Shazam! #1 is a long time in coming. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank first set the stage for an ongoing series half a decade ago when they collaborated on a series of backup features in the New 52 Justice League comic. While Shazam himself eventually joined the Justice League, his solo comic never materialized, and readers never got to read the continued adventures of the new Shazam Family or villains like Doctor Sivana. Thankfully, this belated relaunch is a clear case of "better late than never."
It's probably just as well that the new series didn't debut sooner. As solid a foundation as those Shazam! backups laid, there was also something slightly off about the portrayal of Billy Batson and his supporting cast. Like so many New 52 projects, Shazam had an unnecessarily harder edge, one that really doesn't suit a character as goofy and all-age friendly as Billy Batson. If anything, Shazam #1 reads like a comic that could only exist in the relatively more lighthearted DC Rebirth era. Johns' current take still retains a bit of the previous darkness in terms of the rough background for characters like Mary and Freddie, but he also shows an increased willingness to embrace the campy Golden Age roots of the franchise. Whatever surly meanness Billy Batson might have had in the New 52 has largely melted away.
from IGN All https://ift.tt/2Efifya
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