basic core values. That there are similarities was inevitable since we are telling the same kinds of stories. Of course, I have a higher “budget” than the TV show because it’s easier to draw super-stuff than it is to put it on the screen.

If you’ve ever been in a writer’s room, even one that was mostly me being asked questions, you know that ideas fly back and forth and, as near as I could tell, nobody was keeping a record of which of us said what. It was my first and only (so far) visit to a TV writers room, but I thought it was a very productive session.

During the session, some of the writers thought I should pitch for the second season. I’m exploring that. Needless to say, I’d love to be back in that writers room on an official basis. Even if it were only for a week or two here and there. There are great writers in that room and I’m sure I could learn a lot from them.

One last note for this edition of “Black Lightning Beat”:

My next convention appearance will be the East Coast Black Age of Comics, May 18-19, at the TECH Freire Charter School, 2221 N. Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Friday night is the opening reception with the presentation of the annual Glyph Awards.

Saturday is the convention itself which, among other things, will feature a panel with Professor Bill Foster, Don McGregor and yours truly.

I’m looking forward to the convention and hope to see some of you there as well.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2017 Tony Isabella

BLACK LIGHTNING BEAT 5/6/18

Black Lightning is the comics writing of which I’m most proud. He is my signature creation. The character has endured...despite years of malfeasance from the previous management of DC Comics. Indeed, he continues to gain new fans drawn to him by his hit TV series.

My most recent writing on Black Lightning was Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands. The six-issue series received incredible critical acclaim, though, sadly, did not sell as well as DC Comics and I would have liked. There’s no guarantee there will be an ongoing series or that I would be writing it. If you want to make an ongoing series and my participation in it more likely, please buy large quantities of the forthcoming Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands trade paperback. It would be a great gift for the comics fans in your lives.

Let DC Comics know that you want is an ongoing Black Lightning series written by me. Because, honestly, the success of the TV series has other writers casting their avaricious eyes on my creation. I continue to contend, perhaps immodestly, that I write Black Lightning better than anyone else.

Let’s get to today’s questions.

John Smith writes:

I can only imagine how gratified you must be to see your creation as a successful TV show. The characters seem very true to how they were created and I love the family dynamic. What were your favorite moments? Anything you would have done differently?

My absolute favorite moment in the first season came in the opening moments of the first episode. That’s when the voice-over narration included these lines from my comic books:

Justice, like lightning
Should always appear
To some men hope
And to other men fear.

Throughout the first season, I saw so much of myself in the show, coupled with the great acting, writing and new ideas brought to it by others. The stories were real-world edgy and it was clear every one working on the series felt the same commitment to the stories and the characters that I feel. It would take me thirteen blogs to express all my love for the series.

That said, my other favorite moment in the series was how the first season ended. A satisfying ending which lifted my spirits and also included a mild cliffhanger. That’s how a season should end.

Are there things I would have done differently or things I’d do in the future? In the case of the former, yeah, a few relatively minor things, too minor to mention.

In the case of the latter, well, I’m not going to go there unless invited to do so by the fine folks creating the show. I have ideas. How could I not? But they’ll remain unvoiced until the proper time. Whether I’m involved in the second season or not, I have the utmost confidence in the people who are involved.

From Lee Huftalen:

Could you shed some light on the Black Lightning family dynamic. I understand from another post you did not want Thunder and Lightning to be Jefferson’s children. In your new comic-book series, they’re his cousins. Can you explain that one a little more?

The TV show went with its nuclear family version. Are you satisfied with the way it was handled?

Good questions. Let’s see if I can answer them quickly.

One of my biggest regrets from my original 1977 series, besides not getting my agreement with DC Comics in writing, was that Jefferson Pierce was divorced. I thought that was edgy, but it prevented me from showing a strong black family. Had I continued on my second series in 1995, Jefferson and Lynn would have remarried and started a family.

My main objection to Thunder and Lightning in the comic books is that I felt and still feel they were introduced badly and handled badly.  Indeed, when a less-than-tolerant writer wrote Thunder in a later incarnation of The Outsiders, he demeaned her at every turn. On the other hand, it could have been worse. I’ve been told one DC editor wanted the two girls to be the daughters that Jefferson didn’t know he had. Yeah, there are people that unthinking in comics.

I didn’t come to appreciate the possibilities of the girls until I saw them in a couple of short Black Lightning cartoons created by my friend Lynell Hakim Forestall. I loved his take on the family. However...

When I began work on Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands, the TV show hadn’t yet signed Salim and Mara Brock Akil as show runners. I had no idea what the series would be at the time.

Told I could do whatever I wanted with my new Black Lightning comic series, I decided I would do things I had never done with Jefferson and his world before. I made him younger and smarter. He was not a married or divorced man. He had actual family and he was living in my own home town of Cleveland. In the first mini-series, Jefferson would meet Lynn Stewart for the first time.

But...I still wanted to use Anissa and Jennifer. My solution was to make them Jefferson’s cousins. They have powers and I know why they have powers. If I get to write more Black Lightning comics, you’ll see them train to and become heroes. Eventually, they would fill a  similar role to that of the daughters in the TV series.

I love what the Black Lightning TV series has done with the girls and the Pierce family in general. Again, if I get to write more of my rebooted version of Black Lightning, I hope to develop them to the level the TV series has developed their counterparts.

In closing, a couple of quick announcements:

I need copies of Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #1 to sell at my convention, garage sale and other appearances. It would have been nice if DC had done a second printing of the issue, but, alas, they did not. If you’re a retailer with multiple copies to sell, please e-mail me to see if we can do a bit of business with each other.

“Black Lightning Beat” will continue to appear in this bloggy thing of mine on a regular basis. If you have questions on the TV series or my comic books, please send them my way and I’ll do my best to answer them as completely and quickly as possible. You can send me your questions via e-mail - my preferred method - or Facebook and Twitter private messages.

The “Black Lightning Beat” will also report other Black Lightning stuff. Action figures? Cosplay? Fan art? If it’s Black Lightning, I’ll try to include it here.

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

© 2018 Tony Isabella

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN APRIL

April was a challenging month, but, then again, aren’t they all in these times of grave challenges for the entire world?

I went to a Cleveland elementary school to be interviewed by three students for a innovators project. I like to do that sort of thing whenever I can. Nothing says “always forward” like teaching young kids to the extent of one’s ability to do so.

Sainted Wife Barb had surgery mid-month. That was a stressful time for us. She’s doing great, but she will be recuperating until the end of May. It’s nice having her home, even under these less that optimal circumstances.

I faced some professional challenges in April. I had a sour day or three because of them, but am determined to move past them and on to new projects.

I wrapped April by attending the East Coast Comicon in New Jersey. It was a fun weekend with lots of old friends in attendance. Some journeys were begun. We’ll see where they lead.

As always, no matter how gloomy my demeanor as I faced challenges, I took note of the many good things in my life. Here is the list of the things that made me happy in April.

April 1: The Supernatural/Scooby-Doo crossover on the CW. Maybe the funniest thing I’ve watched all year.

April 2: Wrote and submitted a pitch for an edgy graphic novel I’ve wanted to write for over a decade. Here’s hoping the publisher gets on board with it.

April 3: Black Lightning has been renewed for a second season. I’m not surprised (what with its great ratings and reviews), just happy I’ll be spending more evenings with Jefferson and the rest of those great characters.

April 4: My readers. Thanks for your kind words on Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands. I hope, sooner rather than later, I can bring you  a new project you will enjoy as much.

April 5: Final Straw by Kathleen M. Fraze. First novel in a series about a small-town police detective. The hook for me? The cops are really bad at their jobs.
                                                                                

April 6: Lance Ausfresser. He launched the largest Black Lightning group on Facebook and a dozen other besides. He can get a bit too excited at times, but he’s as super a super-fan as there ever was. Gotta love this guy.

April 7: The record number of women who are running for Congress, especially those running as Democrats. The Dems aren’t perfect, but the main goal has to be to stop the GOP and their dumpster fire of a president.

April 8: Marvel’s Werewolf by Night Omnibus. I love big books and I cannot lie. I enjoy reading years worth of old comics titles and discovering cool things therein.

April 9: Getting back to work on my “July 1963" series. I’ve missed doing these and am excited about the extras I’ll be adding to the second volume in the series.
                                                                        
April 10: In the Shadows of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History by Mitch Landrieu, mayor of New Orleans. One of the best books I’ve read this year.

April 11: Appeared in a Black Lightning-centric PSA on reading and Free Comic Book Day for WBNX, Cleveland’s CW station. It turned out pretty well.
                                                                                 

April 12: Sargento Balanced Breaks. These are my go-to snacks when I need some quick and tasty protein. Some of them included little pieces of chocolate. Yum!

April 13: Visiting Cleveland’s Citizens Leadership Academy to chat with three bright young men who chose me for an interview project on area innovators.

April 14: Peter MacNicol’s portrayal of a reclusive and obviously insane scientist on the April 12 episode of The Big Bang Theory. I hope his character returns soon.

April 15: Alter Ego #152's spectacular study of the life and career of artist, writer and visionary Larry Ivie. I’ll be reviewing it in the near future.
                                                                             
April 16: The Legends of Tomorrow season finale. It didn’t miss a beat from start to finish.
                                                                             

April 17: Black Lightning Season One is being released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 26. That’s my son Eddie’s 30th birthday. So it’s a special day for both my sons.

April 18: Sainted Wife Barb’s surgery went very well. She is home, doing terrific, and looking at 4-6 weeks until she has to go back to work.

April 19: The Black Lightning season finale was everything a finale should be. Great character moments, exciting actions, a satisfying conclusion and a tease of what’s to come.

April 20: The neighbors and friends who have made meals for us so we could concentrate on Barb’s recovery. We’re blessed to have them in our lives.
                                                                               

April 21: A fond farewell to our old van Monty. A veteran of more conventions, family trips and moves than I can list, he served us well.

April 22: On The Big Bang Theory, Stuart’s comic-book store becomes successful with a very funny Neil Gaiman as a regular customer and a new employee played by the terrific Lauren Lapkus.

April 23: Marvel Horror: The Magazine Collection. Like my pal Marv Wolfman, who wrote an introduction for this book, I’m amazed and delighted to see these stories in print. But, hey, Marvel, where’s the love for It! The Living Colossus?

April 24: Seeing photos of Cress Williams and other Black Lightning cast members having good times with their fans at conventions all around the country. They’ve earned their fun with their wonderful performances.
                                                                                 

April 25: Out of This World Volume 1-3 from PS Artbooks. Charlton comics of the 1950s are crazy, fun and often inventive. The Steve Ditko-drawn stories have been reprinted many times, but the other tales are entertaining as well.

April 26: Talking anime and manga with the cashier at our grocery store. We are everywhere!

April 27: I go to the Medina County Board of Elections for my early voting and one of the workers there tells me how much she’s loving Black Lightning. I’m a proud papa.

April 28: The driver who picked me up at Newark Airport to drive me to the East Coast Comicon was a 72-year-old salsa singer who sang to me as we drove. The universe keeps giving me these great little gifts.

April 29: The East Coast Comicon. A terrific weekend spending time with dear old friends like Roy and Dann Thomas, Joe Sinnott, Larry Lieber, Richard and Wendy Pini, Jim Salicrup and so many others. Great fans, great event.

April 30: Being flashed by a Power Ranger. More on that when I get around to writing my East Coast Comicon report.

Blogging is going to be erratic this month. I have appearances to make, garage sales to run and various projects to move a bit closer to completion. On the other hand, since I’m writing several bloggy things simultaneously, you could get batches of them within days.

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

© 2018 Tony Isabella

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2018

Free Comic Book Day is a cherished comics tradition, it’s that day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and all around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops. For the third year in a row, I will be spending the day at The Toys Time Forgot in beautiful Canal Fulton, Ohio.

Located at 137 Cherry St E in Canal Fulton, Toys Time Forgot is an incredible toys and comics store. As previously mention, the place is packed to the rafters with action figures, board games and much more. In fact, it’s so packed to the rafters that its amazing Free Comic Book Day festivities will be held in its parking lot!

Starting at 11 am and running until 5 pm, those festivities include lots of free comics, a variety of guests and cosplay. Participation will include local organizations and the store is within very close walking distance to some fine restaurants.

I’m one of the comics guests at the event. I’ll be there selling my July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic-Book Life of Tony Isabella Volume One as well as other Isabella-written items. Also on sale: copies of my script for Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #1, a very special Black Lightning poster and cool mini-posters of Daredevil and Luke Cage. In keeping with the spirit of Free Comic Book Day, I will not be charging for my signature.

From the store’s Facebook page:

Join The Toys Time Forgot for the 17th annual Free Comic Book Day on May 5th.

Our special guests this year are:

Tony Isabella: creator of Black Lightning and writer for Marvel and DC Comics

Matt Horak: artist on Marvel’s The Punisher and Spider-Man/Deadpool

Ed Griffie: Pop artist

Aubrey Gealsha: Independent Artist

Shana Schottenstein: Creator of "Color Of Fire"

Daniel Watts: Spray Paint Artist

Philbee The Clown

Coffee and Hot Chocolate from Canal Fulton Speakeasy

Food from Red Beard Barbecue

Music by J.T.

Caricatures by Capture This! Entertainment

Strawberry Shortcake Festival with Canal Fulton Heritage Society

Canal Fulton Canoe Livery Prize Wheel

In addition to 100s of FREE comics raffles, prizes & cosplayers!

It will be a fun event and I hope to see you there.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff!

© 2018 Tony Isabella

TONY'S TIPS #257

This week in TONY'S TIPS at Tales of Wonder...All-new except when it's not, still cheap, still funny, I review MAD #1. Plus Astro City by Kurt Busiek, Brent E. Anderson and Alex Ross & Luke Cage #170 by David F. Walker with art by Guillermo Sanna!