Jeff Smith's Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil

[Eros]

The art is subpar, lol.
Are you from the Jim Lee worshipper Church?

Ha.... no Im from the church that respects peoples opinions.

 

[The Leaguer]

It's prestige format, guys. Wasn't this the same price that DC: The New Frontier was? And wasn't it longer?

Holy f***ing s***, you mean this is the same price as New Frontier? Well hot s***, I'll pay twice that then!

I don't give a damn how prestige the format is, 6 goddamn bucks is too damn much. I don't give a s*** about prestige, I'd much rather pay $3.99 for a regular-format comic.

 

[Darthphere]

Prestige Format is a nice way of saying, Look mom no staples!

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Prestige Format is a nice way of saying, Look mom no staples!

It's a nice way of saying: look mum, no staples, no ads, glossy heavy paper and a carboard glossy cover. And at least 48 pages, too.

 

[The Leaguer]

It's a nice way of saying, "don't you wish this was two dollars less, you stupid sucker? We've got you by the balls, don't we? Slap 'prestige' in the solicit, throw in some fancy-shmancy paper that you never needed until 'prestige' showed up and you'll bend over for any cock that comes along."

 

[Harlekin]

Budgetary concerns means I'm trade waiting, but considering everything Smith does is awesome (at least Bone is), I'm excited.

 

[Eros]

The Darkness ends Tonights, it ends Tonight,It ends tonight!

 

[yenaled]

The price is a bit too much, but it's not like I have to choose between buying it and eating.

Actually I'm going to go burn some money then buy it.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

It's a nice way of saying, "don't you wish this was two dollars less, you stupid sucker? We've got you by the balls, don't we? Slap 'prestige' in the solicit, throw in some fancy-shmancy paper that you never needed until 'prestige' showed up and you'll bend over for any cock that comes along."

Are you a nostalgic of the pulp paper and the dots coloring?

 

[The Leaguer]

Yeah, because that's what I said.

 

[Darthphere]

I rather wish they would go back to the old paper if the price goes down. By old I mean, like the crap they print the brilliant The Other Side on.

 

[Anubis]

I wasn't gonna buy it, but since Annihilation ended, and a few other mini will be ending soon, I got room on the ole pull list now. So f**k it. I took a chance and bought New Frontier when it came out, so i'll go ahead and do the same for this too. The Preview looks great. Should go along nicely with Trails of SHAZAM, which i'm loving right now.

 

[The Ether]

I was looking through the pages of the book during my trip at the comic shop. it looks really interesting but with the book being pricey, I decided to think about it till next week.

 

[yenaled]

I'm snowed in so I won't be getting my comics today, but I thought I'd link another interview. That will keep me going.

I kind of wish Winick appreciated Captain Marvel in the same way Jeff Smith did, then Trials wouldn't be the sham it is turning out to be.

 

[Darthphere]

I want to buy this so bad, but I can't see myself paying that price for a comic.

 

[BrianWilly]

I had mixed feelings about this.

The art is cute beyond the measure of words to describe, and the plot is pretty good; astonishingly simple, but good. Billy's characterization is good, as well as the Wizard's and, uh, Captain Marvel's, and I look forward to seeing Mary. The whole focusing on Billy as an street urchin thing is a good way of giving him a bit of pathos and darkness -- Jerry Ordway did it too with the Power of Shazam reboot -- without a mophead haircut, having urban chicks give him tubular tattoos, and sending him to fight in the Middle East for seven issues or something. Gosh, whatever might I be referring to with those cynical barbs?

Some of the changes in the canon still struck me, though. So now Billy isn't "Captain Marvel," but Captain Marvel is this...separate personality that Billy hosts? Almost like the Wizard implanted something inside him? This is incredibly interesting, and very original...but it's also a bit disturbing. Almost like Shazam and Marvel are just using Billy's body for their own ends, and I don't even mean that in the perverted way. It feels less like, "Billy I give you the power to fight evil as is your destiny, use it well" and more like "Well, you're a suitable host for my actual champion to tag along with. He's with you now. Have fun!" It almost felt like Ultimate Captain Marvel, at times.

It's still about a dozen degrees more likeable and enjoyable to read than Winick's tragedy, though.

 

[Czar Colossus]

Captain Marvel is one of my favorites so I was definately going to buy this. I don't know much about Jeff Smith except that he's gotten a lot of critical acclaim. I've never read Bone so I went out and bought Book 1 tpb (I'm going to try to find time to read it this weekend).
I'm willing to give this a chance to see what he's got in store, but the art was mediocre IMO and I really do not like the concept of Billy and Cap being two separate people. This was also done by Frank Miller in The Dark Knight Strikes Again and with the classic Golden Age version it was rather ambiguous (Billy and Cap spoke of eachother in the third person, so I think it was left to the reader to decide) but the two were never shown together in the same place at the same time (except on cover images as far as I know). I got the impression that the Wizard (it was not actually stated in this version if SHAZAM is even his name or just the magic word ) may have been the original host body for Captain Marvel. Still even with some trepidation I'll keep an open mind; all may not be as it seems (Cap's memory loss?). Besides this is not going to test my tolerance concerning the treatment of one of my favorite superheroes as much as Trials is!

 

[batnkevlar]

Yeah, the art is WAY cute...

 

[The Question]

without a mophead haircut, having urban chicks give him tubular tattoos, and sending him to fight in the Middle East for seven issues or something. Gosh, whatever might I be referring to with those cynical barbs?

....I actually don't know.

 

[Wolfwood]

I normally wouldn't read Shazam, but hell, it's Jeff Smith so I'll gladly pay the price.

 

[LibrarianThorne]

I had mixed feelings about this.

The art is cute beyond the measure of words to describe, and the plot is pretty good; astonishingly simple, but good. Billy's characterization is good, as well as the Wizard's and, uh, Captain Marvel's, and I look forward to seeing Mary. The whole focusing on Billy as an street urchin thing is a good way of giving him a bit of pathos and darkness -- Jerry Ordway did it too with the Power of Shazam reboot -- without a mophead haircut, having urban chicks give him tubular tattoos, and sending him to fight in the Middle East for seven issues or something. Gosh, whatever might I be referring to with those cynical barbs?

Some of the changes in the canon still struck me, though. So now Billy isn't "Captain Marvel," but Captain Marvel is this...separate personality that Billy hosts? Almost like the Wizard implanted something inside him? This is incredibly interesting, and very original...but it's also a bit disturbing. Almost like Shazam and Marvel are just using Billy's body for their own ends, and I don't even mean that in the perverted way. It feels less like, "Billy I give you the power to fight evil as is your destiny, use it well" and more like "Well, you're a suitable host for my actual champion to tag along with. He's with you now. Have fun!" It almost felt like Ultimate Captain Marvel, at times.

It's still about a dozen degrees more likeable and enjoyable to read than Winick's tragedy, though.

Actually, Captain Marvel being a separate being from Billy Batson goes right back to the CC Beck original. Captain Marvel is Billy, yes, but he's a different man. He's an adult in every sense of the word, and the magic is that when Billy says SHAZAM, he becomes what every kid dreams of: the perfect hero.

I think that's what hit me about this series. I don't know how many of you read comics from the late '30s and early '40s, but there's a passion and verve in them that you just don't see today. They're full of energy, every single page, and you can't help but keep reading despite seemingly ludicrous plots and art that is by today's standards antiquated.

But I defy you to tell me those old comics aren't magical. Jeff Smith's SHAZAM! and the Monster Society of Evil, to me, reads a lot like that. There's energy all ove the place in this book, an excitement about it that's really hard to explain.

Suffice it to say, when I have young 'uns of my own, their first superhero book will be SHAZAM! and the Monster Society of Evil.

 

[The Leaguer]

I read this at my shop. I'm so f***ing glad I didn't shell out 6 bucks for this. It was good, but not 6 dollar good.

 

[BrianWilly]

Actually, Captain Marvel being a separate being from Billy Batson goes right back to the CC Beck original. Captain Marvel is Billy, yes, but he's a different man. He's an adult in every sense of the word, and the magic is that when Billy says SHAZAM, he becomes what every kid dreams of: the perfect hero.

It's not just that he has a different personality, or even was a different person, it's that the persona of Captain Marvel for some reason already existed before Billy Batson became him, and what happened was the Wizard infused Billy with a preexisting persona. So here, "Captain Marvel" didn't come from Billy...he already existed as a separate person, and Billy is just a host...a shell, to put it bluntly...that's convenient for him to possess. Here, Billy Batson doesn't become Captain Marvel and fight crime, Billy Batson gets replaced by Captain Marvel who fights crime. That's a pretty big difference, imo, and to my knowledge the post-Crisis Captain Marvel was never like that.

I'm not saying that it's bad...different isn't necessarily bad. But it is different.

 

[Czar Colossus]

Agreed.
I'm withholding judgement, but I am glad that this is not canon.
In the Golden Age Billy and Cap acted as separate personalities and spoke of eachother as separate people, but it was never insinuated (to my knowledge) that Cap existed prior to Billy being granted the Wizard's powers. The manifestation of Captain Marvel came from Billy. The Adventures of Captain Marvel movie serial from 1940 did however lead viewers to believe that Cap and Billy (who was actually an adult) were separate beings. (Captain Marvel fans should definately check this out. It's on dvd for $20.) Also in the Smith version it seems to insinuate that the Wizard gives Billy a magic word to summon the powers and that this amalgam is not necessarily his name. The fact that this will not be a staple of current continuity makes it easier to give Smith free reign to do what he wants and not offend my personal preference on Cap's portrayal. I hope we get to see Black Adam. I'm sure that there will be some surprises in light of the fact that Cap is suffering from memory loss and the insinuation that he has existed for a very long time before Billy came into the picture. I do also agree with the magic of the story telling harkening back to simpler times and I find it pleasantly refreshing. This is something that I will give to my kids or anyone elses) to read.
As far as the "Trials" series goes, I can't see this lasting indefinately. Billy taking the Wizard's role just doesn't seem right at this point. He's not even an adult yet. I think in a few years they'll have to return to the status quo just as they did with Superman and Batman.
And I still very much prefer that Billy IS Captain Marvel and that Cap's image is that of Billy's dad as Ordway and Ross portray him!

 

[yenaled]

I suppose you could read it as it was like that at the start as he changed into Captain Marvel more and more Billy more or less infused his personality on the Captain and both of them became more and more alike and eventually single beings.

Probably.

And actually, as the interview with Wizard says DC approached Smith to do an in-canon Captain Marvel story. It's actually in his contract.