Shazam! #1 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: There has been a lot of upheaval for Billy Batson and the rest of the Shazam crew over the last few years, with Billy’s powers going wrong and leaving him trapped in the Rock of Eternity over in Teen Titans Academy. Mary then took over as the sole bearer of the power for a while in an acclaimed miniseries by Josie Campbell and Evan Shaner, but as of Lazarus Planet, Billy is once again in charge of the powers (Mary has her own unique set, untethering her from Billy’s powers for the first time, but she doesn’t appear in this issue). Now, spinning out of his work on World’s Finest, Mark Waid is giving Shazam his new definitive series. Billy is once again the only power-wielder, leaving his four foster siblings—including Freddy—out in the cold. However, while the general status quo of Shazam since the New 52 remains, Wait is bringing back some old-school energy—including Talky Tawny now being the Vasquez family’s housekeeper.
Despite the mythology-building in this issue, Waid smartly keeps the focus on Billy as he flies from one adventure to another. The opening, involving Billy wrestling a rogue dinosaur—who turns out to be a child of a family of spacefaring intelligent dinosaurs—is ridiculous in the best way possible. Waid also does an excellent job of answering the question of just why Billy still transforms back into his younger, weaker form regularly. There’s a distinct similarity to Superman here, exploring just why the most powerful hero around still keeps himself grounded. Of course, this issue wouldn’t be complete without a threat, and while we don’t see the villain’s identity just yet, it seems like it might be spinning out of the recent Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods—as some powerful figures aim to humble Shazam and destroy him in the eyes of the people he serves. So far this is yet another example of just why Waid is so perfectly suited for DC heroes.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
