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Black Lightning's Tony Isabella Now Known As Jenny Blake Isabella

Black Lightning's Tony Isabella comes out as transgender at the ege of 73, now to be known as Jenny Blake Isabella

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 07:02:07 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Tony Isabella, co-creator of Black Lightning, comes out as transgender, now known as Jenny Blake Isabella.
Jenny requests privacy for her family but shares gratitude for the support shown on social media.
Jenny's future work may be credited to both Tony and Jenny, while honoring past work under Tony Isabella.
From comic creator to columnist, Jenny's illustrious career spans decades in the comic book industry.

Black Lightning, Misty Knight, Black Goliath and Tigra co-creator Tony Isabella is now to be known as Jenny Blake Isabella after coming out as transgender at 73. First posting the image "Keep Calm and Yes I'm Transgender" captioned "This is real. I'll have more to say soon. In the meantime, I ask you respect my privacy and especially that of my wife and our children. Thank you." Later, she followed up, saying, "THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY: Coming out as transgender on my social media was one of the scariest things I have ever done. The love and support I was shown lifted my spirits and gave me hope. I'll have more to say soon. For now…thank you."

Black Lightning Co-Creator Tony Isabella, Now Jenny Blake Isabella — Transgender meme

Regarding her ongoing credits, she clarified, "My previous work should be credited to Tony Isabella. Depending on the project, my new work will be credited to either Jenny or Tony or, in some cases, both." She then followed up and said, "THIS MORNING'S FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS. Super Bowl? I'm Team Taylor all the way. Puppy bowl? A dachshund should be the MVP. Preferred name? Jenny Blake Isabella, though I will be writing under both that name and Tony Isabella. Conventions: I will be presenting as Tony Isabella for most of this year's events."

A comic book letter writer in the sixties, Isabella was an active participant in comics fandom, the amateur press association for comics and fanzines. In 1972, Roy Thomas hired Isabella as an editorial assistant before writing comics such as Ghost Rider, Luke Cage, Tigra, Daredevil, and Captain America, co-creating the character of Misty Knight in Iron Fist and developing the concept of The Champions. Isabella then worked as a writer and story editor for DC Comics, creating Black Lightning with Trevor Von Eeden.

A novelist, comics translator and non-fiction author about comic books, Isabella also wrote the "Tony's Tips" column for the Comics Buyer's Guide for over a decade, before continuing it online, as well as being a comic book retailer as Cosmic Comics, in Cleveland.

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