Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank are the team working on “The Curse of Shazam!” a 10-page monthly story that you can find in the back of Justice League starting with issue #7. The character formerly known as Captain Marvel has not been seen or heard from since the DC re-launch. With the second wave of rebooted titles coming, we are getting a new Captain Marvel who now will be known only as Shazam. Which begs the question, what other changes can we expect?
Although no designs have been released as of this articles writing, there have been mentions of a costume redesign. Rather than the sort of make over that will match any of the current Justice League, Gary Frank hints that he has been digging into the history of the character for more of a magically timeless appearance. I personally can’t wait to see it.
Geoff Johns, in a interview with Newsarama, mentions other things we can expect in the series, including that it will eventually tie into Justice League, which is why it’s coming out as a Justice League back up story. We can expect to see Mary and Freddie in the title, as well as some other classic supporting characters and villains such as Black Adam. We can also expect some new faces. With all the talk of Earth 2 and the second wave of re-launched titles, he revealed that Shazam would in fact be from the same Earth as the current Justice League.
In the interview, Geoff focused more on revealing the tone of the book, stating it will be will be something different for him coming off of Batman: Earth One.
“You know, Gary and I just finished working on Batman: Earth One, and Shazam’s a character that we’ve talked about. It’s so different from Batman. It’s such a different flavor. It’s less a superhero story and more of a magical adventure about a kid who doesn’t have a family. It’s just such a different tone, and the pacing’s very different.”
“Kid” is the word that comes to most people’s minds when thinking of Shazam, as his alter ego Billy Batson is in fact a child, whom upon saying the magical word “Shazam” turns into a physically grown superhero. However, the preview art shows us a significantly older Billy, if it is in fact Billy we see in the preview.
Geoff also revealed that he would be going deeper into the mythology of Shazam’s history and fleshing that out more then it ever has been in the past. If his work on the Green Lantern provides any hint, that means in Shazam’s world is going to get a lot bigger. How excited are you to see Shazam included in the New DC Universe? Do you think Geoff Johns and Gary Frank will give us a reinvigorated magical hero? Let us know, Comic Booked will be sure to follow up.
“Featured image used at the top of this article is not part of the preview, it is a reference image to a previous incarnation of Shazam by Alex Ross used in Kingdom Come”
Tags: billy batson, Captain Marvel, curse of shazam, DC Comics, freddie, gary frank, Geoff Johns, Justice League, mary marvel, New 52, Preview, second wave, Shazam
About the Author
Written by Suuperman
Has had a love for comics and writing for as long as he can remember. Always looking for ways to fully immerse himself into the world of superheroes, you can usually find Rob securing cool collectables online, digging through comic stock at the local comic shops or sharing thoughts on comic book issues, news and artwork on all of his social network outlets. "Superheroes, in particular Superman. Inspire me. They are a huge part of my life and I love sharing that with others"
I’ve been waiting for Captain Marvel to come back! Odd they are now naming him Shazam, we’ll see how that plays out. Johns is one of the best writers out, so I am definitely looking forward to this!