Tony Isabella

• Born — 22 December 1951 • Birthplace — Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. • Write — y • Notable Works — Black Goliath Black Lightning The Champions Justice Machine "Tony's Tips" • Awards — Goethe Award 1972 Inkpot Award 2013 • Website — http: tonyisabella.blogspot.com

Isabella was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 22, 1951. She discovered comics at the age of four, when her mother began bringing her I. W. Publications titles she bought at Woolworth. Early influences from the comic book world included Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Roy Thomas, Robert Kanigher, and Len Wein; Isabella also cited being influenced by William Shakespeare, Harlan Ellison, Ed McBain, Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Lester Dent, Dave Barry, Max Allan Collins, Don Pendleton, and Studs Terkel. As a teenager, she had many letters published in comic book letter columns under her earlier name of Tony Isabella, primarily in the pages of Marvel titles. She was an active member of the comics fandom, a member of CAPA-alpha (an amateur press association for comics), and a regular contributor to comics fanzines.

Isabella's fanzine work attracted the attention of Marvel editor Roy Thomas (whose earliest published writings had been in fanzines such as Alter Ego), and in 1972 Thomas hired Isabella as an editorial assistant. With Marvel's establishment of Marvel UK that year, Isabella oversaw reprints used in Marvel UK's nascent comics line. She briefly edited for Marvel's black-and-white magazine line. As a writer, Isabella scripted Ghost Rider, the characters It! The Living Colossus in Astonishing Tales, Luke Cage in Hero for Hire and Power Man, the Living Mummy in Supernatural Tales, Tigra in Marvel Chillers, Daredevil, and Captain America. While writing the "Iron Fist" feature in Marvel Premiere, she co-created the supporting character Misty Knight with artist Arvell Jones. Isabella developed the concept of The Champions series and wrote the first several issues.

During her mid-1970s run on Ghost Rider, Isabella wrote a two-year story arc in which Johnny Blaze occasionally encountered an unnamed character referred to as "the Friend" who protected him from Satan, the source of his supernatural powers and identity as Ghost Rider. Isabella said in 2007: Isabella later identified the assistant editor as Jim Shooter. In 2020, Shooter said he was concerned that this "basically established the Marvel universe is a Christian universe" and could alienate readers by suggesting "that all other religions are false". Shooter said he made the changes after consulting with editor Marv Wolfman.

Isabella worked as a writer and story editor for DC Comics, and is known for creating Black Lightning, and writing both the character's short-lived 1970s and 1990s series. After reaching an agreement with DC, Isabella returned to the character in 2017 with the publication of the Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands limited series. Isabella and artist Richard Howell produced the Shadow War of Hawkman mini-series in 1985, involving the characters of Hawkman and Hawkwoman. An ongoing series was launched the following year.

In 1987, Isabella began writing the Justice Machine 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 ongoing 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 and wrote the series for Innovation Comics, with Gustovich pencilling once more.

Isabella wrote the Comics Buyer's Guide column "Tony's Tips" for over a decade. The last column was June 22, 2010. Starting in 2013, she continued "Tony's Tips" online at Tales of Wonder. She also regularly writes about comics and her work on her personal blog.

During the 1980s, Isabella operated Cosmic Comics, a comic book shop in the Colonial Arcade in Downtown Cleveland. She has localized foreign-language Disney comics for the U.S. market. In 2020, Isabella cameoed as "Judge Isabella" on The CW series Black Lightning, based on the DC comic created by her and Trevor Von Eeden, who also plays a judge.

Isabella's wife is Barbara. They have two children, Eddie (born c. 1989) and Kelly (born c. 1992). In a February 9, 2025 social media post, Isabella came out as transgender with a meme reading "Keep Calm and Yes I'm Transgender". In a Facebook post, she said she would continue writing as both Jenny Blake Isabella and Tony Isabella. Her first story written under the Jenny Blake Isabella name appeared in the DC Pride 2025 anthology, an autobiographical piece setting out the path her life took to coming out as transgender.

• Grim Ghost #3 (1975) • Tales of Evil #3 (1975)

• Grim Ghost vol. 2 #1–6 (with Stephen Susco) (2010–2011)

• Negative Burn #46 (1997)

• Justice Machine #1–6, 8–11 (1987)

• Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor Quarterly #1 (with Harlan Ellison) (1996) • Star Wars Tales #2 (1999)

• Black Lightning #1–10 (1977–1978) • Black Lightning vol. 2 #1–8 (1995) • Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #1–6 (2018) • DC Comics Presents #95 (1986) • DCU Holiday Bash #2 (Black Lightning) (1998) • Hawkman vol. 2 #1–9, Special #1 (1986–1987) • Heroes Against Hunger #1 (1986) • Mystery in Space #111 (1980) • Secret Origins vol. 2 #26 (Black Lightning) (1988) • Shadow War of Hawkman #1–4 (1985) • Star Trek #22–23, 29, 31 (1986) • Star Trek: All of Me #1 (with Bob Ingersoll) (2000) • Star Trek: The Next Generation Special #1 (with Bob Ingersoll) (1993) • Tarzan Family #66 (1976) • Teen Titans Spotlight #16 (Thunder and Lightning), #17 (Magenta) (1987) • Welcome Back, Kotter #3 (1977) • World's Finest Comics #244 (Green Arrow) (1977)

• Ditko's Monsters (foreword) (2019) • Star Trek: Gold Key Archives #1 (foreword) (2014)

• Geeksville #3 (2000)

• Justice Machine vol. 3 #5–7 (1990–1991) • Sentry Special #1 (with Bob Ingersoll) (1991)

• The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #24 (1990) • Astonishing Tales #21–24 (It! The Living Colossus) (1973–1974) • The Avengers #145–146 (1976) • Black Goliath #1 (1976) • Captain America #168, 189–191 (1973–1975) • Chamber of Chills #5 (1973) • Champions #1–3, 5–7 (1975–1976) • Creatures on the Loose #25, 32 (1973–1974) • Daredevil #119–123 (1975) • Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #10, Special #1 (1974–1975) • Doc Savage #7–8 (1973–1974) • Dracula Lives #6, 9, 13 (1974–1975) • Fantastic Four #153 (1974) • Ghost Rider #7–9, 11–15, 17–19 (1974–1976) • Giant-Size Creatures #1 (1974) • Giant-Size Defenders #1 (1974) • Giant-Size Dracula #5 (1975) • Haunt of Horror #4 (1974) • Hero for Hire #15 (1973) • Legion of Monsters #1 (1975) • Marvel Chillers #3, 5–6 (Tigra) (1976) • Marvel Comics #1001 (2019) • Marvel Premiere #20–22 (Iron Fist) (1975) • Marvel Tales #242, 250 (Rocket Racer backup stories) (1990–1991) • Marvel Team-Up #145 (1984) • Marvels Comics: Daredevil #1 (2000) • Monsters Unleashed #3–5, 10 (1973–1975) • Moon Knight #34–35 (1983–1984) • Power Man #20, 22–25 (1974–1975) • Power Man and Iron Fist #110 (1984) • The Spectacular Spider-Man #35, Annual #10 (1979, 1990) • Super-Villain Team-Up #1–2 (1975) • Supernatural Thrillers #8–13 (1974–1975) • Tales of the Zombie #2–3, 5, 9 (1973–1975) • Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #1–4 (1975) • Vampire Tales #4 (1974) • War Is Hell #9–10 (1974) • Web of Spider-Man #74–76, Annual #6–7 (1990–1991) • What If...? #24 (Spider-Man) (1980)

• The Phantom: Generations TPB (new 12-page text story) (2010)

• Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga #0 (1993) • Satan's Six #1–4 (1993)

• Vampirella #26 (ghostwriter for Len Wein) (1973)

Television roles • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2020 — Black Lightning — Judge Isabella — Episode: "The Book of War: Chapter Three: Liberation"