ON THE ROAD AGAIN

I will already be heading to New York City by the time many of you read today’s bloggy. I’m leaving a few days ahead of the Big Apple Comic Con so that I can spend some time with New York City friends before the convention takes over my life.

The Big Apple Comic Con is Saturday and Sunday. I’ve been posting links to the event’s site for days now. If you’ve visited it, you already know it’s going to be spectacular. I wrote about it in some detail in Friday’s bloggy thing.

Whenever I announce I’m appearing at a convention, I get comments  saying how much the person commenting wishes I would attend a con in their city. My response is usually the same:

If a convention or other event promoter contacts me by e-mail, I’ll happily send them my appearance requirements. If I have the dates open and they can meet my requirements, I’ll be happy to add their show to my schedule. I try to limit myself to two appearances per month, but that’s not carved in stone.

Having worked with my dear pal Roger Price on countless Mid-Ohio-Cons and other events, I know the financial and other constraints involved in such endeavors. I know not every promoter will be able to meet my requirements. While it’s unlikely I’ll do a convention without an appearance fee, I have made exceptions. Make your best pitch and we’ll see what I can accept.

Sometimes - thankfully, not often - a promoter or a fan will react in horror to my appearance requirements. I’m a great guest, but I am not a cheap guest. Nor am I a terribly expensive guest, but that may be an “eye of the beholder” thing.

The typical two-day convention takes up to six days of my life. There is a day of preparation for the event. There is a day of travel to get to the event. There is the event itself. There is a travel day to return home. There is a recovery day. Because, at 67 years old, though I am in pretty good health, I can’t bounce back immediately from what a convention takes out of me.

If a promoter can’t meet my appearance requirements, assuming they don’t get insulting about, I take no umbrage. I do understand the economics of such things...and I ask them to understand the economics on my end as well.

Here’s my 2019 appearance schedule as it currently stands:

April 12-14: Great Philadelphia Comic Con

April 27: Cleveland Public Library Coffee and Comics

May 4: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (to be announced)

May 18: East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention

July 12-14: G-Fest

July 17-21: Comic-Con International

[Comic-Con isn’t 100% certain, but it’s about 95% likely as I write this. At the moment, I’d be attending without support from the con, any publishers or any exhibitors. Mind you, I’m not at all adverse to accepting such support. I’d be willing to appear on some panels for the convention or the publishers...and put in some signing time at exhibitor and publisher booths. If I do attend, I’ll definitely be on some panels with Mark Evanier because, really, who could say “no” to that cutie?]

August 4: NEO Comic Con (North Olmsted, Ohio)

August 16-17: New Mexico Comic Expo

I’m trying to lock down a couple of shows I attend every year and will add them to the list when that’s done. Whenever I go, I hope to see lots of old friends and make new ones.

That’s all for this morning quickie. The bloggy thing will return next week on Thursday, March 14. See you then.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

BLACK LIGHTNING BEAT 3/5/19

I’m back with another installment of “Black Lightning Beat”, albeit a shorter column than yesterday’s bloggy thing. At least that’s my plan as I start writing. Somethings these columns take on a life of their own.

I’ve spoken about Jefferson Pierce’s priorities in both the Black Lightning TV series and my recent Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands. They are...family, students, community. Abandoning those to become Batman’s sidekick or Katana’s partner-in-demon-fighting is totally out of character for my creation. A couple of DC Comics executives agree with me on that, but it doesn’t stop other people at DC from ignoring the most basic truth about Jefferson.

Here’s something else you should understand. Jefferson’s one true love is Lynn Stewart. There can be no other. Believe me, I tried to give him a new romantic interest in my 1995 comics series. It never rang true and, as soon as Lynn showed up during my run, it was all over for the other romantic interest. I wrote her out of the series in my unpublished script for Black Lightning #9.

I’m told the Black Lightning TV series planned or even filmed some sort of make-out scene between Jefferson and Kara Fowdy, played by the exquisite Skye P. Marshall. I’m guessing they realized it just wasn’t right for Jefferson. In short, I will always be a Jeff-Lynn shipper. Because it feels right and rings true.
                                                                              

                                                                          
Just this weekend, I was interviewed at considerable length about  Black Lightning, my life and my career by my dear pal Alex Simmons, himself an amazing writer and so much more. The first time my voice didn’t come through. So we had to do it again. It’s an exceedingly long conversation, which I fear I dominated, and you can listen to it by going here:

About the only thing I regret about the interview is that I tossed a cheap insult at a comics gossip website. I could make the excuse that I was very tired, which I was, but I still should have been a lot more temperate. My feelings about this website are well known, but I should have embraced my better angels.

I called the website to task for refusing to use the official and correct credit line for Black Lightning:

 

Created by Tony Isabella with Trevor von Eeden.

One of the things I know about the comics industry is that credits are not always accurate. A while back, it became more or less the custom to declare both the original writer of a character and the original artist as co-creators. That’s not always accurate. There are occasions where an editor played a key role in the creation of a character. There are occasions where someone who did not draw the first story introducing a character designed the character. I have a tendency to suspect corporate-mandated credits, especially if I know the complete facts of creation. In the case of Black Lightning, no one knows them better than me.

Everything about Black Lightning/Jefferson Pierce was created by me before I pitched the character to DC. That’s why, for the first two or three years of the character’s existence I was credited as the sole creator. I still feel that’s the most accurate title for what I did.

Trevor von Eeden was primary designer of the first Black Lightning costume, the one I sometimes refer to as “Disco Lightning.” He was not the only designer. I asked for the lightning piping and what I called Captain America boots. Bob Rozakis came up with the insanely clever for its time Afro-mask. Joe Orlando opened up the shirt on account of he wanted to see more skin.

But Black Lightning is not defined by that costume. He had has four or five costumes since. I’ve written him with three costumes. When I write him, he’s the same guy no matter what costume he’s wearing.

My friend Trevor was named co-creator of Black Lightning after I’d approached DC Comics about buying my creation back from them. He’s told me of being stopped in the DC halls and being told he was now a co-creator. He’s also told me he doesn’t consider himself to be the co-creator of Black Lightning, though, sometimes, he has said otherwise. Though never to me. I choose to take him at his face-to-face word.

But, even if Trevor did consider himself a co-creator, it doesn’t change the fact of Black Lightning’s creation. The fact being I am the creator of the character.

The current official credit line was written by me. The ambiguous “with” was intended on my part to insure that Trevor was recognized for drawing the original series and all the hard work that entailed on his part. He was a young kid who was thrown into the deep end of the pool and, man, did he swim. I’ve tried to do what I could for him - whether he asked me to or not - because of that hard work. I will continue to do so.

When I did my 1995 series, I told DC I wanted Trevor as the artist. They told me he wasn’t available. That turned out to be a lie, but it was far from the first DC Comics lie.

When I did my most recent series, I told DC I wanted Trevor for the artist. They told me no one would work with him. They wouldn’t even assign him a variant cover. I’m not going to get into the bad blood between DC and Trevor. I kept asking if he could do a cover. I was told to stop sticking my neck out for him.

Mercurial artist that he is, Trevor doesn’t always make it easy on those who admire his talent and like him. If I were in control of Black Lightning’s comic-book fate, he and I would be working on a Black Lightning project right this minute. I’m not.

I am pleased I got to work with Eddy Newell and Clayton Henry on my subsequent Black Lightning series. I would love to work with them again. But I’d also like to work with Trevor again.

Those are the facts. You can choose to believe otherwise. But you would be wrong. Says the guy who knows.
                                                                                 

In another case of Tony just going on and on, Jermaine McLaughlin interviews me for SYFYWIRE. You can read his article here:
                                                                          

Looking for Black Lightning swag? There’s not nearly as much of it out there as there should be, but here’s a wonderful selection from REDBUBBLE:

Yesterday, I said I would tell you about ways you can contribute to “Black Lightning Beat”. There are a lot of them.

If you have convention or other photos of yourself with the great Black Lightning cast, e-mail them to me with information of who’s in the photo and where they were taken. If you want to tell me all about your encounter with these cast members, I’d love that a lot. Just make sure that what you tell me is something you’re okay with my sharing in these blogs.

If you come across Black Lightning swag, tell me about it. While I do get royalties from DC Comics for this stuff, the statements do not often list what the items are. At best, they list the name of whoever is making the items. Since I want to amass as complete a collection of Black Lightning stuff as possible - I plan to donate my Black Lightning materials to a worthy university when I have no further use of them (on account of I’d be dead) - I appreciate you telling me about this stuff.

If you’re an artist, send me scans of your Black Lightning artwork. I’ll include it in a future “Black Lightning Beat” with information on how prospective clients can contact you.

Finally, if you work for a CW station and you have Black Lightning swag you give out, especially shirts, please contact me. I’ll try you comics or other items for that stuff.

That’s it for this installment of “Black Lightning Beat”. I’ll be back tomorrow with a brief message before I leave for New York City to attend the Big Apple Comic Con. See you then.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

TONY'S TIPS #293

This week in TONY'S TIPS at Tales of Wonder...Scooby Doo Team-Up Volume 6; The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story and The Comic Book Killer by Richard A. Lupoff! 

                                                                                

                                                                                  

BLACK LIGHTNING BEAT 3/4/19

On the exceedingly rare chance you have stumbled into this blog of mine by happenstance and with no knowledge of who I am, allow me to introduce myself. I’m a 46-year veteran of the comics industry. I started my career in 1972 working with Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and Sol Brodsky. I have been published by multiple comics companies. Some of my creations have made it to the big and small screen. I’ve also written books on comics history, co-written prose novels, and spoken at libraries and schools. I’ve done a lot of stuff.

Most pertinent to today’s blog, I’m the creator of Black Lightning. Not the co-creator. The creator. We’ll be getting into that in tomorrow's bloggy thing.

What I try to do in this ongoing feature is pull together as much Black Lightning stuff as I can. These are items that don’t require an entire blog to themselves, but which are important nonetheless. I’ll tell you how you can get involved in this work in tomorrow’s bloggy thing.

February saw the long-awaited publication of Black Lightning: Brick City Blues [DC Comics; $19.99]. This trade paperback collects the eight issues of Black Lightning I did in 1995 with Eddy Newell and the black-and-white ‘Twas the Night Before Kwanzaa” story we did a few years later. Up until my most recent Black Lightning series, I considered the best writing I’d ever done for Black Lightning and, for that matter, comics.

My new introduction to the book covers the year I spent researching the real-life Brick City neighborhood of Cleveland before I began writing the new series. It covers my discovery of Eddy Newell at a Cleveland comics convention. It skirts over my being fired from the title by a rodent-like editor and, at that time, the latest in a series of DC or employees thereof, failing to keep their agreements with me. Ask me about that sometime.

Today, having reread those stories, I just want to celebrate that I got to do them and got to do them with my brother Eddy. The new costume in this series, as well as the general atmosphere of these stories, is all praise to Eddy. He nailed the look I wanted and I never had to fret about visuals the entire time we worked together.  Would that he was still drawing comics and that he was drawing them from my scripts.

By the way, the answer to the question of “What is Tony’s favorite Black Lightning costume?” is...this one. I felt and still feel it was time to retire the disco-era costume designed in the mid-1970s by Trevor von Eeden, Bob Rozakis, Joe Orlando and myself. While I do understand the nostalgic regard for that costume, it’s not 1977 anymore. My mantra is “Always forward!” That should be the mantra for Black Lightning as well.

Digression. DC Comics is in a state of flux. There is no guarantee Black Lightning: Brick City Blues or my other BL trades will remain  in print. If you’re interested in Black Lightning, Black Lightning Volume 2 or Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands, I advise buying them now while they appear to be readily available.

                                                                                 

There’s one another DC Comics publication I can recommend to Black Lightning fans today. Scooby-Doo Team-Up #46 [$2.99] features Black Lightning in “Justice, Like Lightning...” It’s written by the most excellent Sholly Fisch, who has a knack for hilarious stories that treat their guest stars with respect. It’s drawn by Dario Brizuela, who does an excellent job on all counts.

Check out the cover. Do I have to tell you what other Tony Isabella creation appears in this issue?

                                                                                

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend any other current DC comic books featuring Black Lightning for the simple reason DC doesn’t seem to understand my creation. Jefferson Pierce’s priorities are family, students and community. He would not abandon those priorities to go to work for Batman. Nor would he, as shown in a particularly weak story in DC’s Cursed Comics Cavalcade #1, abandon those priorities to sign on for Katana’s war against demons or whatnot. They don’t get Black Lightning. Which is a shame since there is a writer who does get the character. His name is Tony Isabella.

I have pitched several Black Lightning projects to DC, including an ongoing series continuing from Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands. As near as I can tell, DC is simply not interested in working with me in the future. Which makes very little logical sense considering my creation is the title star of a hit TV series seen by millions more people than will read DC’s comic books. Including comics written by me. But, at least, if I’m writing Black Lightning, viewers of the series will get a super-hero with the same core values as the hero in the popular TV series.

Warning. Don’t try to figure out how DC Comics makes its decisions. It’ll just make your head hurt.

******************************
After a few weeks off, Black Lightning returns with a new episode tonight at 9pm EST on the CW. The episode is titled “The Book of Secrets: Chapter Four: Original Sin.” I don’t have any information about it, save that it is the first of the three remaining second season episodes. You can watch a preview here:

The series has been renewed for a third season. I’ll let you when that new season will launch as soon as I know.

                                                                                 

On February 11, the Paley Center in New York presented hosted “An Electrifying Black Lightning Conversation on Good vs. Evil” with Cress Williams and Marvin “Krondon” Jones III. Friend of the blog Michael Rapoport attending the event. took photos, and sent me this report:

On Monday night, I had the pleasure of seeing Cress Williams and Marvin Jones discuss Black Lightning at the Paley Center for Media in New York City (you may have known it by its former name, the Museum of Television and Radio). It was billed as "An Electrifying Black Lightning Conversation on Good vs. Evil," and it did touch on that philosophical debate, as you'll see, but the discussion ranged over every aspect of the show.

The discussion was in the Paley Center's theatre, as part of their look at African-Americans in television as part of Black History Month. There were maybe 100-150 people there, all clearly big Black Lightning fans.

Before Cress and Marvin came out, they showed us this week's episode, a couple of hours before the rest of the country got to see it. Hey, it was Monday night - no one there wanted to miss the show, even if we weren't at home to watch! The episode played well into some of the things they were going to discuss, with Jefferson having doubts about whether he could handle being Garfield's principal again with everything else on his plate, and Tobias showing us a little bit of a softer side, through his relationship with Cutter.
                                                                                  

Then Cress and Marvin appeared, and they launched right into the good vs. evil theme. (The interviewer was Karama Horne from theblerdgurl.com). A lot of it focused on Tobias - does he have any redeeming qualities? Marvin maintained he does (of course, he would think that, wouldn't he?), and said he tries to give a full portrayal, introducing nuances into the character rather than just have him be a one-note villain.

Along those lines, Marvin said his favorite episode was the one showing the relationship between Tobias and his father. (Cress said his favorite was the one where Jefferson is in a rage wanting to go kill Tobias, and Lynn has to talk him down.)

They also talked about the importance of the show from the standpoint of representation - African-American, of course, but also LGBTQ (they noted how Gambi doesn't think it's unusual in the slightest when Anissa mentions her girlfriend) to Marvin as a black man with albinism.

Other things brought up, some in response to audience questions:

 

Favorite fights on the show? Marvin, not surprisingly, voted for Tobias going toe-to-toe with Jefferson in Season 1. Cress said he liked one of the scenes where Anissa invades a drug den and takes down the thugs one by one, with the camera swooping through the whole thing in a single shot.

On the question of whether Black Lightning should cross over with the other DC shows on the CW: Cress votes yes - but only if the Flash, Arrow, etc. come to Freeland, as opposed to Jefferson going to Central City or wherever. Cress cracked everyone up with his idea of how people in Freeland might react if Oliver Queen were to show up: "Yo, man, that's a nice leather suit..."

Everyone is excited about the prospect of Season 3 - especially since it sounds like Season 2 is going to end on a cliffhanger. Cress hinted Jefferson may get a new uniform, though he wouldn't say whether that's because something happens to the current one.

A great time was had by all. Attached to this email are several photos I took with my iPhone. I am not a particularly good photographer - okay, I stink - but I think they came out okay.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to speak to Cress or Marvin and say hi on your behalf - they were led into the theatre while the rest of us were watching the episode, and security led them out as soon as the discussion was over. Oh, well. It's enough to see them help create such a terrific show every Monday night.

Oh, and Cress was asked toward the end what we can expect from the rest of this season. "War," he said. "Strap yourself in."

Thanks, Michael. I look forward to seeing you at the Big Apple Comic Con this coming weekend.

This edition of “Black Lightning Beat” is running longer than I had anticipated, mostly because I couldn’t wait to bring you Michael’s report on the Paley Center discussion. So, making one of my world-renowned seat of my pants decisions, we’re going to break here and present another “Black Lightning Beat” column tomorrow.

While you’re waiting, why not finalize plans to meet me at the Big Apple Comic Con? It’s clearing going to be big fun and it will be even more so, if you’re there, too.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

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