Shazam #1 (2018) - DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Dale Eaglesham
Colors by Mike Atiyeh
Letters by Rob Leigh
Cover by Dale Eaglesham & Alex Sinclair
It's a good time to be a Shazam fan. The character will finally be coming to the big screen, and now his comic book revival sports a superstar creative team. What kind of fun can Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham bring to the table? Let's see if the magic is still there with this team.
There is a bit of an origin story at play here, but it is very quick, and it essentially is a way to bring in the Rock of Eternity. That seems to be a big part of the story going forward, but this issue serves as more of an introduction of sorts to Billy and his adopted family. Shazam does get to stop the bad guys in this issue, but what was surprising was who showed up to help him. Not only was it a nice surprise, it really turned the fun factor up in the story. I really try not to spoil plot points in my reviews, so it will be hard to say too much more about the book without doing that. I will say this, after the stage is set, a discovery is made towards the end that could really set things up for a long run. You could call it a "mistake", but only time will tell if that's true. It reminds me a lot of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, when someone does something at the very beginning of the season and they spend the better part of the season dealing with the fallout. We'll see if I'm right about that.
It's no secret that Geoff Johns has written some serious and heavy stuff over the last couple of years. There's nothing wrong with that, and he's good at it, but this felt like such a breath of fresh air for him. I felt like I could tell Johns was having fun with this issue, page by page, and it really made me want to go along for the ride. The family dynamic that he creates in this first issue also made this feel like Shazam/Billy didn't have to carry this book on his own. He is certainly capable of that, but this add a nice wrinkle to the story that I wasn't expecting. Bringing Dale Eaglesham in made things even more amazing. The detail work when we do see the powers of Shazam come out really was a thing of beauty. All in all, I expected to like this book, but the story going in a different direction than I anticipated made me like it even more. I can't remember ever being this interested in a Shazam story and I think that says a lot. We don't even have a villain yet, and I am still locked in on where things will be going next. I can't wait to see what happens with all of the things I wish I could spoil for you. Just read it, and you won't be disappointed.
RATING: PULL / BUY