I love the original Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family. Love them. After being introduced to the Captain in SHAZAM! no. 1 in 1973, I read every reprint of their Golden Age adventures I could get ahold of. To be honest, the '70s material couldn't hold a candle to the older Marvel Family stuff—until artist Don Newton joined writer E. Nelson Bridwell on the series, which moved to the back of World's Finest Comics after its cancellation. Some attempts were made to resurrect the characters over the years—most notably Jerry Ordway's excellent Power of SHAZAM! graphic novel and monthly series, as well as Captain Marvel's prominent roles in Mark Waid and Alex Ross's Kingdom Come and Geoff Johns's JSA, but the Marvel Family was always retired to a back room—or worse. Poor Mary Marvel. I just can't talk about that travesty of inflicting trendy, modern sensibilities on a classic character without getting angry.That said, I went into Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Shazam! with no small amount of trepidation—primarily because the decision had been made to change the character's name from Captain Marvel to Shazam "since that's what everybody calls him anyway." I don't. I never have. Probably never will—even though I'm supposed to now. Are there things I don't like about the New 52 Shazam! trade paperback, which collects the backup series from Justice League? Sure, but, for the most part, I really enjoyed it. Johns and Frank make Billy Batson, Cap—er, Shazam's alter ego, a bit of a jerk, but that makes him a prime candidate for redemption—especially when he's juxtaposed with the evil wielder of the lightning, Black Adam. Then, there are the foster siblings Billy gains when he's welcomed into the Vasquez family. Prime fodder for characterization. Think any Spielberg film with a group of plucky, precocious kids.And, hey, there's Dr. Sivana and his pursuit of magic to heal his ailing family—whom we never see. The stuff of future storylines, I suspect—along with the disappearance of Billy's parents.Essentially, it's all there: an old wizard, a magic word, lightning, super-powers, family, a tiger, a mad scientist, a powerful super-villain, the Seven Deadly Sins—just in some new ways. Heck, there's even some whimsy, a hallmark of the Golden Age Marvel Family's adventures.Billy's jerkiness is a bit overdone just to make his turn-around all the more dramatic, but it works. Too, Cap—er, Shazam's costume is a bit too detailed, but Frank's artwork is stunning. In short, good book! I'm ready for more! A wonderful reimagining of Billy Batson's origin, taking him from a troubled teen to the world's Mightiest Mortal in the space of 200 pages. The evolution of the character and the introduction of his new family are well done, as are the new interpretations of some of the classic parts of his origin. There are some plot threads left hanging, meaning that there's room for a second series or a proper ongoing should DC decide to do it, but this volume stands alone quite well and introduces Shazam to the New 52 very well. Gary Frank's art is on top form, and he doesn't give everyone strange noses like he tends to do (See: Superman Secret Origin where everyone has Christopher Reeves' nose, even characters who aren't Superman), so I see no reason not to give this book the full five stars, considering how much I enjoyed it.
What do You think about Shazam!, Vol. 1 (2013)?
Artwork was great, story was too childish. Felt a bit rushed
—SAG
A nice redo of the old superhero, DC's Captain Marvel!
—kimG
