COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK


Welcome back, friends!  It's that honored tradition we've established during the weekend, where we open up our comic box, and take out an issue to chat about.  This week's edition, we dive into the debut issue of one of the more fascinating characters of the Marvel Universe - Alison Blaire...AKA Dazzler.  Now, Dazzler made HER first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #130 in 1980, and ended up getting her own series greenlighted in 1981 and ran for 42 issues.  Dazzler has gone on to be a member of the X-Men, S.H.I.E.L.D., and an Avengers off-shoot team called A-Force.  



DAZZLER #1


COVER:  Bob Larkin
WRITER:  Tom DeFalco
ARTIST:  John Romita, Jr., John Buscema, John Romita
INKS:  Alfredo Alcala, Bob McLeod, John Romita
COLORS:  Glynis Wein 
LETTERS:  Joe Rosen
EDITOR:  Louise Jones
COVER DATE:  March 1981
PUBLISHER:  Marvel Comics


STORY TITLE:  "So Bright This Star"


Dazzler #1 came about after Alison Blaire debuts in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #130.  She was a creation collaborated by Marvel and Casablanca Records as a cross promotion.  The promotion ended in 1980, and Dazzler manage to stick around, and have her series greenlighted by Marvel in 1981.  The series followed Blaire as she tried to get her singing career off the ground, but ended up becoming a reluctant super-hero.  She was a creation done by committee at Marvel, but the primary culprits were Tom DeFalco and John Romita.  She is a mutant who can transform sound into light, and do a variety of things with it.  She mainly used it for her stage shows, as to add more flare to her act.  This first issue threw a litany of guest stars in, including the X-Men and Spider-Man, and the Avengers.  The Asgardian Goddess the Enchantress was the huge villain of the issue.  This comic has the distinction of being Marvel's first direct-market-only comic, and wasn't available on newsstands.  It had a huge circulation, which was way above the average for popular titles of the day.  


THE STORY:  Alison Blaire, who turned down going to law school (much to the disappointment of her father), to become a pop singer, finds herself on the run from a crooked record producer, and is saved by noneother than Spider-Man.  Later on, she feels her career is over before it starts, so she contacts the X-Men, who'd asked her to join before, but turned them down, said they would accept, but it would derail her singing career.  So, she auditions at a disco where, looking to gain entry as the singer for the disco in order to gain control of the manager for a devious plan, is the Enchantress.  However, the disco club owner chooses Alison instead, and the Enchantress is NOT thrilled about it.  So, she seeks revenge on the club owner AND Alison for the sleight.  


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This issue was rather fun and hectic, and it gives us a quick background on Alison Blaire, who she is, what she's about, and WHY she's pursuing a singing career.  It's amazing that right out of the gate in this issue, she's in trouble and on the run.  While Spidey lends her a helping hand, she also manages to tick off the Enchantress down the road, and that's not good, either.  So, aside from looking to join the X-Men, she also encounters the Avengers, who lend aid to her in stopping the Enchantress.  It moves at a good pace, story wise, and not a lot of wasted time with her origin.  She's now made friends in the superhero community pretty quickly, and they will end up being her de-facto "family" as the years go by.  Sure, the whole disco motif is REALLY cheesey, but she DOES grow out of it, as she later on focuses on different kinds of music (and looks).  It's a fun series to read, and also check out her graphic novel, Dazzler:  The Movie, if you can find it in a book store, comic shop, or somewhere else.  It's NOT your typical superhero comic book, and that's what's great about it.