Are they ever going to do a decent Shazam book again?? Artwork looks too cartoonish and kiddy for me.

Uhhh...no.

I just re-read the Roy Thomas/Tom Mandrake SHAZAM!: THE NEW BEGINNING from circa 1987 and kind of hated it. It has been relegated to the "get this crap out of here" pile.

Going on nothing but the cover posted above, I think I might prefer that 1987 mini to whatever the hell this new thing is.

That said, I don't imagine that I am the target audience. If kids like it, then good for DC.

I liked Ordway's Power of Shazam.

Is that "Johnny DC" or plain ol' DC?

I can't read something with art like that.

I liked Ordway's POS almost as much as I like Morrison's ASS.


Hmmm... that doesn't sound too good.

Give the Big Shazam thumbs and he could be The Fonz.

I can't say I'm excited about the book, but going the kid-friendly route is probably the best way to handle the character. Doing anything that even resembles grim 'n gritty just smacks of total wrongness. It's about a little kid that turns into a super-hero and the original book was fun with a capital FUN.

I once sat around thinking about what could be done with the character and I thought it would be lots of fun to see what a kid would do if he could turn into an adult at will. Like trying to sneak into bars, only to have the whole thing turn into a disaster of epic proportions (and never even getting to drink a beer). And not being able to comprehend his sudden sex appeal. Old style super-heroes were always a bit gynophobic and here you have the ultimate opportunity to have your lead character being completely horrified at the prospect of a girl (yuck!) kissing him.

It's Johnny DC and it's aimed at kids. It's also about a kid who says a silly word and turns into a big, strong superhero and pals around with a talking tiger. I think it looks cool.

I liked the preview, i'll give it a 4 issue shot. Hopefully it'll be at least half as fun as Tiny Titans.

I'm all for DC trying the kids angle on Captain Marvel... again. The Jeff Smith mini fizzled for me, though some seemed to like it. At least DC is trying to do something with the character. Lord knows they've tried almost everything else.

As a kid, I would have puked on this.

As well as a continuation of the Jeff Smith story. I'm on board.

I'd rather go out and get the Showcase with the Cap adventures from the seventies. Kind of a hybrid of the CC Beck Cap and TV show.

IAWTP.

I do wish sometimes that most of the current hot cartooning styles for younger readers weren't...well, what they are. Changing tastes I guess.

I like it. They ran out at the shop today though (only ordered one for the shelf) and I had them reorder for me.

Not something I'd pick up, but Kunkel is a damn good cartoonist. I liked his Herobear and the Kid.

I bought it for the kids, but haven't read it It's a Johnny DC title.

I can if it's like Calvin & Hobbes.

Why is Captain Marvel not an A-list character? He can kick the shit out of Superman on a good day, for crying out loud. Is it the kid-becomes-man thing? Is the "magic word" business too hokey for modern audiences?

I'm really asking. I want to like this character more than I do.

DC has tried desperately for almost forty years to make him an A-List character. They've tried everything from using his original creators and artists to making him a kids hero to making him part of a grim and gritty universe. It isn't for lack of trying. It's just that nothing has clicked, or has worked well enough to elevate him into a high selling character.