Fun, fun, fun, that’s what we have behind Dan Mora’s excellently dramatic, superbly coloured cover
Boy blogger Billy Batson finds himself being interviewed by Gotham City TV personality Jack Ryder and things get tricky.
After the show, though, Jack shows a much kinder side, though his cynicism rankles Billy.
And on the drive home, Jack tricks Billy into saying his magic word in a way which brings to mind all those wily ways Superman conned Mr Mxyzptlk into sounding his name backwards and returning to the Fifth Dimension. Jack explains how he knows Billy is The Captain, and again, it’s smart work from the veteran TV reporter.
In a bit of quid pro quo, Jack transforms into the Creeper in front of Billy – it turns out he wants a team-up. There’s danger on a train, courtesy of an old Hawkman and Hawkwoman foe.
And things just get wilder as writer Mark Waid answers a self-imposed challenge to pair the Captain with, he told Comic Book Resources, ‘the least likely person you would team him up with’. I’ve never been a big Creeper fan but Waid and artist Emanuela Lupacchino have me desperate for more Creeper work from them.
Ryder is thoroughly engaging in both identities, with sprightly dialogue aplenty, while Lupacchino gives him a wonderful range of facial expressions, from smarmy to scary to surprised. The non-traditional Shadow Thief is suitably spooky, while both heroes look fantastic – the Captain as mighty as you might wish for, the Creeper the embodiment of benevolent chaos.
I’m giving out some extra points, to Waid for the mention of Silver and Bronze Age Flash supporting character Daphne Dean, Lupacchino for blooming marvellous cars. Oh, and realistically wrinkled hero trunks.
And the final couple of pages are a terrific surprise, cementing this as the best issue of Shazam! yet.
The only thing I didn’t appreciate was how grumpy Billy is post team-up. I get that he’s the straight man this time, but the Captain and the Creeper made quite the team, caught the bad guy and saved many lives. Smile!
Kudos to Trish Mulvihill for bright and beautiful colours throughout, such as in this update on the Shadow Thief’s Brave and the Bold #36 debut in 1961.
And letterer Troy Peteri has a ball with a sound-effects heavy issue.
Shazam! #9 creeps straight into my mental file of Best Issues of 2024 – remind me come December, eh?
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
Sad that this is Waid’s final issue. I was really enjoying his approach to this book/the character and feel like he was just getting started. Whatever he needed to free up his schedule for – this summer’s big Amanda Waller-focused event or, HOPEFULLY, something afterward (Justice League relaunch?…) – I hope it ends up being worth it for him and for us his fans. It does bother me frankly that the Shazam relaunch was launched at all if Waid was gonna be pulled away after such a short time. I’m not blaming him. I’m more blaming DC editorial for what seems to be poor planning. Nine issues (plus the 2 Night Terrors tie-ins which I really did not enjoy so I’m not counting those) was enough to get a taste of Waid’s approach to the world of Shazam. But it feels incomplete. Like he had more to say/explore. – Brian
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Oh Brian, that’s how to wipe the grin off my face, I didn’t realise Waid was leaving the book, despite having seen the odd Josie Campbell solicit. I did stick with the New Champion of Shazam book, so don’t have sky-high hopes, but we’ll see.
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Waid leaving (and I guess Mora too) is a big shame. I’ll give it a go with Campbell, but I never finished the New Champion miniseries so not sure how long I’ll stay. I just hope the series keeps up the space dinosaurs etc that make it feel different to other books. I really like the Captain but so few writers seem to know how to make it work.
Stu
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Hopefully Campbell will keep with the Waid sensibility while injecting her own vibe. I just hope it’s not as millennial as was that Mary Marvel book.
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Haven’t read the comic itself yet, but I enjoyed your review as always. And Daphne Dean! It’s so nice to see that name again.
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I think of her as Flash’s Lori Lemaris, the old girlfriend who’s no threat to the current one.
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They’re very similar. I first encountered her when she returned in Flash 308 — it was a super deep cut, even for those always-footnoted pre-Crisis days!
She’s one of the characters that made me recognize the richness of having ex-girlfriends and -boyfriends around. I’m not a OTP/soulmate kind of guy; I think people (and characters) go through phases of their lives, and those phases need to be honored. And people who aren’t children (or deeply wronged) can often get along cordially (or better!) with their exes without them being a threat.
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Exactly. You’re a wise man, Rob!
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Wiseass, is more like it!
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Those last pages gave me a huge smile! I thought Waid and Lupacchino were setting up a forthcoming storyline –it was paced like a cliffhanger reveal — and instead they swerved and instead delivered on a fantastic punchline…one that had been just biding its time in the shadows all issue long!
As for the incoming team, I enjoyed the Josie Campbell New Champion of Shazam book, and it’s clear Lupacchino is a great fit for the book. And with the dinosaur accountant featured in the ad for issue 10, I think it’s clear to see that they’ll be continuing the tone of the Waid/Mora issues. This is a rare book that I initially picked up just for the creative team, that I’ll be continuing to buy once that team has moved on.
(See also: Birds of Prey #7: I initially tried the series for Leonardo Romero’s art, though Kelly Thompson’s story immediately sucked me in. Now Javier Pina is on the title for a couple issues, and his art is a worthy successor to Romero’s. Though it looks like we’ve got some more fill-ins coming our way, so who knows? Hopefully we’ll get Romero back soon. But so far, so good.)
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You probably remember that I was a bit iffy about the Mary Marvel book, but there was enough good stuff in there that I’m optimistic. And Lupacchino’s work is always wonderful.
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