The Rich Johnston defense? In this week's column, Markisan Naso responds to Darwyn Cooke's criticism of the toothless "All The Rage":

"... the juicy rumors don't always come in. Companies and creators understandably don't want that shit floating around. And many times when I get good rumors I'm asked not to run certain items. I honestly know way more information than I print. In fact the stuff I'm told would probably make fanboy balls spin off. It's very difficult to keep the big news to myself, but you have to be diplomatic in this job."

So, instead of actually reporting industry gossip in a gossip column, poor Markisan is relegated to lurking on message boards, then repackaging public-forum posts as rumor.

Part of this job-required diplomacy apparently requires Markisan to turn most of this week's column into a cut-and-past pulpit for Tony Isabella's grievances against DC Comics and Judd Winick for their treatment of the Isabella-created Black Lightning character.

Buried deep within Isabella's rantings is a legitimate issue: The lack of fully formed minority characters in mainstream comics (particularly, DC and Marvel). John Stewart, Black Panther, Steel, Luke Cage, Cyborg, Storm and a handful of other, relatively minor players hardly make a case for diversity in comics. (And no one's buying the "But Kyle Rayner is Latino" argument.)

But to get to that core, you have to get past Isabella's general bitterness at DC, his almost proprietary claims to Black Lightning and some rather fanboyish assertions about continuity and what a fictional character would "really do."

Although Isabella created Black Lightning in 1977, DC owns the character. That means, like it or not, that property is DC's to do with it as the editors and writers see fit.

However, Isabella doesn't seem to see it that way. In fact, he apparently expected Winick to discuss Black Lightning with him so, "I could have helped him tell his story without violating my creation."

Isabella continues his puzzling line of thought: "Over and over and over again, DC editors and writers do stupid things with Black Lightning/Jeff Pierce. And the reason I object to this, when I never objected to Mike Barr's use of the character, was because, unlike Mike Barr, they are not smart enough to talk this stuff out with me and allow me to help them get it right. I understand that DC owns BL...though there is an entirely different issue concerning whether or not the character was truly created on a work-for-hire basis. But, even setting aside any creative concerns, these absurd directions diminish the value of a character in which I retain a financial interest. It's in my interest and theirs for the character to be successful and, based on what's been done with BL in the past, I have no confidence in DC's ability to make either of us any money from my creation."

(Let's not forget that Isabella abruptly left the relaunched "Black Lightning" in 1995 after just eight issues because of differences with DC brass.)

Although Isabella tries to move his argument back to higher ground by addressing the important role Black Lightning's creation played nearly 25 years ago in diversifying the face of comics, it becomes pretty clear that is not the real issue here. And that's unfortunate, because minority representation should be the issue.

No, through his words and his tone, it's apparent the primary issue is that Isabella feels slighted by DC, not necessarily because of its handling of Black Lightning, but for its treatment of Isabella.

Like many creators from the 1970s, Isabella has been swept aside in favor of newer, "fresher" talent. The Wolfmans, the Weins and the Conways of comics have virtually disappeared from the spotlight, replaced by the Morrisons, the Ruckas and the Brubakers.

So, I have a feeling this has less to do with Isabella vs. Winick, and more to do with Old Guard vs. New Guard (and lingering bad blood with the publisher).

If you doubt that, just look at this statement from Isabella, made on his message board: "One last word. I hope nothing like this ever happens to Judd Winick and one of his creations. If and when it does, he'll understand what he's done ... and that will make it all the harder for him."