I gave a pass to this collection when it was originally released in 2008 because only half of it dealt with the classic (i.e., pre-1953) period. However, I’ve since come to realize that quite a bit of the “new” material (i.e., post-1973) which I haven’t read looks pretty good, too. On the classic side, we have the Big Red Cheese’s first appearance, a tale by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, three by the team of Otto Binder and C.C. Beck, rounded out with a story written by Binder and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger. On the other side of the divide, we have the character’s return (a classic in its own right) by Denny O’Niel and C.C. Beck, as well as another story drawn by Schaffenberger. (It’s interesting to compare the artists’ styles across decades.) There’s also a story from the ‘90s Power of Shazam series (by Jerry Ordway, Peter Krause and Dick Giordano), but I was more interested in the modern stories I hadn’t read before.
Leading this group of stories off is “Make Way for Captain Thunder!” from Superman #276 (June 1974) by Elliot S! Maggin and Curt Swan which was so good it made me wish it was about the real Captain Marvel and Billy Batson instead of stand-ins Captain Thunder and Willie Fawcett.
“With One Magic Word” is from DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (1984) and is plotted by Roy Thomas (with an assist by Julius Schwartz and Gil Kane), scripted by Joey Cavalieri and drawn by Kane. In this cross-dimensional caper, Captain Marvel teams with Superman to defeat Dr. Sivana, who has stolen the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Hercules, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury, leaving Captain Marvel with Solomon’s love of luxury, the bad judgment of Hercules, the rebelliousness of Atlas, the arrogance of Zeus, the wrathfulness of Achilles and the mischievousness of Mercury.
“Where Dreams End” from L.E.G.I.O.N. ’91 #31 (September 1991) features the “Captain Whitebread” version of the character squaring off against Lobo, and the volume is rounded off by “Out of the Dark Cloud” from Adventures in the DC Universe #15 (June 1989). Coupled with the classic material and adorned by an Alex Ross cover, Shazam! The Greatest Stories Ever Told is a nice little collection, indeed.
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I am pretty sure I have this collection in my "To Be Read" box, but obviously I haven't gotten to it yet. I'll double check it soon and check to see if it is in there. Sounds like I've been missing out.
I forgot to mention that I bought SHAZAM!--The Golden Age of the World's Mightiest Mortal. It had many rare photos of Captain Marvel merchandise from the 40s and 50s. I was surprised to see that, though I really shouldn't have been considering the Marvel Family's popularity. Still it was amazing to see a Hoppy the Marvel Bunny toy from 70 years ago!
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At what point does 1974 cease being "modern"?
I'll have to check out that DC Comics Presents story.
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Dagwan said: