Shazam! #4 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This series has been chaotic fun since the beginning, but there actually is a very serious plot behind the scenes—with the Gods that gave Billy his powers initially turning against him and asserting their power to influence him. This has led Billy to make reckless decisions—including the one he’s in now, pursuing a lead from Gorilla City that takes him to the moon, where he confronts a pompous alien emperor plotting to conquer Earth while in thrall to Queen Bee. But of course, Gorilla City can’t always be trusted either, and it soon turns out that Billy has been deceived and Queen Bee might be pulling the strings the whole time. But before he can act on it, the Queen starts seducing him as well—a hilariously awkward segment, given that Billy is a kid. A gorilla invasion only ups the stakes, as the moon explodes in pages of Dan Mora’s trademark Silver Age chaos.
But on Earth, Billy’s not the only one affected by the Gods. Freddie got a little too close to them and had his memories erased, but as it becomes clear that the Gods are putting Billy in danger, one God steps in to interfere and restore the natural order of things. The non-powered Shazam kids, of course, are in trouble of their own—dealing with a mountain of paperwork courtesy of a mercurial dinosaur lawyer. That’s just the kind of book this is. But the stakes are high this issue, with a tense cliffhanger that leaves Billy deeply vulnerable—thanks to one of the few circumstances that could neutralize his magic word. This is still a version of Shazam very much inspired by the New 52 version, but somehow it feels different. It’s clear Waid and Mora are heavily inspired by the characters original fantastical world, and the more they bring that sensibility to the DCU, the better.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
