TPBs that need to be: Tony Isabella edition

COMMENTARY
By Alex Ness

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I consider myself a friend of Tony Isabella.  And I can say, while we might not agree on various political things, I surely recognize he is a bright talented fellow.  He wrote for Marvel, DC, Comico, and a number of other publishers. And he has written about comics for nearly forever as well as put his money where his mouth was and sold comics through his brick and mortar stores, in his home of Cleveland OH.

As a member of the Tony Isabella message board I was able to meet great people in addition to Tony, and some of us have remained in contact long since the original site faded from view.  I appreciated Tony for wanting to put certain realities to work in his comics, even when the comics were aimed at a less than literary minded base of readers.  For instance, he saw crime in the hometown of his hero Black Lightning coming not from true super villains, but the real life villains of gangs, drug dealers, and similar socially repugnant groups.  Comic readers may have missed the point, but I appreciated that aspect greatly.

The three series here that I mention deserve to be reprinted.  I am of the opinion that each has a solid story, a combination of good art and writing, and each has covers worthy of being reprinted, in a format we can all afford.  Or, what the hell, do them right and make it of highest quality.

Tony is on Facebook, Twitter, and Here and Here

Grim Ghost by Tony and assembled talent is a reboot of a character created during the 1970s, for Atlas/Seaboard comics.  You might look at the character and realize, he is very nicely done, and he also will remind you of another character Tony did, Ghost Rider as well as a character Tony has not done, Spawn.  His origin is of a colonial America Smith and Highwayman brought back to earth for sins/crimes committed, as an agent of darkness.  Tony's version is better than the original, as it makes the character less evil (or not at all evil) and makes him a troubled soul fighting to make a better soul for himself.

The Shadow War of Hawkman was the series where Tony made me a believer.  The story is rich, interesting, true to the character, and worthy of reprint for the fact that most people don't know much about the silver or bronze age Hawkman.  This is a fun series, one that you won't be troubled finding the heroes, and is a refreshing take on the character.  It should be noted, whatever versions of the character you might or might not appreciate can still be valid, I am not saying this is the definitive version of the character.  I am saying, however, that I liked this a great deal and for the enjoyment level alone it is worth it.

The Justice Machine is a team of elite crimefighters from the future, who attempt to reform the chaotic, despotic planet earth.  I loved it, and the stories were always fun, always well done, and interesting throughout.  I truly would love to revisit this series in a giant tpb.