Knight Terrors: Shazam! #1 – Mark Waid, Writer; Roger Cruz, Penciller; Wellington Dias, Inker; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: We’re in the second week of Knight Terrors now, as our top heroes experience disturbing illusions courtesy of the new villain Insomnia. That’s put some of these books in an odd situation, as they’re forced to take two months off—even with only two issues in the case. That’s the case for Shazam!, which is mid-arc with Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Mora is off, but Waid’s sticking with the title for the tie-in, but with a different Marvel. Mary takes the lead here, and this issue has something unique. It’s the first of these tie-ins that doesn’t feel like some sort of twisted vision or alternate future, but rather like a true nightmare. Mary’s always had to be the responsible one of the family, taking a lot of pressure onto herself, and that’s clear when she starts experiencing her nightmare—starting with a disturbing drought and a mysterious fire that seems to claim the lives of her younger siblings.
That’s just the beginning of Mary’s twisted visions, though, as she seems to catapult from one nightmare to another—often without clear indications of when she’s awake and asleep. There are some recurring themes, such as Billy and Black Adam seeming to be the same person, but it keeps us on our toes. Mary also starts to transform in her sleep, calling down the thunder on the house, until her parents decide to take her to a sleep clinic. But there are some very strange things in this segment as well, as no matter where Mary turns, there are disturbing visuals. Bugs being stewed for breakfast, clinics turning into nightmare asylums, etc. It really puts Mary through the wringer, almost too much in a sadistic segment towards the end of the issue. While this is way too dark for what I like out of this franchise, that’s kind of being a running issue for years, and it’s still good to see Mary get the spotlight.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
