Tony Isabella
Encyclopedia
Tony Isabella is an American
comic book
writer, editor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics
' Black Goliath
, DC Comics
' first major African American
superhero
, Black Lightning
, and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide
.
, Isabella had many letters published in the company's comic book letter column
s.
He began his career at Marvel as an editorial assistant in 1972
. With Marvel's establishment of Marvel UK
in 1972, Isabella was assigned the task of overseeing the reprints used in Marvel UK's nascent comics line. He also served for a time as an editor for Curtis Magazines
, Marvel's black-and-white magazine line.
As a writer, Isabella scripted Ghost Rider
; "It, the Living Colossus" in Astonishing Tales
; Luke Cage
in Hero for Hire and Power Man; Tigra
in Marvel Chillers; The Champions; and Captain America
.
During his mid-1970s run on Ghost Rider
, Isabella wrote a story arc in which Johnny Blaze
became a Christian
, and in doing so, freed himself of the curse. In May 2007, Isabella said, "I’d written a story wherein, couched in mildly subtle terms, Blaze accepted Jesus as his savior and freed himself from Satan’s power forever."
"CCM Sightings" said on the subject, "According to Isabella’s account, the story arc took two years to unfold, and was approved by several editors. But when the story reached the big twist — and a certain mysterious drifter was going to be revealed as Jesus Christ — an assistant editor 'took offense' and intercepted the issue right as it was about to go to the printer and completely rewrote the story." Isabella says, "To this day, I consider what he did to my story one of the three most arrogant and wrong-headed actions I’ve ever seen from an editor."
, Isabella worked as a writer and story editor but is mainly known for his creation of Black Lightning
, writing both the character's short-lived 1970s and 1990s series.
Isabella, along with artist Richard Howell, also produced the "Shadow War of Hawkman" mini-series, involving the characters of Hawkman and Hawkwoman.
series for Comico
, co-plotting with series creator and penciller Mike Gustovich. The new series picked up from the end of the Bill Willingham
/Gustovich written limited series
Justice Machine featuring the Elementals, which re-booted the series' continuity from the older Noble Comics/Texas Comics
-published original series. The on-going book became one of Comico's best-selling series, selling upwards of 70,000 copies of each issue at its peak. Isabella wrote the first 11 issues of the Comico series before moving on to other projects.
In 1990, Isabella returned to the characters to write the series for Innovation Comics, with Gustovich pencilling once more. Gustovich editorialized that Isabella was the best writer (others including Bill Messner-Loebs and Doug Murray
) Justice Machine had ever had.
column "Tony's Tips" for over a decade. The last column was June 22, 2010. The column continues as a regular online column/blog
called "Tony's Online Tips".
Isabella is the co-author with his fellow Comics Buyer's Guide columnist Bob Ingersoll
of the short story
If Wishes Were Horses... (which was published in The Ultimate Super Villains, ISBN 1-57297-113-4, in 1996) and the novel
s Captain America
: Liberty's Torch (1998 ISBN 0-425-16619-8) and Star Trek
: The Case Of The Colonist's Corpse (A Sam Cogley Mystery) (2003, ISBN 0-7434-6497-4).
He has also worked on translating foreign-language Disney
comics and revamping the wording for the U.S. (such as Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge #354).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer, editor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Black Goliath
Bill Foster (comics)
Dr. Bill Foster, also known as Black Goliath, the second Giant-Man, and the fourth Goliath, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:...
, DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' first major African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
, Black Lightning
Black Lightning
Black Lightning was one of the first major African American superheroes to appear in DC Comics. He debuted in Black Lightning #1 , and was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden.- Publication history :...
, and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
.
Marvel Comics
Before he joined Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, Isabella had many letters published in the company's comic book letter column
Comic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
s.
He began his career at Marvel as an editorial assistant in 1972
1972 in comics
-Events:* Marvel Comics forms their British publishing arm, Marvel UK .* Phil Seuling founds East Coast Seagate Distribution, developing the concept of the direct market distribution system for getting comics directly into comic book specialty shops, bypassing the established newspaper/magazine...
. With Marvel's establishment of Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
in 1972, Isabella was assigned the task of overseeing the reprints used in Marvel UK's nascent comics line. He also served for a time as an editor for Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
, Marvel's black-and-white magazine line.
As a writer, Isabella scripted Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
; "It, the Living Colossus" in Astonishing Tales
Astonishing Tales
Astonishing Tales is an American anthology comic book series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1970-1976. Its sister publication was Amazing Adventures vol. 2...
; Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
in Hero for Hire and Power Man; Tigra
Tigra
Tigra is a fictional American comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Introduced as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 , she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas, writer Linda Fite, and penciller Marie Severin...
in Marvel Chillers; The Champions; and Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
.
During his mid-1970s run on Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
, Isabella wrote a story arc in which Johnny Blaze
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
became a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, and in doing so, freed himself of the curse. In May 2007, Isabella said, "I’d written a story wherein, couched in mildly subtle terms, Blaze accepted Jesus as his savior and freed himself from Satan’s power forever."
"CCM Sightings" said on the subject, "According to Isabella’s account, the story arc took two years to unfold, and was approved by several editors. But when the story reached the big twist — and a certain mysterious drifter was going to be revealed as Jesus Christ — an assistant editor 'took offense' and intercepted the issue right as it was about to go to the printer and completely rewrote the story." Isabella says, "To this day, I consider what he did to my story one of the three most arrogant and wrong-headed actions I’ve ever seen from an editor."
DC Comics
For DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, Isabella worked as a writer and story editor but is mainly known for his creation of Black Lightning
Black Lightning
Black Lightning was one of the first major African American superheroes to appear in DC Comics. He debuted in Black Lightning #1 , and was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden.- Publication history :...
, writing both the character's short-lived 1970s and 1990s series.
Isabella, along with artist Richard Howell, also produced the "Shadow War of Hawkman" mini-series, involving the characters of Hawkman and Hawkwoman.
Justice Machine
In 1987, Tony Isabella began writing the Justice MachineJustice Machine
The Justice Machine is a fictional team of superheroes originally created by Michael Gustovich and appearing in comic books from many small publishers in the 1980s and 1990s.-Publication history:...
series for Comico
Comicó
Comicó is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina....
, co-plotting with series creator and penciller Mike Gustovich. The new series picked up from the end of the Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
/Gustovich written limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Justice Machine featuring the Elementals, which re-booted the series' continuity from the older Noble Comics/Texas Comics
Texas Comics
Texas Comics was an American short-lived independent comics company set up in 1983 by several Texas based comic book fans, who had worked together before on the Comics Informer fanzine...
-published original series. The on-going book became one of Comico's best-selling series, selling upwards of 70,000 copies of each issue at its peak. Isabella wrote the first 11 issues of the Comico series before moving on to other projects.
In 1990, Isabella returned to the characters to write the series for Innovation Comics, with Gustovich pencilling once more. Gustovich editorialized that Isabella was the best writer (others including Bill Messner-Loebs and Doug Murray
Doug Murray (comics)
Doug Murray is an American comic book writer. He served in the Vietnam War, and was the main writer on the popular comic book series The 'Nam.-Bibliography:*The 'Nam #1-45, 49-51, 75 Dec 1986-Dec 1990*Mark Hazzard: Merc #5-12, March 1987-October 1987...
) Justice Machine had ever had.
"Tony's Tips"
Isabella wrote the Comics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
column "Tony's Tips" for over a decade. The last column was June 22, 2010. The column continues as a regular online column/blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
called "Tony's Online Tips".
Other work
During the 1980s, Tony Isabella operated Cosmic Comics, a comic book shop in the Colonial Arcade in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, started by Mark Stueve in 1976.Isabella is the co-author with his fellow Comics Buyer's Guide columnist Bob Ingersoll
Bob Ingersoll
Robert "Bob" Ingersoll is an American lawyer and writer. Ingersoll's full time occupation was an appellate attorney with the Cuyahoga County Public Defender Office in Cleveland, Ohio, until he retired in 2009...
of the short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
If Wishes Were Horses... (which was published in The Ultimate Super Villains, ISBN 1-57297-113-4, in 1996) and the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
: Liberty's Torch (1998 ISBN 0-425-16619-8) and Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
: The Case Of The Colonist's Corpse (A Sam Cogley Mystery) (2003, ISBN 0-7434-6497-4).
He has also worked on translating foreign-language Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
comics and revamping the wording for the U.S. (such as Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge #354).