From the Margins of the Big Two

Author's Note: I have a slew of theories and ideas and observations from in and around the comic book world that I have been trying to grapple with for a while. I don' really want this specific forum to turn into a comics-only place for stuff, but i need to write some of this stuff down, and this seems like the best place for right now. This will keep me satisfied for a while, and hopefully I can get back to typing up observations of life's minutiae like this site's original purpose (I'm guessing, since I can't remember the exact wording I had in my head back in 2012.

I have an entire blog devoted to the indie world of comics called Beyond the Big Two, where Marvel and DC are today's Big Two.

But because that's "Beyond...", I feel silly about putting ideas and WTF-moments from Marvel and DC on that website.

In any case, today I present two mostly WTF-characters, one each from DC and Marvel, and the two separate trajectories the characters have taken over the years.

The First:

How Did We Get Here?

I'm highlighting DC's Animal Man, a WTF-character is ever there were one. Despite his power---being able to harness and mimic the powers of nearby animals---he is somewhat beloved today.

That's a pretty silly power, and yet, in the right hands, you get something like this, Animal Man #5 from 1988, often put on the short-list for "Greatest Single Issue Ever:"

It is a phenomenal issue. But how did we get here?

Animal Man first appeared in the 1965 and bounced around five, non-consecutive issues of Strange Adventures:

I assume it was hard for house writers to find much to do with the character. He wasn't seen again until 1980, with consecutive issues of Wonder Woman, and two other consecutive pairs of books later in the '80s, bot starring Superman:

And that's it. Just ELEVEN APPEARANCES. An obscure DC character with which few writers felt compelled to do anything.

Enter Grant Morrison, young writer from Scotland trying to catch the attention of either the major publishers in America. His proposal for the obscure Animal Man was accepted, and Morrison became part of the 1980s "British Invasion" of the comic scene.

That's how we get here: mostly bizarre and obscure character is handed over to young visionary writer who's given free reign over said obscure character.

Animal Man launched Morrison's major US presence, and from there he was given Doom Patrol duties, and eventually the rest became history. Animal Man is a cult hero, almost exclusively because of Grant Morrison.

Look at how influential Morrison's first issue was, when compared to mini-series "Last Days of Animal Man" from 2009, 21 years later:

The beloved-ness extends to whom, possibly, the character is later given. Here's the most recent incarnation, the first and last issue from 2011-2014, part of the New 52 boondoggle. The writer? One of the few that today could be considered analogous to Morrison in the 1980s, Jeff Lemire:

The Second:

Record Executive: "...and make her look like Bo Derek."

Marvel Executive: "...okay, we make that change..."

Now we're getting somewhere with the WTF-ness.

Originally planned as a joint creation of Marvel and Casablanca Records, the idea was a mutant that was also a disco queen. It would be great! She'd be able to sell comics, records, and maybe even get a movie made.

At first the Marvel guys (John Romita Jr) were using Grace Jones as their template, but she turned out to be too black for Casablanca. They wanted a Bo Derek-type so they could cast Bo Derek in the movie.

Thus, the creation of the Dazzler:

Beyond making light shows---manipulating light using her mutant powers---I'm not quite sure what kind of crime-fighting she does.

By day she's a singer, originally a disco star, but she eventually moved on into other genres as time went on. I put that in italics because it seems very odd to me that this character, quickly abandoned by the record company, got her own title, and stuck around for a few years.

As you can see, she went through three separate title designs in the five years her books were coming out:

I'm all for girl comics and girl power, and this is exciting because in 1980, when the title first appeared, there weren't too many female lead characters.

I also find it odd that Dazzler shows up on multiple lists for "Worst Character Ever."

She doesn't seem to have a huge cult following, but she was liked well enough somewhere in the Marvel offices, since they brought her back in both 2015 and 2016 to be on the A-Force team, an Avengers-like group made up of only women.

Can you find her in the first book? She mostly looks the same. In the second book, she's behind She-Hulk on the left, in the turquoise dress with short dark hair, her image having been updated.