CLEVELAND, Ohio - Forty percent of the CW's prime-time lineup is occupied by characters from the DC Comics world. Thundering along with such superhero series as "Arrow," "The Flash," "Supergirl" and "Legends of Tomorrow," the network seen in this area on WBNX Channel 55 is hoping to catch another dose of DC lightning, this time with a character created by a writer from Cleveland.

Cleveland native Tony Isabella, the veteran comic book writer and editor who lives in Medina, is shown speaking at last year's G-Fest (Giant Monsters) in Chicago.

The CW announced its plans for the 2017-18 television season 10 days ago, and one of the shows ordered for midseason is "Black Lightning." Starring Cress Williams ("Prison Break") in the title role, it's based on a DC superhero created about 40 years ago by Cleveland native Tony Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden.

Filming on the series has yet to start. Executive producers Greg Berlanti ("Arrow," "The Flash"), Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil sold the show based on the strong character and scenes shot for a presentation reel. And while Isabella is not working on the CW program in any direct or official capacity, the creative team has sought his input.

"I have talked to the show runners, and they asked me for my thoughts on Black Lightning," said Isabella, who now lives in Medina. "And I'm told they're going to bring me to the set once it begins filming. I think I'll primarily be there for publicity and for the actors to pat me on the head for good luck as they go to the set to do their scenes."

Williams plays Jefferson Pierce, a high school principal coping with the burden of a secret identity. The father of two daughters, the well-respected educator is a hero in a community overrun by gang violence. Nine years ago, he was a different kind of hero: the masked vigilante Black Lightning, who has the ability to harness and control electricity.

Pierce left the superhero life behind when he saw the price being paid by family. But with crime and corruption threatening his community and his family, he decides it's time for Black Lighting to return.

"Early on in the development of the series, I was asked to write a paper called, 'Black Lightning Core Values,' " Isabella said during a telephone interview. "So I created a framework, that this is a reluctant hero with a strong sense of community. He does the Black Lightning thing because there is a need for the Black Lightning thing. He'd be much happier being a teacher or a principal. But he has this ability and he has to use it for the benefit of his community."

Isabella, 65, fell in love with comic books at the age of four. In 1972, that passion led to a job at Marvel comics, where he sought out work on characters of color.

"When I was a kid growing up in Cleveland, my first black friends were comic book fans," he said. "We met through our love of comics books. And even then, it struck me as really unfair that there weren't a lot of black characters. So I decided if I ever got into comics, I'd try to work on characters of color."

So, at Marvel, he worked on Luke Cage, the Falcon and the Living Mummy. He also created the character of Misty Knight (played by Simone Missick on Netflix series version of "Luke Cage').

In the mid-'70s, DC was developing an African-American superhero called the Black Bomber. The character was a white racist who turned into a black superhero under stress. Isabella made it clear to DC executives how offensive the concept was.

"I told them, 'If you go ahead with this, you'll have a mob with torches outside your offices,' " he said. "They said, 'How do you know?' And I said, 'Because I'll be leading them.' "

That did it. He was given the chance to create Black Lightning.

"I wanted a character kids could relate to, which is why he was a teacher," said Isabella, who recently was honored with the Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award by the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia. "I wanted him to be a very positive character. He's a religious man - a man of faith. I wanted him to be a street-level superhero, so I put him in the worst neighborhood in Metropolis.

"And I wanted his secret identity to be the bigger part of his life. Teaching is his great love. And over the years, I've heard from at least four readers who have said they became teachers because of Black Lightning. You hear that and it feels pretty wonderful."

Isabella's first Black Lightning comic-book series ran in 1977 and '78. A second series appeared in the '90s. And he's at work on a third series.

"There had been bad blood between me and DC going back decades," he said. "But there has been a management shift in the past few years at DC, and the current managers at DC have a great fondness for Black Lightning and respect for my work. So I was delighted to work with the new people at DC."

And he's setting the new six-issue DC Comics return of Black Lightning in Cleveland.

"The second series of comic books was set in Cleveland, too, but I never named it explicitly as Cleveland," Isabella said. "This time, I will."

Active on Facebook and a constant commentator on the pop culture, Isabella has watched in amazement as comic-book superheroes have increasingly dominated movies and television.

"If you had told me when I was growing up in Cleveland that there would be a time when I would be watching like eight hours of comic-book TV shows every week, I would have laughed at you," he aid. "Such a thing could never happen. But now, with Marvel and DC and a few indie things, we're taking over TV."

With everything from "Gotham" and "Lucifer" on Fox to "Luke Cage" and "Jessica Jones" on Netflix, is he tempted to write for the CW's incarnation of "Black Lightning"?

"Well, first off, I'd have to learn how to write a screenplay," Isabella said. "And then I'd have to learn how to write a good screenplay. Maybe by the third season of "Black Lighting,' I'll feel confident enough to pitch scripts. But right now, I'm just satisfied to be a cheerleader and watch this wonderful thing happen to my proudest creation."