Comments on Power of Shazam

[SilverWarriorWolf]

I see a lot of complaints about Billy in the New 52, but upon reading some of the Power of Shazam from the 90s, I find a lot of similar problems, albeit not to the same extent. He’s still a lippy kid with a hair trigger temper. The only thing New 52 Billy did that was worse was exploit his powers for money. (My bigger problem with 2012’s Shazam was it’s cynical attitude.) Am I alone in seeing these similarities?

Personally, I prefer versions that stay closer to the Golden Age Roots, such as Young Justice (cartoon), Superman/Shazam, Convergence, Multiversity, and the like. The movie also looks like it it’ll be a good blend of New 52 and Golden Age.

[Buried Alien]

Have you read DC's first SHAZAM! series from the 1970s?

Buried Alien(The Fastest Post Alive!)

[SilverWarriorWolf]

Have you read DC's first SHAZAM! series from the 1970s?

Buried Alien(The Fastest Post Alive!)

The Power Begins? No, but I’d like to.

[Buried Alien]

The Power Begins? No, but I’d like to.

The series started in 1973 and ran for five years.




Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[SilverWarriorWolf]

The series started in 1973 and ran for five years.




Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Ah, that one. No, I haven’t found anything from that, either.

Except this panel.170A6267-C249-4985-80B6-3B18F1A67132.jpg

[Buried Alien]

Ah, that one. No, I haven’t found anything from that, either.

Except this panel.170A6267-C249-4985-80B6-3B18F1A67132.jpg

Early on, it attempted to straight up re-create the Fawcett look and feel in the 1970s (which was an odd mix, to say the least), with CC Beck doing the art. Towards the end of the run, however, it took on a much more (by 1970s standards) modern look and feel, fitting in with Bronze Age, Pre-COIE DC (the Marvel Family were even given their own parallel universe, Earth-S, where they didn't need to compete with the Justice League or Justice Society for top hero billing).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[SilverWarriorWolf]

Early on, it attempted to straight up re-create the Fawcett look and feel in the 1970s (which was an odd mix, to say the least), with CC Beck doing the art. Towards the end of the run, however, it took on a much more (by 1970s standards) modern look and feel, fitting in with Bronze Age, Pre-COIE DC (the Marvel Family were even given their own parallel universe, Earth-S, where they didn't need to compete with the Justice League or Justice Society for top hero billing).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

I know CC Beck hated that with a passion.

Call me simple minded, but I don’t see why characters in the same company need to be in competition with each other. I would prefer if each had their own role without being considered “edging in for top billing.”

[astro@work]

I read both the 70's series (my 1st introduction along with the Saturday morning TV show), and Powers of Shazam.

The problem with the 70's run was that it was too tied to the Golden Age sensibility. Comics as a medium had evolved over the 20 years Shazam was out of print, and audiences wanted more mature storytelling. By the time the modernization happened it was too late.

I really liked Powers of Shazam because it built on the mythos of the original Golden Age. It also IMO treaded the fine line between the good-natured vibe of the original GA stories and the sensibility of modern storytelling. Freddy and Mary were used well, Cap/Billy were both written well, Uncle Dudley and Tawky were utilized, and so on.

[Jim Kelly]

Personally I loved With One Magic World . . . SHAZAM! the Original Captain Marvel. At the time there was all this ultra-serious stuff from DC and it was refreshing to have something fun and easy and not trying so hard to be realistic. In a world crammed full of the Neal Adams type of characters, I was glad that Cap wasn't trying to compete with them. Other people say it's too light and fluffy, but I don't.

Beside which, DC did several reprints either in the bi-monthly title or in other formats. So there was lots of the old 1940s stories to read. And it was great to know that these belonged in the same continuity as the current comics.

It was a bummer when C. C. Beck left, but there was Bob Oksner plus other artists like Dave Cockrum and Dick Giordano, and then Kurt Schaffenberger. So the Fawcett look of the characters was maintained. It's too bad that Pete Costanza had already had a stroke and left DC before they got the rights to CM--because I would have loved to see what Pete did with it.

I was not happy when Don Newton took over the art. Even though I liked Newton's work on other things. And it was a weird turn of events because Don used to be C.C.'s assistant--and very likely could have done a spot-on impression of Beck if he had to. I do love E. Nelson Bridwell--who was a deep admirer of the Marvels--and I think, other than Otto Binder, ENB was the best writer to chronicle their adventures.

I really wish Earth-S! had stuck around.

[SilverWarriorWolf]

I really liked Powers of Shazam because it built on the mythos of the original Golden Age. It also IMO treaded the fine line between the good-natured vibe of the original GA stories and the sensibility of modern storytelling. Freddy and Mary were used well, Cap/Billy were both written well, Uncle Dudley and Tawky were utilized, and so on.

Did they improve Billy later on? I’ll admit, I’ve only read the first book, but he threatened to kill Shazam shortly after getting his powers because he was freaking out.

[astro@work]

Did they improve Billy later on? I’ll admit, I’ve only read the first book, but he threatened to kill Shazam shortly after getting his powers because he was freaking out.

I don’t recall Billy acting like that over the duration of the run. He seemed like normal Billy over the long haul (not bratty).

[SilverWarriorWolf]

I don’t recall Billy acting like that over the duration of the run. He seemed like normal Billy over the long haul (not bratty).

Ah, good. Here’s hoping something similar happens with Rebirth.