Dazzler is hitting the road on what is being set up as her greatest tour ever. The ever-so-colorful Allison Blaire is just one of many mutants affected by the conclusion of the Krakoan era, but instead of sitting on the sidelines and sulking, she’s moving forward with her life in a positive manner. X-Men: From the Ashes is a line-wide relaunch of the X-Men franchise, with new jumping on points, storylines, and creative teams across the board. Dazzler is one of the characters getting her own solo series from writer Jason Loo and artist Rafael Loureiro, and they’re taking the Dazzler show on the road to hopefully unite humanity and mutantkind.
ComicBook spoke to writer Jason Loo about penning Dazzler’s latest adventure and what he has planned for this X-Men: From the Ashes world tour. Loo teased some of the hard lessons Dazzler will learn on the road, the group of mutants who come along with her to provide security and public relations, where the idea of including song lyrics from Dazzler’s notebook in each issue came from, and more. We can also exclusively reveal the first look at the interior pages from Dazzler #1 by Rafael Loureiro.
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Dazzler’s World Tour
ComicBook: After everything that’s happened with the X-Men and mutants at the end of the Krakoan era, why has Dazzler decided now is the time to hit the road for a world tour?
Jason Loo: That’s a really good question. She’s been busy working on new songs through the Krakoan era and now that the new album finally dropped, she hopes her music will unite the humans and mutants within her fanbase. But that idea doesn’t sound as easy as she thinks. She’s going to learn the hard way that she can’t make EVERYONE like her.
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Meet Dazzler’s Roadies
What can you tell us about what each of Dazzler’s supporting cast (Domino, Strong Guy, Multiple Man, Shark-Girl, Wind Dancer) is bringing to the table? Did you get to pick them yourself, or were you given a list of characters to choose from?
They all play an important role on her tour. When I was planning this out with editor Martin Biro, Martin already suggested Domino and Strong Guy as respectively Dazzler’s head of security and roadie. And whenever I work on an X-related title, one of my clauses includes my favorite X-character Multiple Man as part of the book. So he’s the one-man production and security crew along with Domino and Guido. And as for Shark Girl and Wind Dancer? I did a fun X-Men Unlimited Infinity issue with them in a Lila Cheney story. But now I made them part of Dazzler’s crew, with Shark-Girl on drums, and Wind Dancer as Dazzler’s lifestyle/PR manager. I like having continuity within my own work.
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Dazzler Opens Her Notebook to Readers
Whose idea was it to include song lyrics in each issue? And was this just a sneaky way to show off your songwriting skills?
It was my desperate attempt to show the editors that I can write this series. Anxiety got me thinking I was auditioning for Dazzler. I did write an original TV theme song for my Spider-Friend story in Marvel Voices: Spider-Verse, so I thought it was proper to write a new song or songs for every Dazzler issue. I wouldn’t call myself a songwriter, but I did study enough pop lyrics to know the right hooks, and include Dazzler’s story elements. It’s just another way of storytelling.
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Villains
To wrap up, this wouldn’t be an X-Men comic without a cool villain(s) lurking in the background. What threat will Dazzler and her crew have to contend with?
I’m keeping this a surprise as there is a mysterious master saboteur that’s out to ruin Dazzler’s world tour. But we do know the first issue’s villain is Scorpia. I think she carries a bit of that Misfits vibe to Dazzler’s Jem, even if she’s not musically talented. And all these villainous threats are making Dazzler and her fellow mutants look ugly all across the media.
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