“I Have Been On The Right Side of History Since I Started Working in Comics…” – The Truly Conflicting Conundrum of Tony Isabella

Let me preface this piece by stressing that there is no degree of snark intended when I describe longtime comics pro Tony Isabella as a “conundrum”- he is the first individual written about here that I simply can’t resist having some degree of conflict over- such is my sincere and legit admiration for his burn-the-bridges outspokenness, his habit of calling out Editors, Publishers and press for slights both perceived and real with apparently no concern for how it could conceivably affect his career, his boldness in calling out abhorrent and disgusting behavior in regard to racism and anti-LGBTQ policies, and so forth.

Yeah… that’s the issue. Tony Isabella speaks up when very few, if any, of his peers do. There’s actually much to admire and respect with Mr. Isabella. So, what exactly is the issue, you might be asking?

It isn’t so much of an issue as much as it’s an ongoing observation and possibly even a bit of concern for the man. As I said, there was a bit of trepidation in covering Tony Isabella. There was positively no hesitation to cover Roy Thomas. Mark Evanier. Danny Fingeroth. All of those men are blatantly corrupt, contradicting, and destructive- and Isabella? He’s friends with these guys. At times, he’s outraged on their behalf. It’s this- the selective rationalization of Tony Isabella that is the problem.

Again: I, at times, relate to Tony Isabella. His frankness and ability to just not give a fuck and let loose on deserving targets is something I tragically don’t get to observe enough:

The issue is misplaced nostalgia. Nostalgia is an overwhelming, overbearing and consuming mental illness when it manifests in rationalizing and retconning actual, documented events.

An article from Science Direct states, “According to neuroscientific research, nostalgia involves core brain regions implicated in self-reflection, autobiographical memory, emotion regulation, and reward processing- and alleviates negative effects of various threats via reward mechanism or both.“

Isabella’s nostalgia for his golden years at Marvel makes him quite literally a walking contradiction and, to be blunt, something of a hypocrite: because he needs to latch onto a perception of Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and others that simply isn’t who they were, anything that runs against these perceptions is a threat.

I was reminded of Isabella’s need to maintain his nostalgia in a very recent and somewhat troubling blog entry he wrote on January 19th, 2024. Titled “The Strange World of My Comic Book Dreams“- an inversion of an old Simon/Kirby title- Isabella shares a dream he had of Stan Lee which is both telling in its childlike need to reinforce the image he has of Lee, and troubling for what it means about Isabella’s state of mind. Here is the bulk of the entry, with my annotations:

• “I sometimes have what I call “comic book dreams.” These are dreams that feature comics industry people I know or have known. Some are down to earth. Some are fantastic. The further I’m removed from the comics industry, the less I have these dreams. This one is from a couple months back.”

Note that Isabella mentions “the further I’m removed from the comics industry”– this is a regular, sometimes daily occurrence when Isabella writes as he is very public in his understandable frustration that he can’t get writing work in the present. This is not intended to mock his lament, but to point out that he mentions it on a consistent basis.

• “The setting is Florida. I’m at a convention, but it doesn’t seem to be a convention I have ever attended. I’m sitting on a park bench outside the convention center with Stan Lee. Just chatting with my former boss and mentor. My forever inspiration. Fans from the con notice us, but, remarkably, they don’t interrupt our conversation.

• Stan asks about my memories and relationship with Jack Kirby. His respect for Kirby is evident. We also talk about Larry Lieber, his brother and one of my dearest comics industry friends. He’s happy to hear I take Larry to dinner whenever I’m in New York City. His love for his brother is also evident.”

Already we’re in a fictional, idealized world. Lee generally didn’t ask such questions and certainly didn’t make anyone else the focus of attention. Isabella tellingly points out that Lee’s “respect for Kirby is evident“- at least in the dreamscape. Also, Lee’s “love for his brother is also evident“- this is something even less based on a kernel of actual truth, and one can ask Larry Lieber how loving his brother was to him in his lifetime.

• “The conversation gets a bit dark when he asks me about a former DC Comics executive. This is a guy who screwed me over worse than any other comics person. This guy was far from the only one. I don’t have the energy to make a list and rate them. Stan doesn’t want to bad-mouth the guy, but says he even made Stan more than a little uncomfortable.”

I’m unsure as to who this could be; Robert Kanigher? Carmine Infantino? I’m wondering who Lee would have been associated with, albeit on a loose, in-the-same-industry basis, that would have dealt with Isabella during his DC tenure. Of course, it’s irrelevant in the sense that Lee would not ask about a former DC Comics executive, and, outside of Martin Goodman, it’s unlikely that any executive had the capacity or ability to make Lee uncomfortable. (I know, I know… it’s just a dream)

• “Our conversation ends when Stan notices an elderly Jewish couple in some distress. He points them out and goes to help them. I chuckle because, though Stan describes them as “elderly,” they are younger than he is. They seem to be lost.

• As I head back to the con, I hear Stan talking to them in Hebrew. I’m guessing it’s Hebrew because I don’t understand a word of their conversation.

• My dreams often feature people who are no longer with us but who were and remain important to me. My father Louis turns up often. So does Stan, my comics father.“

I won’t get into Lee deciding to help people in distress, or being capable of speaking to them in Yiddish- this is obviously an idealized version of Saint Stan, a figure that looms large in the collected consciousness of former writer/editors, whom Lee’s career continues to validate. I simply think this dream- which Isabella saw fit to share- is indicative of pathological behavior that continues to aid and abet the ongoing deification of Lee and the ongoing erasure of Kirby, Ditko, etc.

What’s notable is that much of Lee’s Jewish heritage (and his own lack of engagement with his heritage) was covered in Abraham Josephine Riesman’s Lee biography, TRUE BELIEVER: THE RISE AND FALL OF STAN LEE, a biography which also featured extensive interviews with Larry Lieber (who spoke of his estrangement from his brother), and documented Lee’s casual racism when he remarked that his daughter was the “dumbest white woman” he’d ever met. (The implication being that the dumbest white woman is still smarter than a Black woman.)

But Isabella wouldn’t touch it. He couldn’t risk anything that may disrupt his rose-tinted view of Lee and Marvel.

Looking over Isabella’s many recollections, thoughts and anecdotes about Lee, the sentimental loyalty is boundless, if sometimes mildly disturbing.

• “He’s the reason I devoted my professional life to the comics industry. Second only to my own father, I am a son of Stan.”

• “I can’t separate my many memories of Stan from my love of comics in general, nor would I ever want to. He means the world to me.”

• “It would be terrific if Kirby and Ditko were as well known and had done as well from their Marvel work. But Stan Lee isn’t the reason that hasn’t happened.”

• “my boss, my friend, my mentor”

Reading all of that, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Isabella and Lee worked hand-and-hand for a number of years, with Lee taking the same amount of time that he spent cultivating Roy Thomas. Surprisingly, Isabella’s professional interaction with Lee- whom he was idolizing years before he made it into Marvel, which contributes to his vision of Lee- consisted of a handful of interactions where Lee would essentially approve covers.

• “Sol (Brodsky) handled the production of the magazine and Stan would approve the covers I would design with various artists and the copy I wrote for those covers. He would approve the cover layouts and copy on the British weekly covers, but generally okayed anything I had done. I might help him arrange features in a magazine, be a sounding board for his gags, make sure what he wanted was done as he wanted it, things like that. I could turn a clever phrase as necessary, and that was a skill he appreciated.”

Again, Isabella is entitled to his viewpoints and I’m aware that working with Lee during the Seventies was obviously very exciting for a young comics fan; the sort of period that would be idealized and embellished in an older man’s memory as time went on. This isn’t to mock Isabella for his devotion. It’s to again magnify just how contradictory Isabella’s apparent views are at times from his words and apparent beliefs.

Isabella has impressed me numerous times with his outspoken advocacy for equality and transgender rights. He’s bold to the point of being confrontational- again, that’s my kind of guy, considering we exist in an era where boldness is in short supply.

• “Here’s my voting advice for those of you haven’t yet voted. Three simple guidelines. Don’t vote for Republicans.“

Four Color Sinners has spoken extensively about Roy Thomas’s history of pro-Conservatism and support of despicable Right-Wing agents like James Rosen. If you- or Tony Isabella- missed our coverage of the NewsMax misinformation merchant’s association with Thomas, please check it out here:

Thomas himself has spoken out against Queer super-heroes, even claiming that they will affect his future royalties (!!), but Isabella says nothing about that. Thomas refuses to capitalize ‘Black’ in regard to people of color “until” white people also receive capitalization. Isn’t this the kind of Republican shit that Isabella is supposedly against? Don’t we want to make Uncle Tony proud???

When we first started bringing light to Thomas’s extensive and loathsome behavior, it was apparently brought to Isabella’s attention. Tony Isabella, who has zero tolerance for Republicans, had this response:

Yes, we’re going after Roy Thomas. For the same reasons you speak out against pro-conservative enablers. Jackals stick together! As I said… a frustrating guy.

I do believe that Isabella is hurting; he says as much, in regard to his diminishing presence in the ongoing comics industry- how much of that is the usual ageism and how much of it stems from his outspokenness and willingness to call out publishers and editors for corrupt behavior is hard to distinguish. Isabella himself spoke on his struggle with depression several times:

• “I was diagnosed with clinical depression around the time I was fired from Black Lightning. I probably had it all my life, but it was that event…along with some personal problems in my life which shall remain personal…which triggered self-destructive behavior on my part and convinced me to seek medical help.

• I got some therapy. I got some drugs. The first worked well, the second didn’t. Eventually, my therapist and I found other ways for me to deal with my depression. Being here for my kids was the most powerful motivating factor in my improved condition.

• I’ll suffer from depression my entire life, but it’s an enemy that I know and that knowledge gives me power over it. There are more than a few graves on which I want to dance; I intend to live long enough to accomplish that modest goal.” – Tony Isabella, 2016

I applaud and support Tony Isabella’s ability to share his struggles- you never know who it might reach and, in turn, help them with their own struggles as well. I have to wonder though if his issues with depression and being seemingly manic in general are what partially fuels his need to maintain the illusion that he, Stan Lee and Roy Thomas are all compatriots or something.

Early on in this site’s existence, a commentator asked if I would cover the then-recent spat between Tony Isabella and publisher Eric July. I explained then that I was unaware of both the dispute and Eric July and, several months later, that’s largely still the case though I did eventually research the “incident”.

Eric July is a self-made publisher who, from what I can tell, found enormous ground roots support for starting “anti-Woke” comics. Which is his prerogative of course. Apparently, Isabella spoke out against July being a guest at a convention, due to July’s comments about transgender children. I’m lazily recounting what I briefly read up on, I should clarify- I should also again reiterate that my politics are much more strongly aligned with Isabella’s than July’s- but I found their exchanges interesting, for what it says about Isabella’s general mindset and approach.

Honestly, I don’t understand the tactic of trashing but refusing to engage. Is Riesman’s Lee biography a hatchet-job? Great- do what I do, tear it apart page-by-page if that’s the case. If you’re right, it shouldn’t be hard to do.

From what I saw, Eric July has a photo of himself embracing Kyle Rittenhouse which tells me already that I don’t think he and I would be pals exactly. So, already my rapport is more with Tony Isabella. Then why do I think he drops the ball here?

• “This is who CGC Comics chose to ‘honor’ with a signing at San Diego Comic-Con, and who San Diego Comic-Con ‘honored’ to have a panel & booth. Disgusting. An outright cruel, hurtful & bigoted offense to the invitees & attendees.” – Tony Isabella, 2023

Isabella would explain that July’s conservative stances on various issues constituted hate speech and that inviting him to be a guest at SDCC was an insult to others. Eric July responded in such a way that, admittedly, I wouldn’t have expected and found disarming.

By asking Isabella to discuss it.

Would a discussion have changed Eric July’s mind, his stance, his opinions, his beliefs? Would they have stopped his public statements sharing his conservative stance on numerous issues? Absolutely not. But consider- there was still a chance. A chance a seed could be planted, if nothing else. And the potential awareness a public discourse could have raised for the comics community- there’s at least a possibility for seeing new points of view in, you know, talking. Isabella refused. A guy who, for literal decades, has bemoaned the fact that people at DC Comics refuse to call him back, won’t take the opportunity to tell this guy how he really feels- maybe it’s just me, because I can’t relate to that. I’d have taken July up on his offer and had the discussion. I’d have tried to expand his horizons a bit. That’s just me.

• “So instead, you want to snipe and go after our partners/vendors. I’m against mutilation of children. Minors are unable to consent and it is evil to do such irreversible damage to them. What about that do you find so repugnant? Tony Isabella is an idiot. Certainly, I do take exception to him trying to go after people that I work with. That’s what these guys love to do. Nothing’s going to happen. But that is what it is.” – Eric July

• “I called him on his trans kids comments. Decent folks know trans kids exist. Their health care needs are medically and morally valid.. The benefits of their receiving gender care are confirmed by our history. They should not be denied this care.

• “I have been on the right side of history since I started working in comics. I’m still on the right side of history. He’s not.” – Tony Isabella

Isabella’s refusal to engage or look at things which may be unpleasant to him are a huge handicap. All of his actions are related to nostalgic depression and the awareness that he’s been rejected by an industry that frequently spits out its veterans- this holds him back, this fuels his bitterness. I’m not saying that bitterness is unwarranted but a selective approach and maintaining a pedestal for guys like Lee- who, notably, didn’t hire Isabella again in all the years after they initially worked together- is representative of how dire and how problematic aging nostalgia really is.

Uncle Tony. Make us proud. Call out your peers who continue to peddle corporate myths all due to their childhood perception of a guy who didn’t care about comic books the way you did. Reach out to Roy Thomas and tell him John Cimino’s treatment of Steve Ditko is deplorable. Don’t turn a blind eye to the ones you want to stay pals with. Treat all liars, all racists accordingly. If anyone was going to do it- why not Tony Isabella? He’s been shouting at the ones that decidedly weren’t his co-workers for years now.

If you or someone you know is suffering through depression, please consider calling the National Mental Health hotline. The Mental health hotline provides the ear of a compassionate professional who knows how to deal with a mental health crisis. Sometimes, a brief conversation is all it takes to put things in perspective and move forward.

The Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 can answer your questions confidentially and free of charge.