TONY'S TIPS #320

This week in TONY'S TIPS at Tales of Wonder: Some comic convention thoughts plus my reviews of Raina Telgemeier’s Guts (recently the bestselling book in America); Mickey Mouse: The Quest for the Missing Memories; and The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television! 

                                                                                

                                                                              

HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2019 REVIEWS #1

What is Halloween ComicFest? Let’s go to the Halloween Comicfest website for the answer:

Halloween ComicFest...the comic book industry’s premiere fall event – a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away specially published comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops. HCF is the perfect event to experience comic shops as destinations for Halloween and horror-themed comic books, collectibles and other merchandise! In other words, Halloween ComicFest is the Spooky Free Comic Book Day!

Every year, on the last Saturday in October, the industry comes together to give away free comics and encourage both curious, first-time comic book readers and seasoned comic book fans to flock to the best place in the comic book community: local comic shops. Each one is unique in its community, with a style and personality all its own, and each one carries a full line of spooky comics, graphic novels, toys and related products. Local comic shops are the hubs of our community, where fans can come together to discover new comics, make lifelong friends, and find a sense of commonality.

 

I read and reviewed the Free Comic Book Day comic books sent to me by my pals at Stormwatch Comics in West Berlin, New Jersey. I’m going to do the same thing with the Halloween ComicFest free comic books they sent me. As with the FCBD comic books, I will be looking at three areas.

QUALITY: Is the material worthwhile?

ACCESSIBILITY: Is the material presented in such a way that someone coming to it for the first time can follow it?

SALESMANSHIP: After reading the FCBD offering, would someone want and be able to buy more of the same?

I score FCBD offerings on a scale of zero to ten. Each category is worth three points with the tenth point coming from my interest in seeing more of what’s ever in the book.

Let’s get started...
                                                                                   

Archie’s Madhouse Magic [Archie Comics] is a slightly over 5" by 8" comic book. Sixteen pages in all, it reprints two stories. Sabrina stars in “A Monstrous Halloween” by Bill Golliher with art by Dan DeCarlo and Jon D’Agostino. Archie stars in “Night Spirit” by Frank Doyle with art by Harry Lucey and Chic Stone. It’s a near perfect model of what these giveaways should be: small enough to be tossed in a trick-or-treat bag and suitable for all ages.

QUALITY: The Sabrina story is a funny Halloween party tale with a hilarious ending. The Archie story is more of an adventure story, but also contains humor. I liked them both.

ACCESSIBILITY: Almost every one knows the characters already, but, even if they didn’t, the comics are easy to get into.

SALESMANSHIP: The inside front cover has a ad for several “Archie” trade paperback collections. Except for the Riverdale ones, these are suitable for most ages. Alas, there are few new Archie comics featuring the classic versions of the characters as seen in the two reprints in this giveaway comic.

SCORE: Nine points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                             

Blastoaurus [Golden Apple Books) is another 16-page digest with a 10-page story that relates to the title character but doesn’t focus on him at all.

QUALITY: I liked this year’s Free Comic Book Day issue featuring this character enough to give it ten points. This one literally didn’t do a thing for me.

ACCESSIBILITY: I like that the inside front cover gave a succinct summary of who Blastosaurus is. Alas, it wasn’t useful in terms of this issue’s story.

SALESMANSHIP: No ads for the ongoing Blastosaurus comics, but the inside front cover does mention they exist.

SCORE: Three points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                              

DC Superhero Girls at Metropolis High [DC Comics] is also a 16-page digest. It has a 12-page excerpt from the graphic novel of the same name. The “girls” are late for class because they are doing their “superhero” stuff. As punishment, each of them have to join one of the school’s clubs.

QUALITY: This is written by Amy Wolfram and illustrated by Yancey Labat. Both of them deliver the goods.

ACCESSIBILITY: Just a touch confusing for me. In most stories from this series, the characters are attending a superhero high school. This seems to be of a different continuity. A new reader shouldn’t have any trouble following this excerpt, but they might be thrown if they pick up other books in the series.

SALESMANSHIP: Okay. The inside back cover advertises the Metropolis High graphic novel. The back cover advertises Teen Titans Go! PVC dioramas.

SCORE: Eight points out of a possible ten points.

                                                                              

Just Beyond: The Horror at Happy Landings [kaboom!] is another 16-page digest. It features a 12-page excerpt from the title-mentioned graphic novel. It’s written by bestselling author R.L. Stine with art by Kelly and Nicole Matthews.

Sidebar. My son Ed loved Stine’s Goosebumps books as a kid. Many of his friends did as well. One of my proudest moments was Ed nailing a class assignment to write a short story. He wrote a “Goosebumps” story about a boy whose scientist father turns into a killer plant monster who must be destroyed. This story frightened a little girl in his class so much that, when I came to pick up Ed at the end of the day, the teacher wanted me to assure the girl that it was just a story and I was still alive.

QUALITY: So-so at best. It’s not that Stine’s comic-book writing is awful. It’s just that it’s kind of blah. I liked this one better than others he’s done in recent years, but it seems way too tame. The art is decent, but not spectacular.

ACCESSIBILITY: It’s easy to get into.

SALESMANSHIP: Poor. The inside front cover is just a credits page that could have been done in half the space. There are no ads for the full graphic novel beyond a small blurb at the excerpt’s end.

SCORE: Five points out of a possible ten points.

That’s it for now. I’ll have more Halloween Comicfest reviews for you in the near future.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

NEW BLOGS COMING

It's taking me longer to bounce back from doing back-to-back conventions than I anticipated, but I hope to have some new blogs up by the end of the week.

GRAND RAPIDS COMIC CON (November 8-10)

My final convention appearance of 2019 is Grand Rapids Comic Con. This is also one of my favorite conventions so I’m closing out the year in...ahem...grand fashion. The event takes place Friday thru Sunday, November 8-10, at the DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The convention hours are...

Friday, November 8, 12-7 pm
Saturday, November 9, 10 am-7 pm
Sunday, November 10, 10 am-5 pm

For folks with more lasting power than me, there will be after-hours  programming as late as midnight on Friday and Saturday nights!

Grand Rapids always has in great comics, media, literary, cosplay and YouTube guests. This year’s comics guests include Gail Simone, Heather Antos, Jim Shooter, Christopher Jones, Graham Nolan, David Nakayama, Ty Templeton, Thom Zahler, Dirk Manning, William Messner-Loebs, Robert Pope, Scott Rosema, Golden Age legend Vic Carrabotta and more.

The media guest list is also impressive. Attending the convention: Patrick Warburton, my friend Jennifer Riker (Black Lightning), Tony Todd, Jason Marsden, Greg Weisman, Sara Karloff (daughter of Boris Karloff), Ann Robinson (War of the Worlds) and more. There will be guests from Power Rangers, Star Wars, Star Trek, horror, anime and superhero media.

In addition to the guests, Grand Rapids always has cool cosplayers, exciting exhibits and pulse-pounding panels and programming. Did I say “pulse-pounding?” Clearly, I just had a momentary flashback to the years I spending writing copy for Marvel Comics.

I will be doing two panels/presentations this year.

For all the fans who have told me they wished they could have seen my CHEESY MONSTERS RAID AGAIN presentation at this year’s Godzilla-centric G-Fest, your wish is being granted. On Friday, at 3 pm in Grand Gallery E-F, I will be doing an encore presentation of that event. For those who can’t make it to Grand Rapids Comic Con, you will get another chance at an early 2020 convention. If you still can’t make it to that one, fear not. I’m writing a kind of sort of novelization of the panel with an eye towards publishing it early next year. The cheese is strong within me.

Then, on Saturday, at 2:30 pm in Grand Gallery A-C, Jennifer Riker, who plays the deliciously evil Dr. Helga Jace on Black Lightning, and I will discuss my favorite TV show, dance around what you can expect from this gripping current season and talk about Jennifer’s other work. You’ve all heard my routine before. Come to the panel to listen to Jennifer.

When I’m not doing panels, taking breaks, wandering the vendor hall looking for cool stuff or visiting friends at their booths, I will be at my booth.

What will I be selling? I’m bringing these books, some of which are in short supply:

1000 Comic Books You Must Read
Black Lightning Volume One (reprinting my 1970s run)
Black Lightning Volume Two (stories not written by me)
Black Lightning: Brick City Blues (reprinting my 1995 run)
Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands (reprinting my most recent Black Lightning comics from 2017-2018)
July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic-Book Life of Tony Isabella Volume One (which defies description)

I’m bringing copies of an exclusive-to-me variant edition Marvel’s Greatest Creators: Tony Isabella #1, which reprints the first appearance of Misty Knight in the Iron Fist series. This signed, numbered edition is limited to 1000 copies.

I’ll have Black Lightning pins from Fansets. The pins cost $6 each  and my supply is limited.

Posters? I’ll have a number of different posters and mini-posters: Black Lightning (three different posters), Daredevil, Hawkman, Luke Cage and a Misty Knight/Tigra team-up.

I’ll sign any item purchased from me at no additional charge. I’m happy to sign any Tony Isabella or Tony Isabella-related items not purchased from me for a nominal fee of $5 per signature. That goes up to $10 per item if you’re having my signature witnessed by any grading company representative.

Cosplayers? If you’re cosplaying as a character I created or that I’ve written, please stop by my booth. With your permission, I’d love to take your photo for use in my blog and other online venues.

Photos with me? I’m happy to pose with you or for you. There is no charge for these photos.

Interviews? Depending on how busy I am at the convention, I’ll do my level best to make time to talk with you for your print/online articles or your podcasts. However, at this point, I'm working the event by myself and might not be able to accommodate you.

Are you an editor, publisher or filmmaker who would like to hire me for a project? We probably won’t be able to take a long-ish meeting during show hours, but I’ll do my best to accommodate you. Failing that, you can always contact me via e-mail.

Two more things.

Don’t be shy about asking me questions. Non-disclosure agreements mean there are questions I can’t answer, but I’ll try to give you answers to all other questions.

Should you ever feel threatened/uncomfortable at this or any other convention, know that my booth will always be a safe spot for you. You can hang with me until we can talk to con personnel able to help you with whatever and whoever is causing your concern.

I’m truly looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones at this wonderful convention. If you want more information on all Grand Rapids Comic Con has to offer, visit its website.

I’ll be back soon with more stuff.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

TONY'S TIPS #319

This week in TONY'S TIPS at Tales of Wonder...The secret origin of how Tony Isabella was hired by Marvel plus reviews of Marvel Visionaries: Roy Thomas, Aki Irie’s Go with the clouds, North-by-Northwest 2 and the (sob) final issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up!

                                                                                

                                                                              

KNOXVILLE FANBOY EXPO PART TWO

What Has Gone Before:

I’m in Knoxville, Tennessee for Fanboy Expo 2.0. It’s nearly 5 pm on Friday night and the event is about to open.

Occupying the location of the US Pavilion of the 1982 World's Fair, the Knoxville Convention Center is 500,000 square feet with 120,000 square feet of exhibit space. It’s an enormous and mostly very well maintained facility. Some of the restrooms did leave something to be desired, but others were fine.

Fanboy Expo 2.0 was only using a third of its summer event space, but that was still an enormous area. My booth was across from the Charles Bond Comics tables with lots of great old comics and very reasonably-priced hardcovers and trades. Charles and I have known each other for years and it was great to catch up with him. Kudos also to Jimmy, his assistant at the show, who always kept the comics conversation flowing.

Just before the show opened, a bulky, squirrel-y looking character walked close to my booth, which, as you probably figured out, had a great deal of Black Lightning material on sale. Posters, pins and trade paperbacks. He stopped in front of my table and...

...flashed a white power symbol at me.
                                                                               

I realize some dispute the “okay” hand symbol is a racist symbol. In this case, there was no mistaking the intent of this individual or the terrified look on his face when he realized I knew exactly what he was doing. I shot him an angry look and he scurried away. I didn’t see him again that weekend. 

Everyone else I met in Knoxville, whether they were associated with the convention or working at the hotel, were wonderful, welcoming  people. I didn’t let this one guy occupy my brain for more than it took to write about the above incident.

These Friday night previews are interesting. Sometimes they set the tone for the convention. Other times they reveal nothing about what to expect on Saturday and Sunday. If a promoter asks me to do them, I do them.
                                                                                   

My sales at my table were about what I expected. My biggest seller was Marvel’s Greatest Creators: Tony Isabella #1, reprinting the first appearance of Misty Knight. This is an exclusive variant that is only available from me. It’s signed and number and the print run was 1000 copies. I sell them for $10 each. I brought ten copies. I had sold them all before noon on Saturday.

I do charge a modest $5 per item for my signature. (I sign comics and other items purchased from me for free.) Over the weekend, the signatures amounted to 52% of my take for the convention. In case you were wondering why I charge for signatures.

Besides people telling me how much love Black Lightning and the TV series, I think the line I heard most often was:

“Tony Isabella? I read some of your comics when I was young!”

Tempering the anguish of being so freaking old, I was delighted by how many fans, including many not born when I was writing comics in the 1970s, said they felt my stories hold up as well today as they must have when first published. I have always given everything I had to every assignment I’ve taken. It pleases me to know all of that hard work was worth it.
                                                                                     

One of my all-time favorite convention vendors was at Fanboy Expo 2.0: Wild Bill’s Olde Fashioned Soda Company. I’ve enjoyed their root beer at many conventions, but the mix was off at the last one I attended. The heavenly brew was back to its usual incredible at this convention. I bought a mini-mug with free refills.

Were there legendary burps? There were.

I’m cutting today’s bloggy thing short so I can spend time with my Saintly Wife Barb. I will be back tomorrow with a brief interlude to this report. I hope you’ll be entertained and intrigued by what I’ll be writing about. See you then.

© 2019 Tony Isabella

KNOXVILLE FANBOY EXPO PART ONE

After several delays, I’m finally getting around to writing about my recent weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a featured guest at David Heynen’s Fanboy Expo 2.0. The event took place Friday through Sunday, October 18-20, at the Knoxville Convention Center.

Those of you have enjoyed (endured) my previous convention reports know I always discuss more than just the convention. The journeys are often as noteworthy.

My journey started Thursday morning. An American Airlines flight to Charlotte on a plane only big and comfortable in comparison to the baby American Eagle plane that took me from Charlotte to Knoxville. The only saving grace was that neither flight was long. The flight to Charlotte was around a hour and change, the flight to Knoxville was less than an hour. The convention picked me up at the airport and took me to my home for the weekend.

The Holiday Inn World's Fair Park was originally built for the 1982 World's Fair. Some of that fair’s iconic structures remain open to tourists in the hotel’s back yard. As I would later learn, the park is the city’s largest public green space. Unfortunately, because of a lingering stomach flu, I had to curtail my explorations of this area. Hopefully, I’ll get another chance in the future.

My room was fairly large. I could’ve fit two American Eagle cabins in it. The bed was exceptionable comfortable and the reading chair likewise. On the minus side, the cooling/heating system was erratic and there wasn’t a room safe. I spent a little of my leisure time during the convention working out a grading system for hotels. If you manage to stay awake during this series of Fanboy Expo reports, I’ll share it with you.

Quick clarification. The Fanboy Expo was exciting and fun. Mister Tony was less so.

Here’s something weird that was in my hotel room. Over the controls for the AC was a card reading:

Insert your room key card into the illuminated wall slot located at the entry door.

This illuminated wall slot did not exist. I checked every part of every wall in the room. I checked around the outside of the room. No illuminated wall slot. I think it’s particularly cruel to mess with a tired old man’s head that way.

I had lunch at the hotel’s Brew Burger restaurant. I was seated at a table with a gorgeous view of the park. I ordered the Park Club sandwich, which was both tasty and large enough that the leftovers (kept in my room refrigerator) made for terrific snacks on Friday and Saturday nights.

My room view wasn’t as nice as the restaurant view. I looked out at a large YMCA building. At least, I quipped in a text to a friend, I knew where the fun would be.

My Thursday evening was restful. After watching MSNBC for a while, I talked myself off the ledge via Young Sheldon and The Unicorn. I worked on my October Previews order and read several chapters of Ohio author Andrew Welsh-Huggins’s third book in his “Andy Hayes” mystery series. Hayes is a disgraced Ohio State University football star turned private investigator after a stint in prison. If you’ve been reading the bloggy thing, you know I’m a sucker for mysteries and police novels set in my home state.

I woke up early Friday morning because my cat Simba has trained me to wake up early to feed her. But it gave me a chance to plan for the day, watch some morning news, and have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. The Brew Burger served a pretty standard buffet, but the food was well prepared and the service was excellent.

On the local ABC morning show, I caught a very nice report on the convention that would be starting at 5 pm that evening. I did wince when they announced a few guests, leading off with an actor who had cancelled his appearance because he had to work. I hope any of his fans who were disappointed by his absence found comfort in all the other terrific guests and programs who appeared over the weekend at the Fanboy Expo.

The Convention Center was across the street from the hotel. I went over there to get my badge, receive a nice gift bag and set up my table. I was delighted to see the charming, talented artist Robert Pope was around the corner from me. We would frequently poke our heads Laugh-In style through the curtain between us.

For lunch, I walked three-tenths of a mile upstream to Knoxville’s Market Square. It was a bit of a hike, but it’s a really nice part of the city. Lots of interesting looking restaurants, most of them not open until the late afternoon.

I ate at a place called Ruby Sunshine. They did a great burger and fries, which was all I needed. At the table next to me was a fan I have met at several shows. He told me he had a bunch of books for me to sign.

After he left, another group of fans came to my restaurant table. Feeling so much charitable than I usually am, I was going to invite them to join me. But they just wanted to know when I would be set up at the convention and if I would be doing any panels and signing comics there. They were very polite, so polite they missed out on my buying them lunch.

Just before the Fanboy Expo opened, I sort of met the one terrible person I would meet the entire weekend. But since that’s the kind of hook that will get you to come back tomorrow, I’m not going to tell you about until tomorrow.

I’m such a tease!

© 2019 Tony Isabella