Punch Up: “To Me My ❌-Men”
Chapter Six:
January, March, May, 1983 Dazzler No. 26-28 by Springer, Jusko, Sienkiewicz, Colletta, Yanchus, J. Chiang, Fingeroth + Macchio
Mixtape tracks: Blinder By a Lie by UFO; Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2; & Age of Consent by New Order
Chapter 6 in to me my ❌-Men where Alison has a flashback which bleeds into a dream which bleeds into reality which is that Angel is bleeding on the carpet.
Previously on “to me my ❌-Men”…well relevant to this moment…Angel has flown off to see his girlfriend again and Kitty, Ororo, and Jessica Drew last hung out with Alison after a show. Soooooo….
It would be news to find out that she is on the run with her sister who murdered someone, as can happen with the early stages of mutations.
Joe Jusko reminds us that the early 80’s were firmly part of the 70’s Aesthetics. Decades don’t end overnight. This disco fashion sense of Alison, and the scratchy marks of ink make an illusion of realism that erodes when our eyes escape her face. The lettering provides a precise compliment to the vibes. Janice Chiang’s colors holds the illusion as long as the line work does. Turn out this is not a magazine, or French. It is an American comic book.
We are promised a “beginning,” “the startling secret of Dazzler’s sister,” which is spoiled here on the cover.
AGAINST THE WIND
Beefer, Hunch, Marx, and Alison are on stage in the well rendered background, as violence at gun point commences in the wings stage right. Mr. Leland is in the hands of Bonzo and gang…they are there for the box-office recites. Thanos has nothing on these goons.
Alison tells her band to turn it up a notch, as she noticed the events in the shadows. This distracts from said events, and feeds her mutant power, as she converts the kinetic energy of transduce sonic vibrations into light (visuals, lasers, photon beams, etc…), and stops the robbery.
The before the encore and the pre-after party includes a Scooby-Doo explanation to Mr. Leland, and Alison is joined by the rest of her entourage; talent agent Harry Osgood, his secretary Cassandra Ferlenghetti, body man/manager Lance Steele, and fellow performer Vanessa Tooks, when Lois London approaches. Lois is clearly the focus here. Alison’s half-sister is new to the scene it seems.
Lois heads out as the band returns to the stage to finish out the set. In the ally Lois is aggressively approached by Robert “Slimey” Smith (not the musician), and their desperation and mental status, combine for a tragic outcome. Triggering her mutant abilities for the first time, and releasing upon Robert, her “Death Touch,” which disperses his life-energies, as their skins connect.
This is a romance comic in style, lineage, and marketing. It lives within a superhero genre world. The history of romance comics and superhero comics are the same history. Like the horror, which has always had its own link to romance, beyond medium, superhero comics are an intersection of all genres, that can lean into corners of sci-fi, comedy, tragedy, romance, horror, the avant-garde, etc… Within this breeds confusions about intent (overvalued in my experience), and expanded opportunity in individual interpretations (undervalued in my experience). From the beginning of “to me my ❌-Men,” we wrestle with adults (8-teens, 9-teens, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, perhaps even worse 70’s etc…) depicting kids (13-17) in unsettling, but not necessarily entirely unrealistic contexts. Within this, we can and do focus on who made the work. They are responsible for its existence and they are reflecting many shared realities and fantasies. However, it really is a utility for the audience. And in this framing of the equation, it is on us to wrestle with what we gleam from the art and what it means.
Our best guess is Lois’ is 19 here. But even if she was younger, it would me a mistake to jump to conclusions of form. This is cartooning. Exaggerations are often utilized. However, a voluptuous form is not a sign of age. And Danny Fingeroth has set this off as her wellbeing to be of concern to Alison, as if she is guardian to a kid in this moment, and not in the relationship of equity between the two on maturity. How we read this, exists on a spectrum, and it is up to the individual to put themselves into these contexts and utlise them within them. It is my hope that they reflect honestly and with empathy within themselves here.
This No. 27, Sienkiewicz cover is an all time favorite. That’s the only reason I needed to include it here. But the reality is that the comic fits a handful of themes. The randomness of the spinner rack comics era. We hadn’t really had a solid romance comics aesthetic representation here and Frank Springer really captured the feel and narratives, as he has full control of the writing and penciling here, like a proper cartoonist (no shade on those who singularly craft one of our hats).
I enjoy the flashbacks sequences depiction bleeding into our first Rogue appearance. She is still a “villian” here and it plays to the campiness that fits with the romance genre. And it smartly bleeds into another narrative element that should be read. This sets up what is really going on to a point…only in the issue ends on a perfect comics note, familiar to Venture Bro fans, of an old man and Alison’s sister saying, “you!” at each other, while Angel bleeds on the rug.
