''Pizzazz'' was a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinati ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

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 Amy Lynn Carter (born October 19, 1967) is the daughter of the thirty-ninth U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his first lady Rosalynn Carter. Carter entered the limelight as a child when she lived in the White House during the Carter presidency. ...

's life as the President's daughter, a serialized '' Star Wars'' 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 t ...

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

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

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'', '' Roar'' and ''Invasion''. Cassidy currently serves as ...

was featured on six covers, The Hulk appeared on five covers,

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

on four, and

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

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

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

* The movie ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' 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 album that advanced the roles of sound compos ...

'' * ''

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

'' * '' 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 ''Splinter of the Mind's Eye'' is a 1978 science-fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster as a sequel to the film ''Star Wars'' (1977). Originally published in 1978 by Del Rey, a division of Ballantine Books, the book was written with the inte ...

''. 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, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly ...

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American 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 and Al Parker. Early life ...

, and

Tony DeZuniga Antony de Zuñiga (November 8, 1932 – May 11, 2012) who worked primarily under the name Tony DeZuniga, was a Filipino comics artist and illustrator best known for his works for DC Comics. He co-created the fictional characters Jonah Hex and ...

. It was later reprinted by

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

. 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 a German-born 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 ...

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, Storm, Colossus, and Mystique, as well as the antiheroine Black Cat. Cockrum wa ...

, 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 of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...

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