SHAZAM! THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #1 (of 4)
Writer and Artist: Jeff Smith
It’s been a loooong time since there was a prestige (1980s represent!) title from DC “worthy” of the format, and I’m not entirely sure this first chapter of Smith’s Captain Marvel reworking/Year One proves the series is going to be worth your hard-earned $24. However, I am willing to bet it’ll make a great trade. One of the best storytellers and comedic artists in modern comics, prime examples of Smith’s careful, economical style and gentle, character-based humor can be found here in spades. The wonderful last four pages alone almost changed my mind about the whole monthly v. trade debate.
A bit precious in a couple places near the start and overall lightweight, I predict Shazam is going to be massively lauded all over the place for being old fashioned and “good for the kids,” which is nice and all, but there’s no reason to overrate it at this point as a Savior/Classic of Superhero Comics (see: New Frontier, All-Star Superman, et al) and put far too much responsibility and expectations on its shoulders. Just let it be and enjoy the ride — I’m guessing all it wants to be is much like those old C.C. Beck and Otto Binder stories: imaginative, fun, and entertaining. And that’s fine.
THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #1 (of 7)
Writers: Stephen King, Robin Furth, Peter David
Artists: Jae Lee, Richard Isanove
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (and the unbelievably bloated It) marked the end of an intense middle/early-high-school love affair I had with King’s books, so one might say I’m predisposed to not enjoying this prequel to the bestselling author’s ambitious meta-epic. Sure, the genre mashup (Western + dark fantasy) and basic premise are kind of interesting, and King’s developed an original-ish and fully realized world. Which all leads to me being sorry to say I found this first chapter of the comic series just as preposterously silly, self-indulgent, heavy-handed, and predictable as the Dark Tower novels. Looks great, though.
Check this out for a neat example of Shazam and kids.
I’m gonna wait for the trade on Shazam. Anything Jeff Smith is worthy of the bookshelf.