Shazam! #10 – Josie Campbell, Writer; Emanuela Lupacchino, Mike Norton, Artists; Trish Mulvihill, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It’s a new creative team debut, as Josie Campbell takes over for Mark Waid, but Campbell isn’t really a newcomer—she’s been shepherding Mary Marvel’s part of the story for a couple of years now, and manages to neatly fuse that story with the one Waid was building for the entire Shazamily. It’s moving day for the Vasquez family, as they’re moving back into the now-expanded house that was rebuilt by Zeus. While Freddy flirts with the new neighbor, Billy and Mary start noticing something odd about the place. Not only is it larger on the inside than it was on the outside, but it seems to have doors to unusual places—each one a realm belonging to one of the Gods of the previous arc’s pantheon. This is a kinder, funnier version of Zeus than we usually see, as the Greek pantheon’s most famous philanderer seems to be getting back in touch with his humanity—which will no doubt mean many headaches for the family.
If I have a complaint here, it’s rooted in the previous run and the stuff before it—taking away the powers from 4/6 of the family might concentrate the action a little, but it’s resulted in Pedro, Eugene, and Darla having very little to do in the series. But Campbell has a great handle on the sibling dynamic of Billy and Mary, especially with the intriguing subplot of Billy and The Captain becoming further and further apart in personalities, with the Captain even referring to “Billy’s family.” But Campbell is walking a very tight line here, fusing the different sensibilities of two different runs and coming up with something that feels familiar but new. We have some new villains, a new status quo with a lot of potential, and a tone that feels influenced by classic Shazam in the new status quo. And we even get Hoppy and Talky Tawny cameos! What’s not to love about that?
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
