Classic Marvel Reviews: Analysis of Dazzler #16 and Sensational She-Hulk #37

Exploring the archives of Marvel comics reveals some truly unique storytelling choices and artistic directions. This article examines the specific creative elements found in two classic issues.

Dazzler #16 (1982)

This is a very strange issue. It starts with massive cleavage; apparently, the fact that her breasts are twice the size of her head caused some controversy at the time. Then, Dazzler gets fired from her gig opening for music superstar Bruce Harris and hooks up with a goofy redheaded lawyer. Then, Dazz gets kidnapped by Enchantress and taken to Asgard.

In this story, Odin, instead of just letting her go free, forces her to fight Enchantress in one-on-one combat in order to determine whether it was okay to kidnap Dazzler. Dazzler wins by turning herself into a human bowling ball, which is also weird because she has powers and they don’t include rolling on the floor. It’s not a terrible comic, but it feels like it was written in the 1970s due to its wild plot and strange plot devices. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Bill Siekiewicz is doing fantastic covers on this book; I wish had that original art.

Sensational She-Hulk #37 (1992)

On the cover, John Byrne makes fun of the editorial mandate to include one of the big three in every issue. And then on the splash page, he makes fun of the “cheesecake” elements of She-Hulk by having Living Eraser rub one out on her breasts. People were often critical of Byrne’s tendency to show Shullkie in glamor/revealing poses, especially in a book that’s female-focused and, at least in theory, a vehicle for some level of feminism.

Storywise, Wyatt Wingfoot and She-Hulk return from their romantic trip together last issue to find Living Eraser in her apartment. He teleports them to his own dimension where, She-Hulk learns, she is hailed as a physically perfect woman. So the splash page joke was actually an introduction to the theme of the story. As part of the tale, Eraser erases everything and there are literally two pages that are just white. Nothing else. Until She-Hulk busts through and yells at John Byrne for talking what he did in Alpha Flight many years ago. This represents another solid issue in a struggling series.

Issue Details and Characters

Regarding production details, there was a coloring error that was on the cover of issue #1. In the add for the trade at the end, her neck part of the costume is white, which looks good. On the cover of #1, it is a pale yellow-green. But then again, the same pose/outfit is on the cover of issue #60, which also has the neck piece yellow-green.