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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Monday, February 7, 2005
I didn't write a column for yesterday. My choice was to write it or spend some quality time with the lovely ladies shown above, my Sainted Wife Barb (right) and my daughter Kelly and my son Eddie. It was not a tough decision.
Co-ordinator and pharmacist Barb had a rare weekday off from running the home infusion department for the area branch of a major health care company. Lord knows the nation's health care systems are a mess - I blame both major political parties for this, though, clearly, the Bush administration appears determined to make things much worse while feigning concern - but what Barb and her team do is a really good thing. Their work reduces hospital costs, allows patients who only need their infusion drugs to return home sooner, and affords terminal patients the comfort of spending their final days in their preferred surroundings.
So...Barb had a day off and we spent most of it together. We got her car worked on to the tune of six hundred bucks. We had a couple of contractors come over to discuss renovations we want to make to our house and, for the first time since this process began, there was one who didn't make my skin crawl. On the recommendation of Eddie, we watched THE LADYKILLERS - a very funny movie starring Tom Hanks - on DVD. All told, it was as fine a day as a person of my advanced years can stand.
Come Saturday, the whole family drove to North Royalton, Ohio, to watch Kelly's middle-school basketball team's first tournament game. Kelly is an awesome player, especially on defense, and her team won 33-18. Their next game is tomorrow night.
Over on the Tony Isabella message board, a few times per week, I post the "Isabella Sports Report," letting my friends and readers know how my kids and their teams in various sports are doing. You can read these and a plethora of messages on interesting topics by visiting the board at:
www.comicscommunity.com/boards/tony
After the game, while Barb went to a movie with her aunt and Eddie went to a hockey game with a buddy's family, Kelly and I had a "grabbing a bite to eat, hanging around the house, talking about this and that" afternoon. I sure do love that half-pound beef and potato burrito from Taco Bell, even as I cringe at how bad it must be for me. Still, it was another good day.
I enjoy writing TOT on a nigh-daily basis. I'd be delighted to write it daily for you, this despite the sad fact that our handy "Tip The Tipster" link is practically wasting away from not being used. But World Famous Comics web-wizard Justin and I have other obligations as well - family, paying gigs, secret plots to restore real family and moral values to this country - and that means this column will skip days here and there. Which doesn't mean you can't make us feel guilty about it by buying lots of advertising on this website and leaving many tips for the Tipster. We respond well to such inducements.
Even the cute photo of Barb and Kelly - taken at Christmas by my brother-in-law Larry Eiben - shouldn't buy me any more shilling for tips than that.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
******
BLACK LIGHTNING
My pal JOHN PETTY of Heritage Comics gave me this card at last November's Mid-Ohio-Con. It was one of two such cards that he came across and bought at a garage sale, the other one, luckily enough, featuring Mister Miracle, his favorite character.
Neither John nor I know where these "Great Heroes" cards came from.
From the back of this card...
...we know there were at least 60 cards in the set. Judging from the trademark notice, they were produced sometime in or around 1989. That's all we know for sure.
One stray thought I had was that the cards might have been a promotion, perhaps bagged with bread or snack foods. However, with no obvious trace of either on the card I have, I'm far from ready to commit to that notion.
As I often do when I am puzzled, I turn to the loyal legions of TOT readers. Do you know the story on these cards?
If so, please e-mail me forthwith. I'll share the knowledge with John and your fellow readers. Because, if nothing else, I'm all about filling your heads with comics trivia from every region of this groovy globe of ours.
******
COMICS IN THE COMICS
In his BIZARRO comics panel for January 22, 2005, Dan Piraro peeked in on a blessed event in the lives of two beloved comic-book characters. Metropolis paparazzi were stymied in their attempts to get photographs of the newborn due to their film's exposure to some sort of mysterious radiation.
******
IF I HAD MAGIC POWERS...
I would tell you to...
Yub em siht!
...even though I'm very disappointed in the young lady's being a party to all that IDENTITY CRISIS nonsense.
******
TV'S GREATEST TEEN IDOLS
A couple weeks back, TV GUIDE ran its list of television's top 25 male teen idols. This is not a subject which would normally be of interest to me, but, flipping through the piece, I was surprised to see their photo of Top Idol #7 Richard Chamberlain was, in fact, a photo of the cover of a comic book. The Grand Comics Database [www.comics.org] doesn't have a scan of the actual cover used by TV GUIDE, so I substituted the above from Dell's DR. KILDARE #3, dated October, 1962. There were nine issues of the title published from 1962 through 1965, all with photo covers.
Some of TV GUIDE's choices also appeared in comic books. I'm going strictly by uncertain memory here when it comes to the comics idols, and putting the non-comics ones in parenthesis, but here's the complete list:
1. David Cassidy, THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY
2. Ricky Nelson, THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET
3. John Travolta, WELCOME BACK KOTTER
(4. Johnny Depp, 21 JUMP STREET)
5. Ed Byrnes, 77 SUNSET STRIP
(6. Luke Perry, BEVERLY HILLS 90210)
7. Richard Chamberlain, DR. KILDARE
(8. Bobby Sherman, HERE COME THE BRIDES)
9. Dave Jones, THE MONKEES
(10. Troy Donahue, SURFSIDE 6)
(11. Jason Priestley, BEVERLY HILLS 90210)
(12. Rick Springfield, GENERAL HOSPITAL)
(13. Lief Garrett, THREE FOR THE ROAD)
(14. Donny Osmond, DONNY AND MARIE)
(15. Will Smith, FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR)
16. Scott Baio, HAPPY DAYS
(17. Ashton Kutcher, THAT '70s SHOW)
(18. Clay Aiken, AMERICAN IDOL)
(19. Kirk Cameron, GROWING PAINS)
(20. Ricky Schroder, SILVER SPOONS)
21. David Boreanaz, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
(22. Chad Michael Murray, ONE TREE HILL)
(23. Michael J. Fox, FAMILY TIES)
(24. Carson Daly, TOTAL REQUEST LIVE)
(25. Joey Lawrence, BLOSSOM)
That's a decidedly poor showing for the comic books with only 32% of these teen idols represented. I wonder if the comics field could do any better today.
Here's your extra-credit assignment for today. Concentrating on current TV shows featuring actors and actresses who possess the potential to be teen idols, which series would you like to see in comic-book form...and why would you like to see them in comic-book form...and which writers and artists would you like to see do them in comic-book form?
This isn't a contest per se. There are no winners or losers. Just good-natured, thoughtful TOT readers who are hopefully being manipulated into writing my column for me.
Watch future columns to see if my plan worked.
******
WIN A CARTOONIST
My pal THOM ZAHLER has been asked to put himself on the block for this year's American Cancer Society Bachelor Raffle. It's not a definite go yet - How many single gals out there have a dollar to spare in this economy? - but you can learn what details there are by going to Thom's website:
www.thomz.com
It'd probably be funny if you ask him if the American Cancer Society can make change for a dollar.
******
TONY POLLS
Our previous week's TONY POLLS questions, which asked you to vote for your favorite comics or comics-related movie of 2004...and also your favorite fantasy/horror/sci-fi movie of the year...will be taken down sometime after midnight tonight. This is your final reminder to cast your ballots at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
New questions will be going up sometime on Tuesday. I wish I could tell you what they were, but, hey, coming up with them is two things down on my "to do" list.
******
WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
Writing this prior to the Super Bowl, I look at Bill Amend's FOX TROT comic strip for February 4 and wonder how many complaints newspaper editors got about the snow boobies.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 02/05/2005 | 02/07/2005 | 02/08/2005 >>
Discuss this column with me at my Message Board. Also, read Heroes and Villains: Real and Imagined.
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
Tony's Online Tips
840 Damon Drive
Medina, OH 44256
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