Customer Reviews

Showcase Presents: Shazam!

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Captain Marvel was an old Fawett comic which DC comics bought the rights in the 70's. Created by C.C, Beck in the 1940's, this humorous Superman-ish comic kept a sense of humor about it. Billy Batson, a yound man, was given powers by the wizard SHAZAM. Beck said he modeled Captain Marvel after actor Fred MacMurray of Disney movies and My Three Sons's fame..However, in the 70's version, most of that modelling is gone

This Showcase title is a collection of the first 33 issues of the 1970's comics. The first few issues have Beck stories. This 1970's updating was cute, It basicly was in its own superhero world--before DC did that Crisis books. It was a simple superhero adventure

One would hope that DC would look into it vaults and do what they did with the Spirit and release many of the Fawett comics. I have an older reprint of the Monster Society of Evil which was a 1940's type comic serial which ran thru the Whiz and Captain Marvel comic..which someone would reprint this

If you are a fan or loved the stuff for the 70's, get it and enjoy

Bennet Pomerantz Audioworld

This collection is just a fun read. For those who are tired of realism or current affairs in their superhero sagas, this collection is for you! While it is missing the vibrant color pages, you can't beat the collection of over 500 pages of Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and the host of supporting characters. An affordable collection for those who can't shell out the money for back issues. It is unlikely that these issues will be printed in archive color edition, so this is the best bet for your Captain Marvel fix. I may even color the pages.

I appreciate DC for their approach with the Showcase Presents trades. They have kept many classic titles alive for those of us that can't afford Archive editions; however, in many cases this highlights the problems inherent in certain series. SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SHAZAM! is an example.

There are some things that DC just can't seem to get right, no matter how hard they try. One of the biggest is how to handle characters from other companies. Their recent acquisition of the IPC characters is on the verge of failure, as evidenced by ALBION, BATTLER BRITON, and THUNDERBOLT JAXXON. Their `80s purchase of the Charlton heroes led to a decent run of THE QUESTION, but little else (WATCHMEN doesn't count!). But DC already had a bad rep back in the `70s when they acquired one of the greatest Golden Age heroes, the original Captain Marvel. The resulting SHAZAM! series was a misguided effort to introduce the Big Red Cheese to a new generation of readers by trying to recapture the feel of his original adventures. Unfortunately, that new generation was already enjoying more complex and mature comics at the time: hard-traveling heroes, New Gods, and a dark knight detective were finally bringing DC into a new age, so goofy fun-loving stories featuring the Shazam "family" and a talking tiger were not what was needed at the time. The series piddled around for five years, was cancelled, and Captain Marvel's reputation has, to this day, barely recovered. Even though attempts at relevance were made in the `80s (LEGENDS, JUSTICE LEAGUE), it took a brilliant double-barrel `90s revitalization by writer/artist Jerry Ordway to help CM stay above the radar.

There's an excellent roster of talent featured in this volume. Writers Denny O'Neill, E. Nelson Bridwell, and Elliott Maggin are joined by original CM artist C.C. Beck, Kurt Schaffenberger, Dave Cockrum, Dick Giordano, and Bob Oksne. It collects the "new" stories from SHAZAM! #1-35 (none of the Golden Age reprints), with O'Neill bringing CM and his supporting cast into the present day through an inspired retcon. From there, these short tales reintroduce his companions, friends, and villains, including currently popular bad-boy Black Adam. Collectively, the art is great, and Dave Cockrum's work on Captain Marvel Junior is so slick that it should get its own color reprint. Unfortunately, the stories are extremely simple and haven't aged well at all. SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SHAZAM! will serve you well as a nostalgic trip back to an interesting period in DC's history, but you should look elsewhere for good storytelling. If you really want to get into Captain Marvel, my recommendation is to instead purchase Jerry Ordway's graphic novel THE POWER OF SHAZAM and hope for a reprint of the `90s follow-up series.

I forgot how much less grim, & how much more fun comics were "Back in the day" with talking Tigers & Worms! LOL! Plus a early look at Black Adam! Buy it, enjoy it!

Captain (Shazam!) Marvel was a character from 1939-1953 for Fawcett Comics before being resurrected in 1972 by DC Comics. The bulky volume of more than 500 pages is the initial 33 issues of the DC superhero and gives a nice helping of fun, action adventures versus an array of oftentimes Sci-Fi-inspired evil doers.

The backstory finds an ancient wizard granting Billy Batson the power to transform himself into Captain Marvel. There may be growing interest in the series, since a movie - Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam - is slated for theaters in 2009.

This book is a nice means to become better acquainted with the character before the movie is released.

This lacked the charm of the old Whiz Comics, and the storytelling that would come later in the Jeff Smith "Shazam". These stories are throw aways, and boring. I've tried to put this aside and come back to it many times, but I just couldn't get into it, nor finish it.

With the movie, "Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam!", set to come out sometime in 2009(or beyond); now would be a good time to read about Shazam! and what a better way to do it than read Showcase Presents: Shazam!. Writers Denny O'Neill, E. Nelson Bridwell, and Elliott Maggin are joined by original CM artist C.C. Beck, Kurt Schaffenberger, Dave Cockrum, Dick Giordano, and Bob Oksne to bring you classic tales of the big red cheese. As most of you out there know, Shazam! was actually a Fawcett Comic that DC bought the rights to. It was created by C.C. Beck and first published in Whiz Comics#2 in 1940 by Fawcett. At one point in 1940, it outsold Superman at the newsstands & DC filed suit against Fawcett claiming that Captain Marvel was too much like Superman. The legal battle went on for quite sometime until Fawcett decided to settle. Many years later, DC acquired the rights to Shazam! when Fawcett shut down business. Other than "The Trials of Shazam" that DC did here recently, you don't see much out of this classic comic character. It is one of my all-time favorites, even moreso than Superman(hate to admit it but yes) and this book is quite an enjoyable read. I like it for its' lighthearted humor and approach to the Superhero genre. There's always a lesson to be learned in the comics of Shazam!. Although all the comics are in black & white, it's still quite enjoyable to read.

Definitely check this out, cause when the movie comes out- this will be a hard find. Let me tell you.

There was a time in the 1940's when "Captain Marvel" ("The World's MIghtiest Mortal") was once the even more popular than "Superman," out selling the "Mand of Steel."

This did not make the publishers of DC Comics, Harry Donnenfeld and Jack Leibowitz, happy. DC Comics took Fawcett Publications who plublished "Captain Marvel" to court claiming that Captain Marvel was an infringement of the copyrights to "Superman."

The court ruled in favor of Fawcett Publications finding "Captain Marvel" not to be an infringement on the copyrights to "Superman."

DC Comics was not content with the decision and had it's lawyers appeal the case to wait for another court hearing.

However, World War II was over and the 1950's were ushered in. Superheroes were out and comic book sales were dropping all over the place especially with the advent of television to later be fllowed by another detremental blow, the crusade against the evils of comic books spear headed by Dr. Fredrick Wertham who had wrote a book called "The Seduction of the Innocnet." Wertham had convince U.S. Senator Estus Trafalger to hold a Senatorial Committee to study the detremental effects on the youth of America.

Fawcett Publications came to the decision to get out of the comic book business. The only comic books they had that were selling was "Captain Marvel" and the "Captain Marvel" related titles. Fawcett could not see the use of continuing to publish comic books just for one popular selling character. Actually other than "Captain Marvel" and the "Captain Marvel" related titles, Fawcett really did not have any other charcer or title that was really popular and was a big seller other than "Captain Midnight," and Fawcett actually did not own the rights to this character. The comic book seris was based on the then popular "Captain Midnight" radio show back then.

Fawcett Publications wrote a letter to DC Comics tell them to drop the suit because they were going to cease publishing comic books altogether.

Alack and alass many a kid back then knew "Captain Marvel" (The Big Red Cheese") well.

In the mid to late 1960's, the copyright/trade mark on the name of "Captain Marvel" had expired and fell into public domain.

In the mid-196-'s, thre was this obscure comic book company that published a comic book of a superhero named "Captain Marvel" who could split his body into pieces at will and call them back together. A forgetable comic book series and short lived.

DC Comics came out with the "Dial H for Hero" series that appeared as the lead feature in the pages of "House of Mystery" comics, which weee the adventures of a whiz-kid name Robbie Reed who one day stumbles into an underground cave to find this strange dial. Each time he dials the alien letters that translate into "H-E-R-O," he becomes a different superhero each time even becoming "Plastic Man" once. As "Captain Marvel" and his young boy alter ego would excalim "Holy Moley!," Robbie Reed also had a word he would exclaim "Sockamagee!"

In the later 1960's Marvel Comics now decided to create and publish their own superhero with the name of "Captain Marvel."

In the early 1970's, DC Comics had acquired the fights to "Captain Marvel" and the rest of the line of Fawcett Comics characters, and now, they, themselves, were going to publish "Captain Marvel." However, Marvel Comics already had a "Captain Marvel" comic book title out on the stands. DC Comics thought that this may cause confusion with young comic book buyers, so they decided to title the comic book "SHAZAM!"

There was a lot of egar anticipation and great expectation awaiting the release of the first issue feralding the return of "Captain Marvel" on the newsstands. However, readers met with disappointment at the new series "SHAZAM!" bringing back the original "Captain Marvel."

DC Comics had decided to do "Captain Marvel" as "Captain Marvel" was done in the 19740's and eeary 1950's. This was because DC already had "Superman," and they figured tha if they went serious with "Captain Marvel," they would just have another "Superman" on their hands.

However, it was, too much. Too little. Too Late. Comical superhero comics were a thing of the past. In the 1960's, Stan Lee at Marvel Comics moved to make comics more dramatic and more sophisticated. AS a result in the late 1960's, Marvel Comics had now, after decades, become the popular number one publisher of comics, which DC Comics had once long been.

So by DC Comics going the way they did with "Captain Marvel," DC was going against what the new reaers of the day wanted in their comic books. Again, the way "Captain Marvel" was done in the 1950's and early 1950's, was fine for back then, but the new comic book readers of the time had gone through the 1960's and now wanted what Marvel Comics was oftering.

An interesting note is that Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott of Filmation had gotten the rights to do a Saturday morning live-action TV series based on "SHAZAM!" However, they decided to take it in a different direction. It took a serious bent and had an education theme to it to teach morale values and ethics to kids watching it on Saturday mornings on CBS.

The Filmation live-action Saturday morning TV series proved to be a lot more popular and a lot more well and fondly remembered than the "SHAZAM!" comic book seris put out by DC Comics.

In fact, as a heads up, on Amazon.com, you can me notified by Amazon.com when the DVD set of the "SHAZAM!" Saturday morning TV seris finally comes out. You can find it by typing "Shazam Michael Gray.". Michael Gray is the young actor back then who played "Billy Batson." Definitely worth checking out. Unfortunately, for some reason, I can't seem to find and attach the link to the review.

Amazon.com also has available, the Republic theatrical clifhanger movie serial "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" considered to be one of the better cliffhanger movie serial made. It is also interesting to note that this serial was also taken in a serious direction. Unfortunatelythe serial is not available on DVD, but Amazon.com has it listed in VHS. Adventures of Captain Marveland Adventures of Captain Marvel
and Adventures of Captain Marvel

The compilation of stores are not the greatest comic book stories ever written, but if you are into the history of comics, as I said, back in the 1940's and 1950's, "Captain Marvel" had become the more popular and best selling superhero even outselling "Superman," so the history of "Captain Marvel" is definitely worth looking into and "Showcase presents SHAZAM!" is part of that history.

The idea of Captain Marvel is such a wonderful concept- a down on his luck boy, pure of heart, who can say a magic word and become a superhero. I was looking forward to this book but truthfully, it is a disappointment. I find it hard to believe that this comic appealed to younger audiences back in the 70's (when the comics were originally published) because it reads like one of the Hostess ads from the period. In the book, there are almost no supervillains, the supporting characters are extremely hokey, and the plotlines are just plain ridiculous. One example- Sunny Sparkle, a supporting character, is apparently so nice that everyone (including bad guys) feel compelled to simply give Sunny things. In my opinion, weird (and a little creepy too)!

The only bright spot is the artwork. Everything has a R. Crumb style to it, which I enjoyed. But if you're looking for a good Captain Marvel story, pick up Jerry Ordway's 'The Power of Shazam!' It's an excellent story, and is told by and for people that really respect the character.

As of late, it seems that comic books are trending more towards realistic storylines. For example, Superman 705 dealt with domestic/child abuse. As someone who reads to escape, I really don't want to read about things that can and do happen in real life. Now I do admit, some people like reading about realistic things. To each his own.

Personally, I like this group of comics. Shazam! tells the story of Billy Batson, a young boy given the powers of several Gods. When he shouts the magic word: Shazam!, he turns into the superhero Captain Marvel. The stories in this book circle around Captain Marvel/Billy and his family as they battle a swarm of magical villains/mad scientists/and several odds n ends in the supervillain realm. It's a fun diversion from real life where anything is possible.