Shazam!: The Golden Age of the World's Mightiest Mortal [Hardcover]

Chip Kidd (Author), Geoff Spear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2010

Shazam made his debut in Whiz Comics in 1940, and outsold his biggest competitor, Superman, by 14 million copies a month. It wasn’t long before a variety of merchandise was licensed—secret decoders, figurines, buttons, paper rockets, tin toys, puzzles, costumes—and a fan club was created to keep up with the demand. These collectibles now sell for outrageous prices on eBay or in comic book stores and conventions. Seventy years later, an unprecedented assortment of these collectibles are gathered together by award-winning writer/designer Chip Kidd and photographer Geoff Spear. Join Kidd, Spear, and the World’s Mightiest Mortal in this first, fully authorized celebration of ephemera, artwork, and rare, one-of-a-kind toys, and recapture the magic that was Shazam!

Praise for Shazam!:

"Superman has always gotten more press, but Captain Marvel may be the greatest expression of comics' optimism: A young boy says a magical word and turns into the World's Mightiest Mortal. Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear's gorgeous new book, Shazam! The Golden Age of the World's Mightiest Mortal (ABRAMS) pays tribute to the hero's bright colors and medium-spanning stories, all lovingly displayed in Kidd's signature style . . . It's a coffee-table book that provides a glimpse into a world where the powers of the gods are just an acronym away." 
-The Onion's A.V. Club 

"VERDICT: Despite the quite reasonable price, this features typical ABRAMS art and production quality. Fans will grab this Marvel-ous piece of Americana faster than you can say 'Shazam!'" 
-Mike Rogers, Library Journal Express 

"A handsome follow up to Bat-Manga!" 
--ComicsAlliance.com 

"This is a collector's dream: Page after page of Captain Marvel art, premiums, posters, toys, and ephemera from the biggest-selling superhero of all time . . . This book is a true time capsule and worthy of any comic fan's bookshelf."
--USATODAY.com 

"Shazam! allows its rich imagery to tell the exciting story of this superhero. Between Kidd's glorious layout and Spear's highly detailed photography, the reader can feel the excitement and fabric that would eventually lead Captain Marvel to outsell Superman during the glorious Golden Age of comics!" 
--Comic Book Resources 

"Shazam! beautifully documents the creation and success of Fawcett's Captain Marvel franchise . . . Indeed, for non-Captain Marvel enthusiasts, the book may be most interesting as a compendium of historical documents, a glimpse not just of a bygone pop phenomenon but also of a larger cultural ethos."
 -Forward.com

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Although he is largely overlooked today, in the 1940s comic books starring Captain Marvel outsold even those of Superman. Book designer (and memorabilia collector) Kidd has assembled rare merchandise and promotional items issued during the character�s heyday. The oversize pages sport lovingly photographed toys, figurines, clothing, secret decoders, temporary tattoos, and other rare collectibles featuring the �World�s Mightiest Mortal� and such spin-off characters as Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel. Unfortunately, those unfamiliar with Captain Marvel will get little hint of just why his exploits were so popular: although Kidd includes a sampling of the comic�s covers and panels, only one complete story is reprinted, and it�s an atypical one drawn by celebrated superhero artists Jack Kirby and Joe Simon instead of premier Captain Marvel illustrator C. C. Beck. After a decade-long copyright-infringement suit by Superman�s publishers, the captain�s comic was discontinued in 1952. DC has since updated the character for modern readers, and his younger fans will likely be bemused by this testimony to his bygone popularity. --Gordon Flagg

About the Author

Chip Kidd is an award-winning graphic designer and writer, and an editor-at-large for Pantheon Books. His books on comics include Bat-Manga!, Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, and Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross. He lives in New York City.

 

Geoff Spear is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared on numerous book covers. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Abrams ComicArts; First Edition edition (December 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810995964
• ISBN-13: 978-0810995963
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.9 x 12 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Dolls, Toys & Figurines > Toys

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A visual feast! November 11, 2010

By Mark Luebker

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Most people seem to love the Chipp Kidd's work or hate it. I'm in the former category, and THIS book just knocked me out.

A word of warning: If you're looking for yet another recounting of the history of the original Captain Marvel, look elsewhere--this is not the book for you. There are plenty of excellent histories to be had, and a subscription to PC Hamerlinck's FCA is a great way to supplement them.

However, if you're looking for a gorgeous collection of photos of the incredible range of Captain Marvel and Marvel Family ephemera that Fawcett and its partners produced during the 13 golden years those characters were in print, stop wasting time reading this review and place your order NOW. This is a must-have.

I've long been fascinated by the incredible range of merchandising that Fawcett did for these characters--an idea decades ahead of its time--and here are stunningly detailed photos of the best of it, including some of the rarest stuff, repros of original designs for some pieces, and even side-by-side comparisons of original art pages and published comics.

This is what I'd hoped the DC Vault and Marvel Vault books would be. While Shazam!: The Golden Age of the World's Mightiest Mortal doesn't include facsimile reproductions like the Vault books, it shows so much more of the Marvel Family and Fawcett merchandise than either of the former does of their subjects that it just blows them away.

This is a book I'll be returning to it again and again, a visual feast. Heck, the quality of the photos and the amount of detail has me thinking about attempting my own facsimiles or reproductions of some of the items, since that's probably the only way I'm ever going to have examples of the really rare and really cool stuff.... I'm already trying to decide whether to use Sculpey or Play-Doh to try my hand at one of those Cap syroco figurines... Read more ›

37 of 47 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Temper Your Expectations November 11, 2010

By E. David Swan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I can't deny that the product description is accurate but that was my biggest worry. I am a big Captain Marvel fan but I'm not a ravenous Captain Marvel fan. I love the stories by C.C. Beck and Otto Binder and I'll grab up any reprint I can find and I wish that DC Comics would start to publish the Shazam Archive editions again. Supposedly they were going to reprint the lengthy Monster Society of Evil storyline but that project seems to have been put on indefinite hold so in my desire to get SOMETHING with Cap in it I bought this book knowing full well that is was probably not what I was looking for. It's a nice big coffee book size, with glossy pages, a lovely die cut hard cover and high quality binding. Unfortunately there is but one story reprinted here and it's kind of an oddball in that's it was done by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

So what do you get? Images from a Captain Marvel collection owned by a fellow named Harry Matetsky. This includes pins expanded to full page size, patches, box covers, chipped up figurines, advertisements, fan club letters, single panels blown up like a Roy Lichtenstein painting. I also discovered that in the 1940's Captain Marvel was a shameless corporate shill who pushed possibly hundreds of products. The images are presented in a way that one might present artwork. For instance there is a photo of the original costume from the 1941 Captain Marvel serial that focuses on just the lightning bolt and chest button. If you consider images of unassembled paper toys and roughly drawn film posters to be artwork this might be the book for you and I'm not saying that many aren't lovely. The photography is superb but many of the images are of cheap 70 year old toys with a bit of wear and tear....

A couple of years back Chip Kidd produced a book called Bat-Manga! reprinting Batman comics produced in Japan from the 1960's. As in this book it featured a lot images of memorabilia but most of the book is devoted to the stories. Besides the Simon/Kirby story there is nothing except the occasional single or double page spread. The book veers off into non-Cap items including lengthy sections on Captain Marvel jr, Mary Marvel, Spy Smasher and even Hoppy the Marvel Bunny. Kidd includes all sorts of Captain Marvel information but it's not uncommon to have a half dozen or more pages of just images. I just really was hoping to read some Captain Marvel stories and if that's what you're looking for keep looking.

Say what you will Chip Kidd put his heart in this book and did about as good as I could expect given the subject matter. I imagine he must be a heck of a salesman to get this published because it really appeals to a nitch audience. I can imagine someone who grew up during this era loving the nostalgia but you'd have to be in your late 70's or early 80's to fall in that demographic. You can pretty much blow through the whole book in an hour or so and having done that I'm not sure that I have a tremendous desire to go back through it again. It really pains me to write this review because I'm a Captain Marvel fan and Chip Kidd is a Captain Marvel fun but it's clear that Chip Kidd is a bigger fan than I of all things Marvel related. I do not want to do harm to something that continues to keep Captain Marvel in the hearts and minds of fans and introduces him to potential new fans but I'd be lying if I said that if I had to do it all over I'd purchase this again. Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book this year November 23, 2010

By Scott West

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is simply the best book I've bought this year. Period.
As a Captain Marvel fan, this is a MUST OWN. If you enjoy 1940s or 50s comics, toys, memorabilia, or just cool stuff about that era of superheroes then buy it as well.
The price is right on the money for this hardcover. The book design is superb. It's fantastically photographed with a lot of good concise info about the world's mightiest mortal. This book gives a great glimpse into what it must have been like to be a kid in the 40s wishing you could say "SHAZAM!" to become our favorite big red cheese but settling instead for the many different novelties and toys one could find in the corner five and dime. There are a lot of rare vintage items that I've never seen before, some only having a couple known examples. My only wish would have been to include a complete list of all the items in the book for us collectors to use as a reference. Chip, take note for the next book.
Overall, this book excels as a reference for vintage Captain Marvel merchandise. There are some examples of the comic stories and art but that isn't the focus. I hope Chip Kidd does many more books like this one. I think I'll go back and buy his "Batman Collected" book after thoroughly enjoying this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully designed, written from a personal perspective December 22, 2010

By Scott Ligon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a huge fan of Chip Kidd's design genius. As in his Superman and Batman books, Chip Kidd takes beaten up old toys and publications and creates panoramic images that are as much about the textures on these objects caused by wear and tear, as they are about the objects themselves. Kidd can take something as mundane as a badly painted wooden statue and turn it into a design that is either disturbing or aching beautiful and sometimes both. Chip Kidd works in the medium of design but he approaches it with a painterly sensibility. As expected, this book is especially beautiful to look at. Proportionately, it has more images than written portions. That said, Chip Kidd and co-author Geoff Spear have created a text that is informative and entertaining. Although I knew quite a bit about the subject already, I now have a much broader understanding of the 40's-50's heyday of the original Captain Marvel as well as greater insight into the popular culture of that era in general because of this book. Some of the collectables are from the personal collection of Chip Kidd and his obvious love of the subject matter shows through on every page.