Shazam

One of my favourite superhero comic relaunches of the last few years, Shazam, seems to have gone largely uncelebrated; possibly because it was buried as a back-up strip in the New 52 Justice League. Over the course of approx. 14 issues, through 2012-2013, writer Geoff Johns partnered up with his frequent artistic collaborator Gary Frank, to retell the origin of the classic Golden Age hero. Although the character first appeared as Captain Marvel back in 1940, DC lost the rights to publish him under the original name, and this serialisation marked his proper reintroduction under the new title of Shazam.

Telling the story of a troubled youngster, Billy Batson, who gets imbued with magic powers that allow him to transform into an adult superbeing; the masterstroke here is that the origin is presented in the style of a classic 80’s action/adventure movie. It’s no coincidence that Geoff Johns served as an assistant to film director Richard Donner in his early career; as Johns is heavily channeling Superman II and The Goonies here, along with Big and a healthy dose of Joe Dante’s Gremlins. The plot is unapologetically sentimental, with the strengths and virtues of family being a heavy theme, but it’s well balanced, and even the coldest of hearts will be won over by the end.

Gary Frank was given the opportunity to redesign the costumes of not only Shazam but also his classic arch-nemesis Black Adam, and the new looks are better than ever. Black Adam is given a slightly tweaked origin here, which is deliciously dark, and sets high emotional stakes for a blockbuster climactic battle between the two super-powered titans. The story has been collected as a single volume, and it really is a complete package; fully accessible to new readers and with a satisfying start, middle and end. The DC movies have had a rough road so far, but with Shazam getting ready to roll next year, if they follow this model, the studio could have their biggest hit yet.