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Tony Isabella, whom I've known since we both belonged to a comics creators APA in the early 90's, is a comics industry veteran; a former comics retailer who also wrote and edited various titles for both Marvel and DC from the 1970s into the 90's.

Additionally, he's a long-time reviewer/columnist for the Comics Buyers Guide magazine, and has kindly reviewed the first two issues of Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries and the first two issues of Kolchak Tales: Night Stalker of the Living Dead in his regular "Tony's Tips" column for CBG #1647:

Years ago, I was telling anyone who would listen that my pal Christopher Mills was a writer well worth watching. Though he has never worked for the “bigs” - Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse are all asleep on the job - he has consistently produced first-rate stories for a variety of publishers.

Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries #1 and 2 [Ape Entertainment; $3.95 each] take us to Port Nocturne, a city of mean streets where justice frequently comes in the form of a beautiful and mysterious woman. In the first issue of this four-issue series, Mills probes the origin of the city’s phantom protector through an investigator convinced that this “Blonde Justice” must be one of three women. Though there’s no definitive answer in these remarkable vignettes, brilliantly, moodily illustrated by Joe Staton with inks by Horacio Ottolini, the nifty noir will delight any reader with an interest in crime fiction. The second issue - “Dead Man’s Hand” - features a chilling tale of extortion and revenge, also drawn by Staton and Ottolini. Both issues are exceptional and neither is to be missed.

I’m giving them the full five Tonys.

Mills is also writing the Kolchak Tales: Night Stalker of the Living Dead mini-series for Moonstone [$3.99 per issue]. Reporter Carl Kolchak has been brought into contemporary times (cell phones, etc.), but Mills has retained the rumpled demeanor and dark humor of the character. This time around, Kolchak is banished to Georges Corner, Nebraska to interview a pop star during a fair in her home town. That would be scary enough for me, but, before long, our man on the monster beat is dealing with townspeople turned into flesh-eating zombies.

Mills does a great job writing Kolchak and the various locals who cross the reporter’s path. Artist Tim Hamilton delivers solid storytelling and visuals. This series is ghoulishly good fun and earns an impressive four Tonys.