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Essential Dazzler, vol. 1 2007 (HC TPB) 552 pages

Written by Danny Fingeroth, Tom DeFalco, with Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman. Pencils by Frank Springer, with John Byrne, John Romita, Jr, others. Inks by Vince Colletta, others.

Colours/letters: various.

Reprinting: Dazzler #1-21, Uncanny X-Men #130-131, Amazing Spider-Man #203 (1980-1982)

Rating: N/R (out of 5)

Number of readings: various

Review posted Sept, 2011

Published by Marvel Comics

This isn't really an "official" review, as I haven't read most of the issues reprinted here -- I have about seven or eight of these Dazzler issues in my collection (as well as the X-Men comics). But I just thought I'd opine that Dazzler...was, in its way, a surprisingly decent comic.

Now, one might ask, if I thought it was so good -- why haven't I bought the Essential collection? And the answer is that, A, I'm not buying as much as I used to (particularly when, as mentioned, I already own almost a third of the comics included here), and, B, I'm not necessarily saying it was great -- but it was decent. And I make that point because Dazzler occupies a strange position in comics. My impression is that it's often regarded with some derision, as a cheesy, goofy comic -- about a pop singer with mutant powers! Yet funnily enough, lasting 42 issues, Dazzler was, for its time, actually more successful than a lot of super hero comics with a female lead. And it was by far the most original -- both in terms of her powers and in that she wasn't just a spin-off of a male hero (like Supergirl, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel).

Dazzler was introduced in the X-Men, part way through a three part tale of the X-Men battling minions of the Hellfire Club (which would be the opening act of the classic Dark Phoenix Saga). The X-Men, on the look out for new mutants, find Dazzler -- a pop singer with the ability to transmute sound into light, giving her stage act a spectacular light show that the audience assumes is mechanical, not mutant, powered. She's a slightly different Dazzler than she would evolve into -- talking in a bit of a hip, jive lingo. But the basic concept of the reluctant heroine is established -- and what makes the subsequent series sort of interesting.

After that exciting adventure (the Claremont/Byrne/Austin team at their peak -- even if it is the final two chapters of a three parter), and another guest starring turn (in Amazing Spider-Man) Dazzler got her own series. By this point her personality has been tweaked to resemble the more standard female heroine -- Alison Dare is basically a normal, girl-next-door type (heroines often not allowed to be quite as quirky as male heroes). But what makes the regular series kind of unusual in the comic book/super hero field is that Dazzler isn't really a super hero, nor is her dream to spend her nights fighting crime. Rather, she just wants to live her life, pursue her career, and use her powers subtly in pursuit of that goal. Of course, things rarely work out that way -- and crime and a plethora of super villains are always lurking about, sometimes dragging Dazzler in reluctantly...sometimes she charges in of her own volition to help a friend. But it makes an interesting dynamic -- Dazzler truly is an "everyman" hero. She doesn't even have a "secret identity", per se (although her stage dress serves as an impromptu costume). She keeps her powers a secret, but there's no dual identity, no friends wondering why Alison disappears everytime Dazzler is around or anything.

And Dazzler is, herself, a likeable, sympathetic heroine.

The series started out a bit uneven, written by Tom DeFalco, the early issues maybe struggling to find their footing, and DeFalco's dialogue clunky and clumsy (and with an opening issue climaxing in...a singing contest between Dazzler and the super-villainess, the Enchantress!). But things improve when Danny Fingeroth takes over scripting (though initially still working from DeFalco's plots). The dialogue is a little smoother, the personalities a little more grounded, suspense and tension better maintained (to be fair to DeFalco -- I've only read two issues by him). Throughout there's a supporting cast, there as much for comedy as drama, such as her lugubrious manager, and her vainglorious stage manager (body obsessed and always decked out in gym shirts to show off his pecks) among others. And there's soap opera-y undercurrent involving her estrangement from her dad (interesting, the early She-Hulk comics, published around the same time, also involved a daughter-father estrangement).

As often happens with fledgling series, there seemed an over-reliance on guest stars and familiar characters to boost sales, heroes and villains both -- arguably to the detriment of creating the series' own rogues gallery, with Dr. Doom, the Enchantress, Klaw -- even Galactus! -- all dropping by (as well as heroes like the Human Torch, the She-Hulk, the Angel, and others). Yet despite this, the series -- and its heroine -- did carve out its own identity, the reluctant/vulnerable/every(wo)man hero providing an interesting twist on the cliches. And sometimes the familiar characters dropping by did work: despite the small scale Dazzler meeting the cosmically grand Galactus seeming an odd match, that story was actually pretty effective. The series also introduced another hero -- the Blue Shield, with the unusual back story that he was a super hero who masqueraded, in his alter ego, as a mobster (though despite a few guest appearances, I don't think he ever went on to much).

The issues were often densely written, with a lot of small panels (a hallmark of a few Marvel comics at the time, I seem to recall), allowing most plots to only run an issue or two, making for some meaty reads that are more than just an excuse for a fight scene (a good highlight being #8's story of someone targeting Dazzler's manager).

The lion's share of the art was handled by Frank Springer (who was also the inker on She-Hulk), usually inked by Vince Colletta. The art was hardly spectacular -- but was actually decently effective. As mentioned, the nature of the dense scripts meant the art wasn't really required to dazzle us with lots of big panels and splash pages. And Springer told the scenes well enough, even if the poses could look a bit hasty -- but it maybe suited the "human" aspect of the heroine. And sometimes he excelled -- as mentioned, the Galactus story was decent, and part of that is due to the grandeur of the visuals. Though featuring a heroine, the cheesecake factor seemed to vary -- though I think Dazzler's cleavage got more pronounced as the series went along.

Obviously, what you like -- and look for -- in a super hero comic will affect your appreciation of these issues. Me -- I tend to like a mixing of the human, and soap opera, with the super hero hi-jinks (a formula dating all the way back to the early days of Spider-Man). Hence why I applaud the human/reluctant heroine idea. But others tend not to. My impression was that as the series went along, it was moved more and more heavily in the fantasy/SF/super hero direction, putting more emphasis on tying the series into the whole mutant/X-Men franchise from which it had sprung (after cancellation, Dazzler even joined the X-Men becoming, well, a conventional super hero). One review of the series seemed to feel the later issues were better (but maybe they just meant the writing and art more than the themes). But as I say -- what appeals about these early issues is that human grounding, the sense that Alison is a real person, just trying to get through life -- with the calls to herodom more a burden than a blessing for her.

The interesting thing about this collection is it climaxes with the double-sized 21st issue. Reflecting my point about the human aspect -- that issue has little action or adventure (though plenty of super hero guest stars as they attend Dazzler's big concert). But it brings to a head various character threads that had been percolating through the series, relating to her estrangement from her dad, and the mystery of her long vanished mom. And maybe it reflects a subtle ambition to the series -- that they would have the hutzpah to present a double-sized issue of a super hero comic that's basically a human/character drama. It also means that in some ways, this Essential collection does act as a nice story arc building to a conclusion -- not just as a random collection of sequential comics.

There are lots of ways Dazzler wasn't a great comic -- some clumsy dialogue, some forced plots, some uneven art. But digging out those old issues I had and re-reading them -- there are also a lot of things to like about the series too.

Cover price: __ .

DC: The New Frontier 2004 (various) 300 pages
This has been collected in various forms, including a two volume TPB edition, and a single hardcover "Absolute" edition.

Written and illustrated by Darwyne Cooke.
Colours: Dave Stewart. Letters: Jared K. Fletcher. Editor: Mark Chiarello.

Reprinting: the six issue, prestige format mini-series (2004) - with covers

Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by DC Comics

Thoughout the 1990s, DC published occasional one-off stories under the "Elseworlds" label -- "what if...?" tales envisioning new origins, new ends, or new settings for Superman, Batman, etc. Eventually, DC retired the "Elseworlds" label...but continues to put out Elseworld projects; they just don't call 'em that.

Which brings us to Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier.

After recent "event" projects that make a splash for a month or two, then fizzle out, it may be the first mini-series in years critics have lumped in with The Watchmen, Kingdom Come and the Dark Knight Returns.

Cooke goes back to basics, re-imagining the dawning of the Silver Age of DC Comics, both by setting the characters against the realities of the 1950s time period in a way the original comics couldn't (or wouldn't) -- McCarthyism, bigotry -- and by integrating the DC Universe, with plain clothes heroes like Slam Bradley and the Challengers of the Unknown brushing shoulders with the super heroes. And wrapping it all into a 300 page graphic novel.

A lot of this has been done before. DC inparticular has produced a staggering number of "epics" involving the entirety of their characters (even dating back to Showcase #100 in 1978!) You can't help but feel deja vu here and there. Even the 1950s-era setting has been tackled in JSA: The Golden Age and Martian Manhunter: American Dreams. And that's ignoring the scenes that are meant to be familiar (origins of J'onn J'onzz, Green Lantern, etc.)

And what exactly is Cooke's intent? To imagine if super heroes really existed in 1950s America? -- or just to be a super hero comic but acknowledging the period? Is it a human drama...or a super hero adventure? I read one review that said Cooke was introducing the characters in the chronological order they had appeared in the original comics -- but that doesn't explain a cameo by Zatanna in this 1950s set tale. And though Cooke works in racism and the Ku Klux Klan in a cutaway tale involving a black, hammer-wielding vigilante, it is just that -- a cutaway.

Yet despite my feelings that Cooke doesn't fully establish a consistent "flavour"...New Frontier succeeds more than it doesn't.

It starts out seeming a collection of disparate story lines, having little to do with each other, albeit where Cooke overlaps previously separate lifelines -- such as by having "Ace" Morgan of the Challengers of the Unknown be a friend and mentor to Hal Jordan (soon to be Green Lantern). It's a sprawling tale, cutting between various characters, often in sequences that seem less like an "action" story with a clear narrative thrust, and more like a drama. Yet as the saga unfurls, storylines creep closer together, the lives of the characters become more intertwined, until an apocalyptic menace rears its head and everyone comes together in the final act.

This isn't meant to be part of regular continuity, not the least because of its being set 50 years ago. And whereas nowadays, Superman and Batman are supposed to be part of the second wave of DC's heroes -- here, Cooke has them truer to their publishing history and be well established before this story begins.

Even at 300 pages, selections have to be made: certain characters are "leads", and certain "supporting"...and some appear in glorified cameos. And Cooke's choices are interesting. Superman, Wonder Woman and especially Batman are more supporting players, while front and centre is Hal Jordan, with Cooke beginning Hal's story long before he acquires his power ring. And it's a testament to Cooke's storytelling that he makes Hal a compelling person even without powers. J'onn J'onzz also gets a fair amount of focus. Origin stories, naturally, begin with the character's, well, origin...but knowing what lies ahead, Cooke can indulge in fleshing out the men before the mask.

That's Cooke's greatest strength...the simple, raw, storytelling. He makes the characters come alive and seem real, with quirks and foibles and nuanced perspectives, without becoming mired in self-conscious pretension. There's an easy, natural flow to the scenes, the dialogue, the character exchanges (and amusing banter). Similar projects (James Robinson's The Golden Age) can sometimes try too hard, explaining characters rather than simply letting them be characters. Here there's a nice understatedness to some things, like how seeming steel hearted Colonel Flagg insists a project be named Flying Cloud -- and Cooke leaves it for the reader to connect it back to the saga's opening sequence. Or the way characters and their relationships can evolve.

There's a lot of this that's aimed at the hardcore fanboy who knows the characters. If you don't know them, it still doesn't really affect your understanding of some scenes. (Colonel Flagg heads a Suicide Squad group...but I had no idea whether this was part of existing DC mythology, since the only Suicide Squad I knew of was a super hero comic created in the 1990s, and Colonel Flagg was the name of a recurring character in the sitcom M*A*S*H -- but it's not important to following the story).

But...there's an entire scene set in Las Vegas that will be kind of bewildering if you aren't aware that the characters are super heroes in their alter egos.

But New Frontier genuinely comes across as an epic's epic. A big, sprawly, grandiose achievement that drags you in and immerses you, not just in this story, and the clever way plot threads weave about each other, but in its affection for the stories of old.

Still, the narrative can be a bit erratic. Significant scenes (relevant to the overall plot) can appear...and then not be referenced again for dozens of pages. References are made to a sense of unrest throughout the world...but that's all they are: references, rather than depictions of such.

Cooke makes the human drama/suspense aspect of the story so effective, that when it turns into a big super hero battle for the final act...it's actually a bit of a disappointment. In some such stories the climax can seem short changed. Not so here. But you lose some of the sense of the carefully teased along character development and plot threads. Though Cooke does cleverly evoke 1950s creature features, or even the real life Manhattan Project, as the characters gather in a compound to strategize and work out a plan.

And it does work as an epic confrontation against an awesome menace.

Though curiously, after introducing Hal as an airforce pilot who refused to kill, as if heartedly endorsing the old "heroes don't kill" idea -- Cooke then gives us a climax where he contradicts that with a menace that is of a kill or be killed variety.

I've gone through this whole review without commenting on the art. Yet the art is one of the things that other reviewers single out up front.

Cooke's style is of a simple, cartoony style -- a style that I wouldn't normally be the first to embrace (in fact, in Cooke's Catwoman: Selina's Big Score, I mention a certain ambivalence). But I'll admit, it did work for me here -- quite a bit. Perhaps it's because of the time period. In trying to evoke a 1950s sensibility, Cooke's art -- which at times seems like the love child of Chester Gould and Jack Kirby -- is suitably appropriate. Perhaps it's because, despite the simplicity, Cooke has a deceptively strong eye for composition, in creating scenes that are both dramatic...and dramatically understated. This is a talky saga at times, with a lot of scenes of people in civvy clothes, sitting around, chatting. Scenes that could get dry if visualized wrong. His decision to tell a lot of the saga with each page broken up into three horizontal panels is precisely the sort of miserly thing I often rage against -- but, again, he pulls it off. Despite the simple art style, there's enough detail and background that the images don't feel short changed. And maybe the limited panels aid the story, keeping the pace up.

Cooke is aided quite nicely by colourist Dave Stewart who doesn't get too fancy with the central figures, realizing that a simple colour palette suits the simple art -- yet then provides some richly textured and shaded backgrounds for the actions to play out against.

Just a minor aside: this seems to be on the way to becoming a modern super hero comics touchstone (even adapted into an animated movie!), rich in themes and ambition. And writer/artist Darwyn Cooke is Canadian (there's even a Canadian "in" joke in that a newspaper clipping photograph is credited to Boris Supremo -- a real, award winning Canadian photographer). New Frontier tackles DC's universe, drags it back to its roots, re-imagines and salutes the old school spirit of wholesome heroism while exploring the ills of racism and gun-boat imperialism. It's The Watchmen...minus the nihilistic deconstructionism. The Watchmen was heralded as being the product of British sensibilities brought to an American art form. Yet, curiously, no one seems to regard Cooke's Canadianness as being worth acknowledging -- or as what helped fuel the vision behind New Frontier.

Anyway...

Closing the final pages on New Frontier, I'm conscious of things that didn't quite sit well with me. The climactic act is maybe too long, there are plot threads hinted at that, invariably in such an epic undertaking, get forgotten.

Yet New Frontier works -- as an epic, as a drama, as a grand celebration of all that was wonderful in comics while tempering it with modern worldliness and sophistication (and mild profanity!). The interlocking of plot threads is clever, the characters empathetically realized and shaded -- and some of the fan boy "in" references effective (even as others were lost on me). And the cartoony art absorbing and expressive.

Cooke has crafted an "Elseworlds" story (even if not labelled as such) that manages to take advantage of the freedom inherent in that...without diverging overmuch from the established characters and history. So that it can act as both an "alternate reality"...yet also as an introduction to the characters fans know and love.

And, above all, he's given us a true graphic novel, rich in plot and character.

Cover price: ___

The Deadman Collection 2001 (HC TPB) 354 pages

Written by Arnold Drake, Jack Miller, Neal Adams, Bob Haney, Robert Kanigher. Illustrated by Neal Adams, with Carmine Infantino. Inks by various.
Colours/letters: various. Editor: Jack Miller, Dick Giordano.

Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: various

Reprinting: Strange Adventures #205-216, Brave & the Bold #79, 86, Aquaman #50-52, Challengers of the Unknown #74 (1967-1970)

Published by DC Comics

Cynical circus aerialist, Boston Brand (under the stage name "Deadman"), is murdered in mid-performance, however an Eastern-style supreme deity, Rama Kushna, "The Face of the Universe", grants his ghost a chance to track down his killer, a mysterious man with a hooked hand. Deadman will remain unheard and unseen, but can possess the bodies of living people. Thus empowered, and understandably embittered, Deadman sets out to find the Hook, following various red herrings over the course of 12 issues of Strange Adventures and two of The Brave and the Bold (teaming up with Batman) that invariably led to him helping others, before finally tracking down his killer.

This epic saga -- really a bunch of individual stories, loosely forming a story arc by the search for the Hook -- remains surprisingly fresh, thanks to its off-beat mix of ideas. The series was a blend of crime thriller (as opposed to super-hero adventure, since there were no costumed villains in sight -- an absence that was surprisingly effective), human drama, eerie mysticism with an Eastern flavour, superhero (with Deadman's circus costume providing an appropriately macabre "costume") and, of course, a premise that was a supernatural spin on TV's The Fugitive (with the Hook replacing the One-Armed Man). The circus milieu, though only exploited in a few of the stories, was also wonderfully evocative -- an environment never before or since used as a backdrop for a comic book series. The stories were a mix of anthology, with Deadman sometimes in different locations, dealing with new faces, and on-going series, with periodic returns to the circus and the irregularly used supporting players like Vashnu and Tiny.

Even Deadman himself was an off-beat personality. Hard-boiled and coarse (though with a heart-of-gold, natch), he was middle-aged, weathered (with a broken nose) and, of course, dead. His frustration and rage, often seething below the surface, made him a passionate character and his utter isolation made him one of the most poignant. And his sense of personal mission (though he was easily sidetracked by a sense of altruism into helping others) gave the character and the series a focus and an intensity. And dig that '60s dialogue, baby.

Neal Adams art and unusual panel composition, of course, added a lot to the mood. Adams, admittedly, is an uneven artist, but when he's "on", well, there's a reason he's something of a legend. Though, ironically, it's the first story, by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino (neither of whom did another, though Infantino was given story credit on a couple of other issues) that remains the most memorable, with the characters and scenes vividly realized and Infantino using striking panel composition.

Actually an e-mailer pointed out both Drake and Infantino did work on Deadman again -- Drake wrote a few issues of The Challengers of the Unknown that guest starred Deadman, and Infantino drew a Batman-Deadman team-up as one of the stories in the anniversary Detective Comics #500 (a good issue to track down, though the Deadman team-up was one of the lesser stories).

Though I was familiar with Deadman, I didn't realize the character had ever been a lead feature until I came upon back issues of a 1985 reprint series. I picked up one issue just on a whim, then another, then another -- I was, much to my surprise, hooked. It wwas intended as a slightly more "grown up" series than a lot of DC's comics at the time (I'm not judging, I'm just repeating what I've read) and the uniqueness of the series and its various ideas make it a shame that DC hasn't bothered to re-collect it as a more economical TPB.

This is a review based on the issues reprinted in a mid-'80s reprint series

Cover price: $___ CDN./$71.00 USA.

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