14: With a Magic Word

The Power of-, Trials of-, and Magic of Shazam are all on the table this week, as we look at one of John's favorite characters. Old-school fans may know Billy Batson's alter-ego better as The Superhero Formerly Known As Captain Marvel.Exclusive SponsorIDW has a great array of Ghostbusters comics that are coming to an end with the direct-sequel-to-the-movie-canon Mass Hysteria. Were you a fan of The Maxx (comics or on MTV)? Try their The Maxx: Maxximized "director's cut".Related EpisodesGiant Size Origins 7: Men of Iron and Steel, originally an episode of The Comic Shack, found us discussing good Iron Man and Superman jumping-on points in the wake of Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel.Giant Size Origins 8: Superman Wearing a Superman Shirt is an all-Superman show, and marked major milestones in "Volume 1", aka All-Old Giant Size, including the shift to the intended-all-along panel format and the first appearance of John Gholson.Slightly-extended Donny Cates and Mark Reznicek interviews can be found in Artist Edition 56: Superpowers from Drinking InterviewsDonny Cates and Mark Reznicek co-created the Mark Waid-cover-quote-carrying miniseries Buzzkill, now available from Dark Horse in TPB.Donny's newest work, with best pal (and newlywed!) Eliot James Rahal is The Ghost Fleet, published by Dark Horse in November 2014.Donny was also just voted Austin's best Comic Artist or Graphic Novelist by Austin Chronicle readers.Reading ListThe Power of Shazam (Jerry Ordway and Peter Krause) is both a standalone Original Graphic Novel and an ongoing series that followed the OGN. John votes it the best place to start.Many, Moisés included, got their first real taste of Shazam in Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come, one of the seminal works of the 90's. If you ask Moisés, that "seminal" descriptor also applies with regard to the entire modern era. It's often compared directly to both Alan Moore's Watchmen and the never-published Twilight of the Superheroes. Available in affordable TPB and expensive and gorgeous Absolute Edition.Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! (Mike Kunkel and Art Baltazar) is sadly out of print, but really great and kid-friendly. You may know Mike Kunkel's name from his Herobear series that's 100% kid-safe.Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam: Mr. Mind Over Matter (Art Baltazar & Franco, and Byron Vaughns) is readily available in TPB, and in a similarly fun, cartoony vein to the Mike Kunkel run.The Trials of Shazam (Judd WInick, Howard Porter, and Mauro Cascioli) is a "maxi-series" 12-issue run that follows Captain Marvel Jr. facing the divine trials needed to follow in the footsteps of his mentor. Winick is a great writer, as is Porter an amazing artist, so Moisés recommends this blind. It's collected in two volumes (one and two).52 (written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka) is a great mega-series crossover to look at for Black Adam-centric storytelling, and probably a good way to get into the character before we see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson play the character in a few years on-screen. It played out weekly over an entire year, directly following DC's Infinite Crisis event. The Omnibus gets you all 52 issues worth of content for under $100, but a better buy might be the separate volumes 1-4 TPBs. For some reason, volume 4 is $25 whereas the others go for about $10 each.We didn't talk about Shazam! The Power of Hope (Paul Dini and Alex Ross), but it's from a series of Prestige Format, oversized editions that DC did in 2000. Moisés has read most of the others from that series, and this should be done to the same standard of quality.Note that this list completely excludes all New 52 iterations of Shazam. That is very intentional. Show Notes and LinksShazam! on WikipediaFawcett Comics on WikipediaMany know Shazam from his 1970's live-action TV series.Filmation's The Kid Super Power Hour featured cartoons of Shazam and another one called Hero High.Thrillbent's Insufferable features art by Power of Shazam's Peter Krause. You can get access to the buffet of great Thrillbent comics for only $3.99 a month. Yes, total.Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox features a trio of kids jointly becoming Shazam.Elseworlds is something Moisés deeply misses.Marvel's C.B. Cebulski has long-known that reading comics is not a "sissy hobby".Mandom is not just a Japanese men's perfume. It's a way of life. Get down like Charles Bronson. Become a Lover of the World. Get so self-confidant you can toss your shirt into the air, carefree as can be.