It’s a big day for the Shazam gang as a social worker calls to assess the suitability of the foster kids and the Vasquezes to be a legal family. Well, all the kids except Mary who, having recently turned 18, is no longer in the care system. Not that this stops her from throwing herself into the middle of things.
A big part of the equation is the suitability of the new house Rosa and Victor (of the tragic beard) have mortgaged themselves to the hilt to provide for the kids. The surprise that came with the newbuild was that Zeus, most opinionated of the Shazam patron gods, had attached it to Olympus via various pocket dimension extensions. Today, things are calm, the house looks normal, and gods and monsters are happily absent. Mary has drilled her brothers and sister in how to make a good impression, so what could go wrong?
A giant bat at the window, perhaps looking for a giant Bruce Wayne. Good job Mary is outside the house and able to say her magic word.
Noe that one, I mean Shazam! Anyway, that’s an ugly critter, and a great panel, courtesy of Emanuela Lupacchino, who gives us page after page of page of clear, great-looking storytelling. She handles the large cast of characters – six kids, two parents, social worker, one magical bunny, a talking tiger and dozens of giant bat people – with practised care. The panels are busy, but never cluttered, with lovely little bits of body language and lots of background details. The superheroics are convincing, with Billy helping Mary out in between his interview with harried social worker Ms Sharma, while the issue kicks off with a sharp dream sequence that begins with the banal and amps up to ‘spooky’.
What’s Billy dreaming about? Grab this issue and find out, suffice to say it’s setting up something that comes at issue’s end as writer Josie Campbell continues the subplot about a split between the Captain and Billy. That gives young Darla a chance to, as Mary says, be adorable.
Campbell is proving an exceptionally good fit for this series, balancing character work – Billy’s feelings around his early years ring true – with mystery and fun. This issue’s antagonists make sense for the series, even if their origins are a tad disturbing, while the interactions of Pedro, Eugene, Freddy, Darla, Billy and Mary are delightful.
The only thing I don’t like about the story is the fate of a pet. Not cool, series editors Brittany Holzherr and Matthew Levine should police This Kind of Thing.
What is cool are the colours of Trish Mulvihill and letters of Troy Peteri. Rock solid talents, these two. Dan Mora’s cover is pretty decent, but would be better without the magical lightning obscuring the image.
If you’ve not yet tried the new Shazam! series, this issue, despite being part two of the ‘Moving Day’ story, is a great place to start, being accessible and entertaining. Just don’t get too attached to the cute neighbourhood dog.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
It says something that while I very much dislike Billy’s new childhood I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy even that part of the story. Here’s hoping the character at the story’s end is eeeeeeeeeeeevil so they can just go away and not ruin the book.
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If not eeeeeeeeevil, they may have a worm in their ear.
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I’m taking a “wait and see” approach on this book without Waid. While reviews like yours are positive, just 2 issues in it seems like Campbell is less interested in playing in the DCU and more interested in the personal/family dynamics/drama. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not why I was buying this series. The least interesting/attractive part of it for me is the large group of kids/adoption angle. I’m not sure it was something Waid was particularly comfortable/interested in, either, he inherited the new status quo from the Geoff Johns-era/Shazam films and so made limited use of the rest of the family. In contrast Campbell really seems to be leaning into it. I’d rather see Captain Marvel tossed into the fun/bizarre scenarios Waid presented involving lesser-used DC characters/places than read about the stresses of adoption. Again, nothing wrong with it. I’m sure there are readers for it. Just not my thing. - Brian
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I heard Waid chatting to, I think, John Siuntres on Word Balloon, pretty much saying he wasn’t big on all the kids. And he may have said they weren’t that far off being modern Lt Marvels and he was working to give them a role. I’d quite like to see them back with their Golden Age glow-ups, Brian.
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Yep, Waid definitely wanted to focus on Billy; I don’t remember him saying he was down on the kids, but he definitely wanted them to be supporting characters, not co-stars. Which is pretty much how I feel.
As for the character who shows up at the end, I’m not hoping for eeeevil… but I’m hoping for a few good scenes with Billy, and then an exit.
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But eeeevil would mean no return or that they’re an imposter. I’m hoping for the best they will be the worst!
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I see your point. Eeeeevil will be, on the whole, less heartbreaking for Billy than merely selfish or unfit.
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I generally agree about the point that the other kids and adoptive parents should be more in the background. The caveat is that I’ve come to like the idea of Mary having also as much prominence as Billy because she serves as an interesting counterpoint to Billy. That’s partly because she’s no longer a kid and thus really experiences the Shazam transformation as a straightforward acquisition or loss of power and not as an additional transition from childhood to adulthood; partly because seeing how she’ll define herself now that she’s a notionally independent adult is interesting in its own; and partly because she effectively serves as a check on some of Billy’s issues with the power due to her greater maturity and lack of split personality issues. If she’s not featured in her own series, having her co-star with Billy in this title is therefore a pretty solid narrative choice.
Beyond that, your review essentially echoes my sentiments about this issue. I really appreciated reading this story in light of the week’s other non-Black Label offerings. Having a comic that actually featured some levity and a genuinely well constructed plot was welcome in a week that otherwise saw Birds of Prey’s nonsensical plotting and forced humor as well as Kneel Before Zod’s ongoing substitution of mind numbingly repetitive grimdarkness for engaging storytelling and character development.
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Oh, I gave up on KBZ after one issue and it sounds as if that was the right move for me, all that slaughter.
I do like your ideas for Mary… I’ve forgotten, has she now packed in college? I do hope not, she was so excited.
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