Shazam! #8 – Mark Waid, Writer; Goran Sudzuka, Artist; Ive Svorcina, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Mark Waid is leaving after next issue, making way for Josie Campbell (who has done quite a bit of Shazam-related content herself) as he and Dan Mora head off to an unknown large-scale project. So it’s a pretty good decision that these final two issues feel like they’ll deal with smaller-scale stories. Last issue, a series of misunderstandings between Shazam, Black Adam, and the race of bureaucrat dinosaurs led to the Vasquez house getting destroyed in a battle—which, as it turns out, could not only leave the Vasquez family homeless but lead to them being split apart. Black Adam initially seems unconcerned with Billy’s problems and flies off back to Khandaq, and Billy is determined to fix his mistake. There’s just one problem—the dinosaurs are ready to escalate, threatening to destroy Earth if their auditor isn’t returned to be punished for his failure in getting Billy to fill out paperwork.
Despite this story being rather ridiculous, there’s a strong emotional core to it that was sorely missing from the recent movies, nicely contrasting Billy’s power with his emotional immaturity. It also allows Darla (the breakout character of the new Marvels) to shine, both in her initial anger and in her… unconventional solution to distracting the dinosaurs long enough to save the day. Billy’s final hope takes him back to the Rock of Eternity for a parlay with the Gods, seeking Zeus’ help and finding it thanks to an unlikely ally. Waid has done a great job with this run combining the characters of the modern version with the style of the more iconic Silver Age version. I wish he had more time to explore this world—the ending hints at one more big, wacky adventure before Waid departs—but there’s no question that this was the Shazam version that got the most right since well before the New 52.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
