Skate On, Dazzler

Saturday I went to my first comic book convention. The crowd was more diverse than I expected, but the typical attendee could roughly be described as Silent Bob. I've always been partial to Spider-Man and had a passing familiarity with the world of comics, mostly because my cousins collected them when we were kids.

But I hardly ever had any myself. One of my cousins explained back in 1981 that if I wanted to get into comics, I should buy issue #1 of a series. To get me started, he gave me an unwanted issue #1 of a new series...Dazzler. I have no idea why my cousin felt that he could part with a comic about a rollerskating girl trying to make it in the big city as a singer, against the wishes of her stern father.

Dazzler's superpowers make Aquaman's ability to talk to fish look downright useful by comparison. Basically, she turns music into light, like a human iTunes visualization. She uses this ability to defeat "goons," who are unable to withstand her "dizzily distorting kaleidoscope of swirling radiance...battering their senses, warping their perceptions and chilling their souls."

I can see why Marvel felt the need to awkwardly insert appearances by Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, and Daredevil (no wait, that last one's an ad for Hostess Fruit Pies). Despite the high-wattage cameos, Dazzler never quite skates into our hearts.

Still, until Saturday, I had never gotten past Dazzler #1. So it was pretty cool when we found Dazzler #1 and Dazzler #2 ("Last Stand in Discoland") for $2. Twenty-five years is a long time for a cliffhanger.

Long-term, things didn't work out too well for Dazzler. Apparently, she did some time in the X-Men, moved to LA, left earth for Mojoworld to fight in a rebellion, showed up as an NPC in a game or two, and recently resurfaced as a punk rocker.

I was surprised that my comic-reading friends were familiar with Dazzler. But just because she hasn't had the big-budget Hollywood treatment (yet) doesn't mean she's destined for obscurity. Dazzler's found her own little niche. Nobody else is beating down goons with "The Tide Is High." And for that, Dazzler, you'll always have my respect.