The Curse of Shazam - Your Thoughts (SPOILERS)

LibraryBoy

Okay, we now have the first chapter of Geoff Johns & Gary Frank's The Curse of Shazam in this week's Justice League #7. What'd you think?

I'm of two minds. On the one hand, 8 pages of introduction isn't really enough to draw any really solid conclusions. All we really get is a Lex Luthor-y Sivana, a dick Billy Batson, and an up-close shot of the wizard's awful teeth... on the other hand, we get a Lex Luthor-y Sivana, a dick Billy Batson, and an up-close shot of the wizard's awful teeth, which doesn't inspire much confidence in me. Making me dislike the main character from the get-go is a risky move, and I worry it's the wrong one. But I feel like I need to give this a little while longer to see if it's something I'll continue with. We'll have to see how it looks next month.

jaydee74

Eight pages isn't a lot to go on. The art itself is very nice. I don't understand why Geoff felt the need to change just about everything about Billy Batson. I don't like the attitude but again, this is the first 8 pages to a story so maybe we'll see something from Billy that will eventually make him worthy of being Shazam. Not sure how much I like the costume overall but I can say that the hood is kind of stupid.

DavidAkers

I haven't read the story yet, but I suspect that they are changing pretty much everything about Billy Batson because the character hasn't really done well for years. We always say we want them to change things up and do something new, and here it is.

I suspect I will be with Bill on this one, though: it's a bad idea to make the reader hate the main character. You have to like the characters with which you spend the most time in a story or you won't spend the time.

WetRats

Honestly, Geoff Johns has become the Kiss of Death for me.

I'm kinda frightened what he's gonna do with the poor, sweet Batson kids.

LibraryBoy

See, I'm usually not a Johns fan, but he's doing so well with Aquaman, and Captain Marvel is my favorite superhero, so I kinda feel like I need to give this a fair shake (or at least give Johns enough rope to hang himself).

Of course, this isn't Captain Marvel, it's Shazam, so there's my out if I should decide I need one, I guess.

WetRats

See, I'm usually not a Johns fan, but he's doing so well with Aquaman, and Captain Marvel is my favorite superhero, so I kinda feel like I need to give this a fair shake (or at least give Johns enough rope to hang himself).

Of course, this isn't Captain Marvel, it's Shazam, so there's my out if I should decide I need one, I guess.

You're braver than I am.

LibraryBoy

Or a bigger glutton for punishment.

WetRats

Or a bigger glutton for punishment.

Perhaps.

Feedback

I haven't read it yet, waiting on my DCBS order to come in. But the Frank art is the pull for me to read it.

rebis

I thumbed through it at the LCS. Frank's illustration is very nice. Usually that would be enough for me. I just ... I don't know. This whole re imagining of Captain Marvel just makes me sad.

I wish DC would sell the Fawcett Universe to another publisher and be done with it.

KyleMoyer

When my DCBS shipment for this month comes in, I'll give you the perspective of someone who is NOT a Captain Marvel fan (nothing against the character, just never really cared).

Modern_Lover

I don't know what there is to be sad about yet, as Library Boy said, it is only eight pages, and though it certainly could go horribly wrong, I like the new Billy. He's a little bratty, but I see a lot of the old Billy in there, and I like the changes character-wise, even if I'm not sold on the costume yet.

PytyrH

I read Shazam last night and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

When Billy Batson first appeared I thought 'Here we go, same old sweet innocent but boring Billy Batson...' - but no! He's a creep and involved in some sort of scam! Nice.

When old sweet Billy Batson became the adult Captain Marvel he turned into the goofy big red cheese who never really had a place in the DCU but I'm imagining a smart Shazam with a lack of respect for authority and enough power to challenge Superman.

I also think that the personality and costume will provide a good contrast if an Earth-S is found somewhere in the multiverse later on.

This Shazam IS the evil doppelganger.

SolitaireRose

Having read it, it's very clear that I'll be ignoring this. Captain Marvel is very much a "wish fulfillment" character, and this character is instantly unlikeable. I never thought I'd be saying things like this, but if they want a "brand new" character, why not give him a "brand new" name and let Captain Marvel go to the DC Kids line?

Maybe the "New DC" can make Sugar and Spike into child terrorists who communicate in a secret language.

WetRats

When Billy Batson first appeared I thought 'Here we go, same old sweet innocent but boring Billy Batson...' - but no! He's a creep and involved in some sort of scam! Nice.

[snip]

This Shazam IS the evil doppelganger.

Yuck. Not appealing to me at all.

jaydee74

I'm not on board with the characterization of Billy Batson thus far but I do have faith in Geoff Johns. He's done so much when it comes to other DC characters that I usually give him the benefit of the doubt but so far, my faith is a tad shaken but not completely stirred.

DavidAkers

My problem is that, as much as I used to like Johns, I don't think his style is quite as good as it used to be. Of course, it could just be me. I know I'm getting more and more jaded.

BrianBaer

I like that bit about the wizard looking for the right person. The rest of the stuff, you're right. I guess we'll need to wait and see.

LibraryBoy

I like that bit about the wizard looking for the right person.

That bit I liked. I always thought it strange that Shazam gives powers to Black Adam in ancient Egypt, and then never does it again for like 3,000 years until Billy is born. I mean, I understand being thorough and "waiting for your pitch," but come on! :) The idea that the search is a little more active a process is interesting.

WetRats

@LibraryBoy: When an experiment fails as badly as Black Adam, you need to spend a long time working on your formula before trying again.

Apparently, in this case the trick was throwing in a token mortal (Solomon) with the various gods. Adds a bit of perspective.

WetRats

Captain Marvel fans, be sure to read O.M.A.C. #7