Shazam! #17 – Josie Campbell, Writer; Dan McDaid, Artist; Roberto Poggi, Inker; Trish Mulvihill, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The first issue of the All In era of Shazam didn’t quite hit for me, presenting a new status quo that cast a dark pall over the Vasquez family. The parents’ plan to adopt their many foster kids was on hold due to Billy’s birth mother contesting it, and Freddy had his powers back – but seemed to be primarily driven by ego now, showboating and using it for celebrity. Billy and Freddy were increasingly at odds, with Billy starting to doubt his place in the family. It seemed off – because it was. This issue makes very clear that something is seriously wrong with Freddy and his new Amber Lightning – and it’s only getting worse. He’s even signed on with a shady new tech company to be their personal promotional hero, as the company starts to sweep all the homeless out of Philadelphia for some nefarious purpose – with the family’s own Uncle Marvel in the middle of it all.
As Freddy becomes increasingly distant from the rest of the family, dealing some nasty low blows to Billy in the process, Mary and Hoppy decide to investigate the company that seems to have some ties to her personal arch-nemesis. It becomes a bizarre descent into danger and surreal villains, and we barely start to scratch the surface of what’s really going on here. The most interesting part of the issue was definitely Billy’s subplot, though, as he and the Captain have a confab in the Rock of Eternity to try to get to the bottom of things. It’s been interesting to see these two slowly develop a new working relationship, and it leads them to another mythological figure we didn’t know was hanging around the rock – Hephaestus. The ancient Forge-master was once exiled from Olympus due to his disability and tried to win his way back by impressing Zeus – and may have created more than he was ready for. Very intriguing twists in this issue as we seem to be back on track.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
