1979: DAZZLER - The Record Album?

[imp]

No idea where to post this random history, but…

Going through some old Toy industry magazines while preparing auctions, I came across this joyful little item. Did you know Marvel's Dazzler was supposed to be an honest-to-goodness recording artist?

Maybe this is common knowledge, but I couldn't believe this Licensing tidbit from the September 1979 issue of Toys, Hobbies & Crafts magazine:



Sure enough, Wikipedia confirms this almost-atrocity:

"However, Casablanca continued to request conceptual changes to the character's appearance and personality, leading to several cancellations of the project.[citation needed] Eventually, Casablanca Records backed out of the Dazzler project altogether due to financial concerns."

I thought the character was incredibly absurd, even back in 1981 (although my brothers and I still bought the comic). I can't decide if her being a "real" person would have made the character better or worse…?

My 11-year old KISS-loving self probably would have LOVED this.

[boss]

That seems right up Casablanca's alley.

[monitor_ep]

I knew about this for years and if you think about it, this would have been the first Reality Show. I like the idea but it really boils down to you would have been under the outfit.

[Duncan]

Huh. I had no idea, but now the character makes a lot more sense. Thanks!

[cjefferys]

Yep, Jim Shooter talks more about it on his blog:

http://www.jimshooter.com/2011/07/debut-of-dazzler.html

Casablanca had big plans, they even wanted the project to include a feature film. Of course, it never happened. I always see Casablanca and Neil Bogart as the record company version of Mego and Marty. The two companies' quick rise and falls even happen over similar eras in time (beginning of success in the early/mid 70's, peaking in the late 70's to a crash at the beginning of the 80's).

[spacecaps]

This sounds like MTV's original premise for JEM. Originally she was supposed to be MTV's very own cartoon which would have been on the actualy MTV station (called M) but when the deal fell through, the character was renamed and reinvisioned for a Saturday Mornings network show and instead of record store albums, the figures included cassetts with the figures.

As for Dazzler, I don't know how much a KISS fan would have enjoyed this since it would have been a Disco album. I bet those "financial concers" had something to do with the fact that by the time this project was concieved, Disco was also on the downside and by the time the album would have been made, the genre would have been all but over. They would have had to make Dazzler a New Wave musician to keep with the times.

Also am I the only one that thinks it odd that a man named Bogart teamed up with a company named Casablanca!

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

That's neat! Dazzler is one of them weird, unholy mixes of marketing and story, and it's intriguing to find little snippets of the actual process like that. Here's some more info:

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/04/27/comic-book-urban-legend-revealed-48/

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/06/26/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-161/

Don C.

[imp]

Yep, Jim Shooter talks more about it on his blog:

http://www.jimshooter.com/2011/07/debut-of-dazzler.html

Casablanca had big plans, they even wanted the project to include a feature film. Of course, it never happened. I always see Casablanca and Neil Bogart as the record company version of Mego and Marty. The two companies' quick rise and falls even happen over similar eras in time (beginning of success in the early/mid 70's, peaking in the late 70's to a crash at the beginning of the 80's).

Thanks for the link! That was a great read; the comments section nearly as interesting as the article itself!

[cjefferys]

Also am I the only one that thinks it odd that a man named Bogart teamed up with a company named Casablanca!

Neil Bogart founded Casablanca (after he left Buddah Records), so I have a feeling that he picked the name of his new company for a reason.

[argent007]

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story discusses the crazy creation of the Dazzler. I thought I knew a lot about Marvel, but it was still a great read full of a wacky tidbits and stories.