''Pizzazz'' was a

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

from 1977 to 1979, for a total run of 16 issues. Aimed at youth culture, ''Pizzazz'' mostly contained articles about popular movies, rock stars, et cetera, as well as comic strips and puzzles.

Recurring features included a comic about Amy Carter's life as the President's daughter, a serialized ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' comic, and a one-page comic by

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...

(typically a "Hey Look!" piece done for the Marvel predecessor

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

in the 1940s) on the last page. Regular columns included the reader dream-analyzing "Dream Dimensions" and the advice column "Dear Wendy"."Like Being Bored?", ''Pizzazz'' house ad featured in Marvel Comics publications (May 1978). Once the magazine was established, a regular feature was a full-page illustration of some crowded scene in which the names of readers who had written letters to the magazine were hidden. The covers showed either photos of popular celebrities, or photo-realistic drawings of celebrities and/or Marvel superheroes.

Shaun Cassidy Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including ''American Gothic (1995 TV series), American Gothic'', ''Roar (1997 TV series ...

was featured on six covers,

The Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

appeared on five covers,

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

on four, and

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

on three. Topics mentioned in the magazine included (but were not limited to): * The original ''

'' film * '' Grease'' *

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

* The film ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

'' * ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

'' * '' Superman: The Movie''

Serialized ''Star Wars'' stories

The 1977 installments of the serialized ''Star Wars'' comic featured in ''Pizzazz'' are the first original ''Star Wars'' stories not directly adapted from the films to appear in print form, preceding both the original stories in Marvel's ''Star Wars'' comic series and the 1978 novel '' Splinter of the Mind's Eye''. The first story arc, titled "The Keeper's World", was by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an Americans, American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett an ...

, and Tony DeZuniga. It was later reprinted by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

. The second story arc, entitled "The Kingdom of Ice", was by Archie Goodwin,

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...

Klaus Janson Klaus Janson (born January 23, 1952) is an American comics artist, working regularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics and sporadically for independent companies. While he is best known as an inker, Janson has frequently worked as a penciller and co ...

Dave Cockrum David Emmett Cockrum (; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006) was an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler (character), Nightcrawler, Storm (Marvel Comics), Storm, Colossus (character), Colos ...

, and

John Tartaglione John Tartaglione (January 14, 1921 – November 12, 2003),'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 a.k.a. John Tartag and other pseudonyms, was an American comic book artist best known as a 1950s romance-comics artist; a Marvel ...

. The final two chapters were scheduled to be printed in issues #17 and #18, but the magazine was canceled after the 16th issue. These two chapters were printed, along with the rest of the story, by

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...

in their '' Star Wars Weekly'' comic, appearing in issue #60 in April 1979.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Pizzazz''
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics Monthly magazines published in the United States Comics based on Star Wars Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Howard Chaykin Comics by Roy Thomas Comics by Walt Simonson Defunct magazines published in the United States Fanzines Magazines about comics Magazines established in 1977 Magazines disestablished in 1979 Marvel Comics titles Comics magazines published in the United States

Contents

Serialized ''Star Wars'' stories

See also

References

External links