DC Showcase Presents Shazam!

If you are looking to read the Captain Marvel bronze age series but don't want to spend a lot of money doing it, then the DC Showcase Presents: Shazam! is for you!  This compilation of Cap's comics from the bronze age is a wonderful resource which I highly recommend.  Here's a brief review of this book to point out a few of the pros and cons.  

Let me begin with the cons of this book.  

• The first thing you'll notice is that it is in all black and white!  The only color in the entire book is on the cover.  
• Another con is that it does not collect the entire '70s series.  It does collect 94% of them (#1 through #33), but it doesn't include issues #34 and #35 (the final two issues of the series).  
• Also, a lot of the stories included in the '70s series were reprints from Whiz comics, Captain Marvel Adventures, The Marvel Family, etc.  None of these reprinted stories are included, only the new stories written in the '70s are in this book.  (That could be a pro or con, depending on how you look at it!) Keep in mind that some issues were made up completely of reprint stories (for example, issue #8) so you will only find the cover in the pages of this book! 
• One final drawback is there are two glaring omissions.  You won't find the cover for issue #25 (Isis) nor will you find the story of Cap and the Mighty Isis' first meeting from issue #25.  It does print "The Bicentennial Man" story from issue #25, but for some reason it omits the one collectors would really be looking for with TV's Isis. 

Now let's look at the pros for this compilation!  

• The first benefit of this book is you get to read almost the entire bronze age series of Captain Marvel at a fraction of the cost it would take you to purchase the individual comics.  For example, a copy of Shazam! #1 can cost anywhere from $18 to $60 .  A copy of Shazam! #25 (Isis) runs $19 to over $250!  A copy of Shazam! #28 (Black Adam) runs $100 to $500.  Even a regular issue can cost you around $3.00 and that's not counting shipping and handling if you buy it on-line!  
• Not only are Captain Marvel's '70s stories in this book, there are also Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. stories included as well!
• Convenience is a huge benefit of this book.  You can have almost every story in one publication.  You can read at your leisure and bookmark where you're at without having to go from individual issue to individual issue.
• One final thing that is a plus for me is the cover.  The cover is by Bob Oksner taken from Shazam! #16 which is one of my personal favorites.  

So there you have the cons and pros for the DC Showcase Presents: Shazam!  I purchased a copy of this a few months ago on eBay and have really enjoyed using it to read through Captain Marvel's bronze age adventures.  If you are looking for an affordable reader that gives you 94% of Captain Marvel's bronze age adventures (1972 - 1979) then I highly recommend you get a copy of DC Showcase Presents: Shazam!  I hope you've found this brief review helpful!

C. C. Beck's Shazam! Guest Appearance

C. C. Beck and Otto Binder were the team that brought us Captain Marvel in Fawcett comics.  Beck was the artist and Binder was the writer - a phenomenal team!  When DC brought Captain Marvel back in the '70s, Beck came back as the principal artist.

In Shazam! #1, Beck drew Binder meeting Billy Batson (you can read about it here).  But I didn't know that in Shazam! #4, Beck drew himself in a brief meeting with Captain Marvel!

Beck (glasses and mustache) in Shazam! #4

Beck had drawn a picture of himself shaking hands with Captain Marvel, but this is the first time that I'm aware of that Beck drew himself into one of Cap's comics!

Shazam! Comics Resources

Shazam! #1

I wanted to share some helpful resources for the 1970's Shazam! comic book series.  Shazam! #1 was published on December 14, 1972, and Shazam! #35 published on February 9, 1978. Even though Shazam! only had a 35 edition run, it had a lot of great adventures for Captain Marvel.  

The first resource comes from mycomicshop.com.  This link will pull up a complete list of the entire Shazam! comic run.  What I like about it is that it not only shows you the comic book cover for each edition, it also gives you a brief synopsis of each issue!  This has helped me to decide which ones I really wanted to add to my personal collection right away and which ones I can put off for later.  It also includes prices and the grades for any of the issues that they have in stock if you want to buy from them.  (Please note, I have purchased some Shazam! comics from them, but this is not a paid endorsement!)  It has also helped me to determine a decent price range I can expect if I decide to purchase a comic from another source such as eBay, etc.  

The second resource is from Mikes Amazing World of Comics.  This link will pull up the Shazam! series information, showing the cover date and publish date for each edition.  Clicking on the tab that says Series Gallery will bring up pictures of each edition's cover.  I've used Mike's site to help determine publishing dates as opposed to cover dates.

These two resources have proven to be extremely helpful and useful to me as I've worked on this blog and as I've worked on building my personal collection.  I hope you find them useful and helpful as well!

Shazam! #35