Comic Book Review - Dazzler #2
Alison and her entourage head to London for the next stop of their tour, but someone has other plans…
Dazzler is the one ‘From The Ashes…’ comic that surprised me. While the post-Krakoa narrative has so far centred on two separate X-Men teams, Wolverine, Mystique, and the new Sentinels, Dazzler wasn’t a character I’d have expected to steal the limelight of this new era. Even though we’re still dealing with the opening act to Jason Loo and Rafael Loureio’s series, Dazzler has so far been the fun side to the all-encompassing ‘From The Ashes…’ narrative umbrella.
Taking place straight after her eventful concert in L.A., Alison heads straight backstage and wants answers from Scorpia. The wayward mutant doesn’t give up any names as to who hired her, but she does let slip that someone wants Dazzler’s concerts to fail. As Multiple Man takes Scopia off to the awaiting authorities, Alison has a catch-up with her beau, Dale, to then reveal that she’s off to London on the next stop of her album tour.
In keeping things fresh, Loo has Dazzler dealing with those pesky talk shows that seem to love getting into the nitty gritty of interviewing their guests, with failed attempts of comedy thrown in. Think less Parkinson and more Graham Norton and you’ll get the gist of what host James Bristol is about. As the interview progresses it’s clear that Bristol is more interested in asking Dazzler about the current discord that surrounds the mutants, rather than focusing on promoting her tour.
Loo does wonders with conveying the unease across this interview as through Bristol he touches upon Dazzler’s music not being human-appropriate and even slides towards xenophobia as Bristol makes some remarks about Shark Girls' appearance. It works extremely well and shows that while Alison Blaire is a hit musician, she’s still being treated as a minority.
It’s not long before the action begins as yet another attack happens on the television studio. I won’t go into detail but it’s quite a step up from the fight with Scorpia. Loureio’s art shines here, and the whole battle does wonders in highlighting how powerful Dazzler’s powers are, whilst simultaneously fitting sound into the proceedings. It’s these powers that have been the real scene stealers from the last couple of issues. Everything is a neon-soaked light show that taps into the glam rock feel of the 80’s. The full-page scene of Dazzler’s powers exploding is a great example of this. Not only does the illustration jump straight from the page, but it also shows the degree of control that Alison has over her mutant powers.
Overall this second issue continues to shine as Loo and Loureio start to flesh out the coming challenges for Dazzler and her entourage. While this issue doesn’t feature any named villains, it is full of impactful elements that bring a touch of the character's golden era, whilst bringing her into this unknown post-Krakoa universe. The inclusion of yet another song is again interesting and does fit into the narrative of this issue well. With only two issues left of this miniseries, I’m eagerly awaiting to see what comes next.
Rating: 8/10
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