Pizzazz #11 - Marvel

Aug. 1978 - Special Fame Issue!

Once you get past the idea of having Woody Allen next to the Hulk (man, Woody would have been a good Bruce Banner, when you think about it), you can see that this issue of Pizzazz is truly "special", since its a little more thematically focused than previous issues.

Yes, this issue is all about being famous, and all the articles inside relate somehow to that concept. It opens with a piece about the legendary rock club CBGB's:

I have to say, I think its a little surprising to see Patti Smith and Television mentioned in what was supposed to be a kids' magazine. Well done, Pizzazz.

There's a long comic strip segment called "Kid, We're Gonna Make You A Star!", followed by a "A Star Is Born" MadLibs-type thing, a "Now That You're A Star" Game, and "How To Act Like A Star Even If You're Not"--all of which is pitched at a slightly older, more cynical audience, as if (for this issue at least), Pizzazz was going after the Mad audience:

There's no Spider-Man or Marvel-centric puzzle pages this time, and not even an installment of Young Tarzan. Gah! Luckily the Star Wars strip is still here (hey, this was the late 70s--Pizzazz knew where its bread was buttered):

This segment was drawn by Walt Simonson and Klaus Janson, a boffo team.

There's a short piece on Travolta--Joey Travolta, that is, followed by a piece on Great White Sharks (hmm, I guess with the Jaws movies they were sorta famous...), and then a fun, Warren-ish article on sci-fi heroes in the movies:

I like how it makes room for Commando Cody and Captain America, but not other, bigger movie serial stars like Superman and Captain Marvel. I wonder why that would be?

The issue ends with a one-page gig strip, an old "Hey Look" by none other than Harvey Kurtzman! Kind of an odd way to go out, but hey, if you can run something by the legendary Harvey Kurtzman, you do it.


And so ends another issue of Pizzazz--a little disappointed there was no Young Tarzan installment (that and Star Wars are the main reason I'm buying these things), but I'm still determined to pick up more of these old mags. All In Black & White For 75 Cents, you are a harsh mistress.