Shazam! #21 – Josie Campbell, Writer; Dan McDaid, Penciller; Roberto Poggi, Inker; Trish Mulvihill, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: DC has sort of been stealth-ending a few series lately, wrapping them up without announcing it in solicits. This is one of them, and while I’m sad to see Josie Campbell’s take on the characters end prematurely, I’m also intrigued by what will come next for both writer and characters. But before that, there’s still a lot to wrap up – as Mister Mind has returned, and is working with Georgia Sivana to project his mind control across all of Fawcett City. And they have another ally too – Beau, the girl who Billy was infatuated with, has turned out to be a manipulator with a secret of her own. With Mister Mind now inhabiting a body that served him much better, he commands an army and is finally ready for the revenge he’s been looking for – and he’s soon got the upper hand on everyone, with Billy and Freddie captured and Mary presumed dead since two issues ago.
I’m not sure how far in advance the series ending was announced, because there’s a lot to wrap up in this issue and the special issue last month meant one less issue to do it in. So the Shazam family returning and turning the tide of battle is mostly achieved in a double-page spread, albeit one that delivers both visually and in terms of some fantastic dialogue. The issue also finds time to resolve the conflict between Billy, his birth mother, and the new family he’s found in an interesting way that nicely sums up the story’s themes of what family really means. I am a little surprised by how much is left unresolved in this series, though – the villains are still on the loose for the most part, and three members of the Shazam family still haven’t gotten their powers back. Both Waid and Campbell did a strong job of following up on the work Johns did, but I wonder if DC will want to go back to some of the more classic elements with the next take, given the fate of the movie series.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
