If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
Marvel's new Dazzler relaunch has an album's worth of songs in the actual comic
Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Alanis Morissette, and now Dazzler.
Popverse's top stories of the day
- Comic creators come together to explain and expose Project 2025's radical plan to reshape American politics if Donald Trump wins re-election
- Triforce Cosplay arrives at New York Comic Con with one mission: to give fans what they want
- DC launches a new webcomic vertical (literally) with DC GO!
Don't call it a comeback, but Marvel's music-minded mutant Dazzler is going on a world tour in her new comic series debuting this week. In the series, she'll be touring with songs based on her adventuresome life in (and out) of the X-Men, and for the series, an actual album's worth of songs was written for it all by series writer Jason Loo (who considers himself Dazzler's tour manager).
"As her tour manager, I think she’s in an introspective phase in her music career. She’s got lots of stories to share through her songs that cover her time in the Marvel Universe," Loo tells AIPT. "And she’s going to perform them at the height of her career with a sold-out world tour… but during a time when it’s NOT popular to be a mutant. New and old fans are going to experience Dazzler with backstage access as she figures out how to entertain everyone while not hiding who she is."
Loo says the writing the songs was difficult ("like another level of solving puzzles from The New York Times"), but for part of it, he's borrowing elements from the music of Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa, among others.
"I’ll first jot down story notes and try to write them in a poetic way. Then I’ll study some rhythmic patterns from Taylor Swift or Dua Lipa’s song lyrics, counting syllables in each verse, and then try to cram those story notes in these very elaborate haikus," says Loo. "It’s a lot of wordplay, finding the right synonyms that will rhyme with the next verse. Then I’ll sing them out loud to see where Dazzler would add her vocal embellishments."
According to series editor Tom Brevoort, this Dazzler book was one of the first ideas his team had when they took over the X-Men line in 2023 - and the comic is "poppy and sparkly and fun!" Among the songs are a few based on Dazzler's romances with the likes of Angel, as well as a touching number on Hank McCoy called 'Beauty in the Beast.'
When asked what Dazzler's music sounds like, Loo says if the musical mutant were a song she'd actually be 'One Hand in my Pocket' by Alanis Morrissette.
"It might not be the song Dazzler would sing herself, but it’s definitely the soundtrack for this run," says Loo.
There are currently no plans to record the Dazzler music, the same way there are no plans to film Dazzler: The Movie - a Marvel OGN from the early '80s.
Dazzler #1 (of 4) debuts September 18, with the collected edition already available for pre-order with a June 10, 2025 release date.
Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:
- Which Secret Wars comic the Russos are basing Avengers 6 off of
- How Marvel Studios is now working "much more closely" to sell Marvel comics
- Where Marvel sees its future audience (and it's not at Marvel, yet!)
- Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
- The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
- Marvel's accidental closure on the Kang storyline
- Phil Coulson is the heart of the MCU (and it's time it starts beating again)
- Captain America: Brave New World provides an unexpected punchline to a Marvel Studios joke Kevin Feige made in 2014.
- Robert Downey Jr. is entering his villain era
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.