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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 Thursday, January 1, 2009
2009. Another chance to get it right.
TOT resumes its Monday through Friday schedule today. I'll subject you to no dwelling on the difficulties of 2008. Like I said, this is another chance to get it right.
However, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about some of the good things that have happened since last we met here. They were pretty good things.
Team GCX - brothers James and Bill Henry - did an outstanding job with their first Mid-Ohio-Con. They maintained all the friendliness that has been a mainstay of the show since Roger Price launched it over 25 years ago and added some great new touches of their own. I had an absolute ball in 2008 and I look forward to returning on October 3-4 this year. You can keep up with all the latest MOC news and read the very spiffy "Mighty Mighty MOC-Blog" by visiting the convention's website at:
www.midohiocon.com
Our country had a pretty good day in November, overwhelmingly voting a decisive end to the eight years of incompetence, malice, mayhem, mediocrity, and outright evil of the Bush Administration. President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama won by a landslide and earned a real mandate, not one of those mini-mandates the GOP kept trying to spin as genuine.
Now the really hard work begins for Obama and for our country. In my lifetime, no American president has taken office in such dire circumstances as Obama is facing. You'd have to go back to FDR to find conditions of such severity. We can make things right, but it won't be easy and, given their past behavior, we can't expect much help from Republicans. They lost sight of what was right and wrong many years ago.
My 1000 Comic Books You Must Read book is back on track after various delays, almost all of them of my doing. I'm too embarrassed to detail all the rookie mistakes I've made on this book. But the project is coming together and is still on track to be published in the fall/winter of 2009. I think it'll be a great book and one comicdom will be talking about and complaining about and loving all the way up to the sequel I hope to write. Yes, it's true. I'm a glutton for punishment.
What else is ahead for me in 2009? TOT will be a mixture of new and reprinted material because I've amassed a large backlog of the latter. My January goal is to write at least one new TOT each week with the further February goal of posting a TOT each and every day of the week. Glutton. Punishment. Oh, yeah.
"Tony's Tips" will appear in every issue of Comics Buyer's Guide, but "Tony's Back Page" will be replaced with a brand-new feature. I'll talk more about that soon.
I have two other projects on my January schedule. One will be a prose story starring one of the best-known characters in comics. The other will be a short comics story drawn by an exciting young artist and introducing one of the many new creations I hope to get into print in 2009 and beyond. I'm excited.
Enough about me. What else can we expect in 2009?
It's the International Year of Astronomy and and also the International Year of Natural Fibers. I don't expect to have much to do with either celebration, but you never know when I might suddenly get the urge to party.
The USS George H.W. Bush will be commissioned this month. It will be the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Now that's a showy Christmas present.
Having completed the "50 State Quarters" program, the United States Mint will start producing coins honoring Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; Guam, American Samoa; the US Virgin Islands; and the Northern Mariana Islands. The coins are scheduled to be released every eight weeks throughout the year.
Kudos will be due Norway this month when it legalizes same-sex marriage. Not quite as impressive, but still a good thing, is that Hungary will be recognizing registered partnerships.
Okay, I know the last several items have zip to do with comic books, but I found them interesting enough to share with you. TOT will be focusing on comic books this year, but it's a big world out there and I will be talking about it from time to time.
Come back tomorrow for some comics reviews, for more TOT news, and for more fun facts about this bright shining new year we're now living in. I'm Tony Isabella and I approve this column.
Tony Isabella
<< 09/08/2008 | 01/01/2009 | 01/02/2009 >>
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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