Pizzazz

Pizzazz was a United States magazine published by Marvel Comics between 1977 and 1979. It was designed as a youth-oriented entertainment publication rather than as a conventional superhero comic, combining coverage of popular movies, rock and pop performers, television, and celebrity culture with comic strips, puzzles, advice, and reader-participation features. The magazine ran for 16 issues before being discontinued. Its editorial mix reflected the late-1970s media environment, when film, music, television, and comic-book fandom increasingly overlapped. Subjects covered in the magazine included the original Star Wars film, Grease, Meat Loaf, the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Battlestar Galactica, and Superman: The Movie. The covers alternated between photographs of celebrities and highly realistic illustrations featuring entertainers or Marvel characters. Shaun Cassidy appeared on six covers, while the Hulk appeared on five, Spider-Man on four, and Peter Frampton on three. Pizzazz also served as a venue for original and reprinted comic material. Its recurring features included a comic centered on Amy Carter, the daughter of President Jimmy Carter; a serialized Star Wars story; and a one-page closing comic by Harvey Kurtzman, often using a "Hey Look!"-style piece originally associated with Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics. Other regular departments included "Dream Dimensions," which interpreted readers' dreams, and the advice column "Dear Wendy." A later recurring feature hid the names of readers who had written to the magazine within a full-page illustration of a crowded scene. The magazine is particularly notable in Star Wars publishing history. Its 1977 serialized stories included "The Keeper's World," written by Roy Thomas with art by Howard Chaykin and Tony DeZuniga, followed by "The Kingdom of Ice," created by Archie Goodwin, Walt Simonson, Klaus Janson, Dave Cockrum, and John Tartaglione. These stories preceded Marvel's principal Star Wars comic series and the 1978 novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, making them among the earliest original Star Wars narratives published in print rather than direct adaptations of the film. The planned concluding chapters were not published in Pizzazz because the magazine ended after issue 16; they later appeared through Marvel UK in Star Wars Weekly. Although Pizzazz had a brief run and did not become a long-term periodical franchise, its combination of celebrity journalism, Marvel properties, licensed entertainment, reader interaction, and experimental comics illustrates Marvel's effort to reach the broader youth-culture market during the late 1970s.

Pizzazz was created by Marvel Comics during a period when the publisher was extending its reach beyond standard comic books and experimenting with magazines aimed at wider youth and entertainment audiences. Published from 1977 to 1979, the title ran for 16 issues. Its editorial concept was built around the intersection of popular culture and comics: readers could find articles about films, music, television, and celebrities alongside comic strips, puzzles, advice, and reader-driven features. The magazine's subjects reflected the entertainment landscape of the late 1970s. Coverage included Star Wars, Grease, Meat Loaf, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Battlestar Galactica, and Superman: The Movie. The covers used either celebrity photography or realistic illustrated portraits of entertainers and Marvel superheroes. Shaun Cassidy was featured most frequently among the named celebrities, while the Hulk and Spider-Man were prominent Marvel cover subjects. This approach positioned Pizzazz between a fan magazine, a general youth publication, and a comics periodical. Pizzazz's regular contents gave it a distinctive format. One feature presented a comic about Amy Carter, the daughter of the sitting U.S. president. Another recurring attraction was a serialized Star Wars comic. The magazine also carried a final-page comic by Harvey Kurtzman, commonly drawing on a "Hey Look!" format connected to the earlier Timely Comics era. Reader-oriented departments included Dream Dimensions, which interpreted submitted dreams, and Dear Wendy, an advice column. Once the format was established, the publication also ran crowded full-page illustrations that concealed the names of readers who had written letters to the magazine. The Star Wars material became the title's most historically significant contribution. The first serialized arc, The Keeper's World, was written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Howard Chaykin and Tony DeZuniga. It was followed by The Kingdom of Ice, associated with Archie Goodwin, Walt Simonson, Klaus Janson, Dave Cockrum, and John Tartaglione. These were original stories rather than straightforward adaptations of the film. They therefore predated both Marvel's better-known Star Wars comic series and the 1978 novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye. The cancellation of Pizzazz after issue 16 interrupted the serial: its final two planned chapters were scheduled for later issues but instead appeared in Marvel UK's Star Wars Weekly, with the concluding material published there in 1979. Pizzazz did not survive beyond the late 1970s, and there is no indication in the available reference material that it developed into an ongoing magazine line or independent corporate brand. Its legacy rests primarily on its unusual mixture of youth-culture journalism, Marvel characters, reader participation, and early original Star Wars comics. The short run also makes it an example of Marvel's period experimentation with magazine formats and licensed entertainment properties.

• 1979

  Publication ends after 16 issues

  [1]Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org

  Pizzazz is canceled after issue 16, leaving two planned Star Wars chapters to be published later in Star Wars Weekly.

• 1978

  The Kingdom of Ice serial appears

  [1]Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org

  A second original Star Wars story arc, The Kingdom of Ice, is serialized in the magazine.

• 1977

  Magazine begins publication

  [1]Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org

  Marvel Comics launches Pizzazz as a youth-oriented magazine covering popular movies, music, television, celebrities, comics, and puzzles.

• 1977

  Original Star Wars serial begins

  [1]Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org

  Pizzazz publishes The Keeper's World, one of the earliest original Star Wars stories in print and a work that preceded Marvel's main Star Wars comic series.

A late-1970s youth-culture magazine blending celebrity and entertainment coverage with Marvel-related comics, licensed properties, puzzles, and reader participation.

• Youth entertainment magazine · 1977

  Pizzazz magazine

  A 16-issue Marvel Comics magazine published from 1977 to 1979. It combined coverage of movies, music, television, and celebrities with comic strips, serialized Star Wars stories, puzzles, advice, dream interpretation, and reader-participation features. Its covers featured popular entertainers and Marvel superheroes, while its comics content included work by creators such as Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin, Harvey Kurtzman, Archie Goodwin, and Walt Simonson.

• 1979

  Cancellation of PizzazzOther

  Background

  The magazine had published 16 issues and was carrying an incomplete serialized Star Wars story.

  Action taken

  Marvel ended publication rather than issuing the planned seventeenth and eighteenth installments.

  Aftermath

  The remaining Star Wars chapters were later published by Marvel UK in Star Wars Weekly.

  Source

• 1979

  Pizzazz ends publication after 16 issues[1]Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Marvel discontinued Pizzazz after its sixteenth issue. Two planned concluding chapters of its Star Wars serial were subsequently published in Marvel UK's Star Wars Weekly.

• 1977

  Marvel launches Pizzazz as a youth-culture entertainment magazine[1]Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Marvel Comics introduced Pizzazz as a magazine aimed at young readers, combining popular-movie and music coverage with comics, puzzles, advice, and other reader-oriented features.

• 1977

  Pizzazz publishes early original Star Wars comic stories[1]Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Other

  The magazine began publishing original serialized Star Wars stories, including The Keeper's World and later The Kingdom of Ice. These stories appeared before Marvel's principal Star Wars comic series and the 1978 novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye.

1. 1Pizzazz (magazine)en.wikipedia.org