Captain Marvel and Fear in Philadelphia!

Shazam! #27 (October 19, 1976) presents us with Captain Marvel's adventure entitled "Fear in Philadelphia!"  This story features Captain Marvel, Billy Batson, Uncle Dudley, Dr. Sivana, Beautia Sivana and has special guest appearances by Kid Eternity and Keeper!

The story opens with Dr. Sivana using his Reincarnation Machine to bring back some of history's most dastardly ne'er do wells; among them are Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Benedict Arnold!  Sivana uses these historical henchmen to commit crimes in order to keep Captain Marvel busy while he finishes his plan to destroy Philadelphia.

Captain Marvel does stay busy stopping these crimes and then figures out that it's a Sivana plot.  Using the eterni-phone (this is a gadget that was brought over from the '70s Shazam! TV show) Billy Batson contacts Mercury at the Rock of Eternity for advice.  Mercury advises Billy that he's well aware of Sivana's scheme and he will send Billy someone who can help.  

Who is it that can help Billy and Captain Marvel fight bad guys from another time?  None other than Kid Eternity and Keeper!  Kid Eternity is a character created by Otto Binder and Sheldon Moldoff in Hit Comics #25 (October 2, 1942).  (You can read it here!)  When Kid Eternity says the word, "Eternity!" he can call people from history and mythology to help him.  

HIT comics #25, Kid Eternity origin

Sivana had made the Liberty Bell into a bomb that would explode when he rang it by remote control - wiping out the city of Philadelphia!  However, Kid Eternity brings back historical heroes to fight Sivana's henchmen and the Captain and the Kid are able to foil Sivana's plot to become 'the rightful ruler of the universe.'  The villains are rounded up and placed back into the Reincarnation Machine and sent back to where they came from.  

And what becomes of Sivana?  Luckily for him he is able to teleport away from capture, vowing to see Captain Marvel in Boston.  The story closes with Keeper and Kid back in eternity and we are told, "So we leave Kid Eternity and Mr. Keeper for now at least."  Kid Eternity will be back to play an unexpected and large role with the Marvel family, and there'll be more about that in an upcoming blog post!

What I liked about this adventure is the connection with Otto Binder through Kid Eternity.  Otto Binder wrote so many of Captain Marvel's adventures, and in this comic we have a character Binder created teaming up with Cap. 

So there you have it.  Captain Marvel, with the help of Kid Eternity, defeats Sivana's plan to bring fear to Philadelphia!  Watch out for a special blog post on Kid Eternity in the near future!

The Source of Black Adam's Powers

Black Adam makes his return in Shazam! #28.  Within these pages we learn that while Shazam gave Black Adam his powers, they came from different sources than Captain Marvel's!

The wizard Shazam reveals that Black Adam received his powers from Egyptian gods.  Here are the gods and what powers they gave to Black Adam:

• Shu (god of air and supporter of sky) - Stamina
• Hershef (the Egyptian Hercules) - Strength
• Amon (king of the gods) - Power
• Zehuti (god of wisdom) - Wisdom
• Anpu (conductor of the dead) - Speed
• Menthu (god of war) - Courage

Notice they still spell out Shazam and they are the same powers (stamina, strength, power, wisdom, speed, courage) given to Captain Marvel.

Black Adam was given the same powers as Captain Marvel, but from different sources.  And, as we learned in Marvel Family #1, he let these powers corrupt him and that ultimately led to his banishment by Shazam.  (You can read about it here!)

Billy Batson's Birthday

On my other Captain Marvel blog I wrote an article on February 29th being the date Captain Marvel chose as his birthday.  (You can read that article here!)  However, the date of Billy Batson's birthday has been shrouded in myster.  Going back to Captain Marvel's golden age, from the pages of Whiz comics #47, we see that Billy couldn't find when he was born.  We know from Whiz #52 that Captain Marvel selected February 29th as his birthday after his fans wrote tons of letters offering to let Cap use their birthday.  But that still didn't solve the mystery of Billy Batson's birthday.

Well, on the pages of Shazam! #4, the mystery is solved.  In the story, "The Mirrors That Predicted The Future" we learn from the wizard Shazam that Billy's birthday is April 1st - no, I'm not fooling!  The story begins by telling us, "It is Billy Batson's birthday, but as he walks down the street on what should be the happiest day of the year..." and we see Billy thinking to himself, "For twenty years time stood still for me...and I didn't celebrate any birthdays!  Now, nobody even remembers what day this is!"   

As the story continues we soon come to Shazam who is writing the following, "If the boy Billy Batson, who was born today, remains pure of heart...one day I will have him take over my life's mission...fighting evil in the world!"  A look at the calendar on the wall indicates the date is April 1st.

While this story does give us Billy's birthdate, it doesn't exactly fill in all the missing pieces from Whiz #47 and #52.  And, to Billy's surprise, his friends did indeed remember his birthday and gave him a surprise party!

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

The Return of Professor Thorne

Professor Gilbert Thorne gained notoriety in The Marvel Family #50 as the man who stole speech, causing great disruption and confusion to the world!  His sinister speech stealing plot was uncovered and ended by the Marvel family.

The Marvel Family #50

Professor Thorne reappears in Shazam! #16 in the story, "The Man Who Stole Justice!"   Thorne has hatched a new evil plot, but this time he is not stealing speech, he is stealing justice!  Professor Thorne wants to get his revenge on Judge Pleasant who had sentenced him to 25 years in jail for his speech stealing crime!  Of course, he was creating and perfecting this plan while in jail.

How does Thorne steal justice?  He removes the statue of Lady Justice outside of the courthouse and replaces it with a statue of Injustice (one of the 7 Deadly Enemies of Man).  But this is no ordinary statue as it transmits vibrations to Judge Pleasant's mind making him reverse justice by releasing the guilty and penalizing the innocent.  Even Captain Marvel himself is sent to jail by Judge Pleasant!

While everything seems to go according to plan and Professor Thorne is enjoying his revenge, he forgets to factor in the fortitude of Captain Marvel!  Cap destroys the statue of Injustice and captures Professor Thorne once again. 

I enjoyed reading this story and seeing a villain brought back from Captain Marvel's golden age.  I appreciated the continuity from The Marvel Family #50 to this issue of Shazam!  Professor Thorne made a brief come-back in his life of crime only to be thwarted by the come-back of the World's Mightiest Mortal, Captain Marvel!