Jem, the truly outrageous, triple-platinum '80s rocker who nearly took down Barbie



Ben Mark's of Collectors Weekly says:

Lisa Hix has just written a wonderful ode to "Jem and the Holograms," which was the number-one cartoon on Sunday mornings in 1986, and whose fashion dolls gave Barbie a run for her money. Heavily influenced by MTV, particularly Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, Jem was the alter ego of Jerrica Benton, a wealthy young philanthropist and businesswoman who moonlighted as a glamorous rock star.Jem tapped into that distinctly '80s flavor of rock-'n'-roll rebellion—she was still a conventionally pretty, blond "good girl," but she had wild hair and makeup in girly shades of fuchsia, purple, pale pink, and powder blue. A new movie, slated for 2016, remakes the character with live actors, and features a dreadfully predictable social-media twist, so enjoy the reruns of the "real," cartoon goodness on Netflix while you can.