All-New Collectors' Edition #C-58: Superman Vs. Shazam! (Facsimile Edition)

I'm in no way criticizing the art skills of Dick Giordano or Rich Buckler. If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know that I am a huge fan of Giordano; having gotten to meet him at his very last con. As for Buckler, I loved his work on the earliest stories of the Marvel cyborg, Deathlok. So I believe that I have established respect for both artists. That being said, who drew the artwork for both the back half of this wraparound cover as well as many of the full sized and splash pages? They look like they were masterfully drawn by Neal Adams!

This facsimile edition is absolutely beautiful. The foil enhanced wraparound. The remastered colors of Adrienne Roy. The throwaway panel of what a brunette Supergirl would look like. This was a visual masterpiece from 1978!

An ancient wizard from a Martian civilization millennia before those of J'onn J'onzz' people, is seeking to end his singular mistake. In an attempt to become immortal, the mage got his wish. But not before first turning the rest of his kind into silent, tormenting phantoms. His hope is to place devices on two different Earths where they will vibrate in sync with the other and cause a cataclysmic explosion to should restore his people to their corporeal forms.

The two Earth's chosen are Superman's Earth-1 and Captain Marvel's home, Earth-S. To prevent the two heroes from discovering the devices, the wizard forces Black Adam and the 'Quarmmer', a duplicate of Superman made of living sand, to cloud the minds of the heroes so that they see each other as mortal enemies. Thus, fans finally get their wish: an epic battle that will definitively prove who is mightier? The Man of Steel or the Big Red Cheese?

The fight was epic. The team-up of Supergirl and Mary Marvel was awesome. The villain Karmang was pretty cool looking. But like most DC Comics of the late 1970s, the plot fell flat.

For one thing, I didn't quite understand Karmang's costume didn't really make sense. He's got these wicked looking eyeballs which adore the epaulets on his cape and apparently makes some fashionable earrings.  But he never uses them. They'd be really cool if they helped Karmang see the action occurring on the two Earths. Instead, he's got TV set-up sweeter than any wall of boob tubes at Circuit City. 

Another issue with the plot is the pacing. There are 4 acts in this issue, along with interludes and a prologue and epilogue. If writer Gerry Conway would've cut the unnecessary comic relief provided by Lois Lane and sports reporter Steve Lombard playing the role of cameraman, I think we could have gotten a much smoother ending that really hyped up the tension. Instead, we get Superman racing around the world to counter the pull of the magnetic field while Captain Marvel literally decides which color wire to clip on one of Karmang's devices. 

And as much as I enjoyed Supergirl being in this story, the ending where she and Mary Marvel fawn over each other's super hunky relative was clunky at best. At worst, it's a groaner and brother did I groan over that dumb ending...

At least we got an answer as to whether Supes or Cap are stronger than the two. At least for this clash.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Shazam! (2019)

Finally, the REAL Captain Marvel made his modern day debut on the big screen.

Asher Angel portrays orphan teen Billy Batson. While fleeing from some bullies, Batson seeks refuge in a subway car that transports the lad to the Rock of Eternity. There, Billy meets an ancient wizard who imbues the teen with 6 wondrous powers

whenever Billy exclaims 'Shazam!’

With a bolt of lightning, Billy Batson turns into Captain Marvel, played by Zachary Levy

(Chuck). (Due to some clever wordplay, the hero is never called by this name so to not

be hit with a lawsuit by Marvel Comics. But he is listed as C.M. in the credits.) For about

an hour, Shazam is a superhero twist on the Tom Hanks classic, Big.The Big Red Cheese explores his powers with fellow foster kid, Freddy Freeman (It'sJack Dylan Glazer) in hilarious fashion. But this all changes around the Midway point of this just over 2 hour long film.

The change in the film's tone from comedy to mystical thriller occurs when Dr. Silvana makes his presence known to Batson and Freddy. Sherlock Holmes'Mark Strong portrays the normally simpering mad scientist as a total heel. Evil through and through with powers to boot, I think Warner Bros. added some aspects to Dr. Silvana normally seen in fellow Captain Marvel baddie, Black Adam.

After seeing Shazam!, I think it's clear that the Black Adamfilm can be done and done well. But instead of trying to get Henry Cavill to appear in the film as Superman, make Levy's character be the film's protagonist. WB and DC has proven that their Captain Marvel can lead the DC Universe as well as be more socially appetizing for movie goers.

Critics hailed the House of Ideas’ Captain Marvelstarring Brie Larson, as the diversity driven superhero film of 2019. But in reality that honor needs to go to Shazam!People of color, women, the disabled and most importantly, the microcosm that is the foster child program are championed in this film. I strongly made the diversity connection in this film without having to be preached at by the cast of Marvel's Agents

of SHIELD

I really want to get back to the foster family aspect for a moment. Family is the key theme in Shazam!and the roles of Billy Batson and Dr. Silvana show some interesting contrasts. Silvana comes from a upbringing with a father and brother. Yet, he couldn’t be more distant from his

relatives in he was on Mars and they on Earth. Batson, while an orphan, is brought

into a loving foster home complete with 5 foster siblings willing to accept and love him right off the bat.

It’s not often you get to see social services or foster families in a positive light. My wife and I are avid watchers of NBC’s Chicago trilogy of shows and it seems that creator Dick Wolf reallyhas some sort of beef against social workers. If you work in social services or as a foster parent, you really need to get a group of fellow colleagues together and watch this movie. It

will make you feel good about the thankless service you give to your community!

Man, I only seem to be giving this film praise. That’s not to say that I didn’t have some problems with the film. The biggest issue I had was the release date. The film takes places

right around Christmas. Finally, superhero fans have a holiday movie! So why didn’t DC and

Warner Brothers release this in November or December? Were there production delays? Shazam! did around $55 million in the US on opening weekend. But had they released this at Christmas time, I guarantee it would have broke $70!

The other thing I did not like about this movie is something I have had problems with ever since Man of Steel. What is up with the super-slomo action scenes??? Justice Leagueand Wonder Womanwere riddled with these snail’s pace fight scenes. I really had thought Shazam! had risen above that but somebody decided during the film’s climax to slow the pace down by 40%.

And it annoyed the hell outta me!

I was all set to give Shazam!a solid 9 until the very last scene before the credits. I will not give away the spoiler. But it completely redeemed the movie. Let’s just say it was sup-, uh-Marvelous!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.