Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #1
Creator: Jeff Smith
Company: DC Comics
Captain Marvel has been hit or miss for me for years now. I’ve disliked how he was used in most books. Kingdom Come used him well. JSA has occassionally used him well. That’s really about it. The reason is because most writers can’t seem to figure out what makes him different than Superman. Does the DC Universe need both Captain Marvel and Superman? Not really, no. But if you are going to have both, remember what makes them different- Captain Marvel is a child. Sure, he has the wisdom of Solomon. The courage of Achilles. The power of Zeus. But at heart, he’s a kid. Kids just naturally look at the world differently than adults. They have fewer inhibitions. You can’t write a kid like you do an adult.
And Jeff Smith gets that. Oh, man does he get it. That’s what makes this such a great read. Billy Batson acts like a kid. Captain Marvel acts like the noble but somewhat naive hero that makes him so endearing. Things in Jeff Smith’s Shazam exude childlike wonder. A train to the Rock of Eternity just seems magical. The statues of the Seven Deadly Sins grimace and loom with the menace that someone three feet tall would see them having. When the top of the Rock of Eternity is forbidden to Billy, that’s a direct challenge to go up there. And what kid hasn’t dreamed of flying like Billy and Captain Marvel do, through a primordial stream of color?
Smith’s cartoony art style fits this story perfectly. It adds directly to that sense of wonder in a way that a more realistic style would not. In fact, I think a more realistic style would actually detract from the emotional impact this issue delivers. Smith delivers a great sense of motion and excitement in every panel, such that each one seems charged with its own energy. when you mix that kind of kinetic art with the spectacular writing he also delivers, you get a book to be treasured for years.
This is a book I’m happy to share with friends of all ages, and I’m hoping DC picks up on the idea of Captain Marvel as a kind of ‘kid’s kid’ for use in all ages books.
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I am not a big DC Fan, much less a Captain Marvel Fan. In fact, the little I do know of him was mostly based on reading Kingdom Come. I decided to pick this book up based on a few positive reviews I have read.
This book does not disappoint.
The art and story are wonderful. The panel that really hit me was when young Billy asks the Wizard “are you God?” Powerful stuff. A great fun read. I am hooked on this series.
The other thing that struck me is that this character (if done right) would be perfect for a kid themed super hero movie.
Anyway, a great issue and a nice diversion from all of the ’serious’ books out there. If you are not reading it, pick it up now!
13 Feb 2007 at 2:42 pm
QuoteI agree with Tyler and Dan. Great reading for all ages. A shame it is only a miniseries. This is the kind of comic book I would give to anyone who has ever shown interest on comics but never hopped on the train.
14 Feb 2007 at 8:48 am
QuoteThe price point is keeping me away. I’m a huge GL fan, and passed on the recent Guy Gardner mini for the same reason. Why does DC release so many books in the overpriced Prestige format? Maybe once it’s collected…
14 Feb 2007 at 11:07 am
QuoteYou know, Primate, I’m in complete agreement with you on this. I don’t know why DC decides to do so many Prestige title books. I’m not really a fan of the format and it’s my thought, or maybe my wish, that it would be better for them to just do an original graphic novel (for Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil, it would have to be a hardcover) and that be it. Yes, it would be more expensive, somewhere around the $20-25 mark, which is a good chunk of money, but for me it would be a much more satisfying experience.
14 Feb 2007 at 1:30 pm
QuoteI just read this with my 7 year old girl. She loved it! As we were reading it, we got to the first page with the Wizard, sitting on his throne next to the globe and flame. I asked my daughter who she thought he was and she said, “Is he God?” Shivers, baby. I had covered up the page with Billy asking the same question, too. She responded so closely to how Billy was responding to everything it was great. I think did a great job capturing the wide-eyed view of a child with enough grit and weight to the story to keep it from floating away.
My daughter couldn’t have been more excited when we finished. She was also terribly upset that we had to WAIT for the NEXT issue!
I think I have budding comic reader who is just getting into the idea and fun on serialized entertainment. The only negative to this story is now she wants to read more and, sadly, their ain’t a lot of good all-ages superhero fare. I know that Marvel Adventures has been recommended and, while good, I don’t know if they will interest her in the same way Shazam! has. That captured the fun superhero vibe but also something a bit deeper that…well, I can’t quantify but it resonates with her and inspires her imagination. She was in bed as I was tucking her in and she was muttering “Shazam!” under her breath. Reading a “wacky” Spidey vs. Green Goblin just doesn’t get that sort of reaction. Shazam! invoked in her the kind of response Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe did when we first read that with her. There was a similar wardrobe in my mom’s house and it held a bit of reverence and hope that someday it, too, might open a passage to Narnia. Marvel Adventures just didn’t capture that.
Anyway, can’t wait for Smith’s follow up. And now I want to read his “Bone” comics. Are those appropriate for youngsters?
15 Feb 2007 at 7:56 pm
QuoteAbsolutely! Haven’t read nearly as much Bone as I’d like, but I’ve read enough to know that it’s definitely an all-ages comic book.
15 Feb 2007 at 9:00 pm
QuoteFil, if your daughter enjoyed Chronicles of Narnia *and* Jeff Smith’s Shazam!, you must start reading Bone to her as soon as possible. The color volumes are only up to volume five, so you’ve got the waiting problem, but if she’s OK with black and white, you can get the whole thing now.
But trust me… if she was a Narnia fan and she likes Smith’s stuff… Bone may be her favorite comic ever.
15 Feb 2007 at 10:04 pm
QuoteRandy and Tomas, thanks for the advice. I was looking at some art and story samples I found online and they look like they could be *MY* favorite comic ever! I am heading out for my weekly comics today and there is a good chance I will have a book or two of Bone, as well. Very fun. The samples really show a mix of styles that I can’t wrap my head around but I assume in a long-story form the comic strip mixed with high fantasy makes more sense.
Thanks a bunch!
16 Feb 2007 at 6:40 am
QuoteI LOVE this comic. It is the best comic DC has put out in the last two years. I can actually feel what young billy is going through and it is so wonderfully fantastical and truly mythic in theme.
It actually kept my 7 year old nephew from playing Ultimate Alliance for an hour as he read it with me!!!
Wonders never cease. He had never heard of Shazam before! Now he wants to be Shazam on Ultimate Alliance. I don’t have the heart to tell him that it will never happen.
16 Feb 2007 at 6:26 pm
Quotestrong
29 Mar 2007 at 5:20 am
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