I’m looking forward to the discussion about this. I’m loving it so far.
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See you guys/gals at 5PM EST for spoiler discussion. (Which lasts all weekend) 
Spoiler discussion is now open. What did you guys/gals think of this week’s book?
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Please hold while we connect your call
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I’ll be in tomorrow! On the last issue:)
I loved this series. The first issue packed an unexpected emotional punch, but it still never lost the “kid” perspective. Actually, the kid perspective was what I loved most about the series. The kid: logic, actions, thoughts, etc. I really felt Billy was telling the story.
Black Adam’s backstory was cool. I cannot wait to see him on the big screen and I hope they have flashbacks of the egyptian setting.
His “good” uncle was a hero. After reading this, I really love Billy Batson. What a great kid! I want to see him hang out with the Super Sons.
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I enjoyed reading the series. I had not remembered that Sivana was Billy’s uncle. Is that part of established continuity or something these writers did? I liked that tie, as it gave a more emotional heft to the storyline, especially with Sivana implicated in the death of Billy’s parents. The wizard “remembering” the pre-Crisis version of the Marvel family was interesting. A nice nod to the past, although possibly confusing for new readers in an otherwise fresh start to the saga of Captain Marvel.
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Annnndddd done
I liked it! I think it felt older than it was, but that really is part of the charm. I liked that Billy was such a good kid. A lot of my issues with more recent takes on the character is that they fail to understand that the real hero is Billy.
Speaking of Billy, boy can that kid talk. My biggest issue with the book is the inner monologue. I know this is a sign of the times but it really can make the book feel like a slog sometimes. But then again, Billy is great so it’s not that big of a deal.
I loved the look of this book. Once again a sign of the times, but there is something so timeless about it. Reading it on my iPad I could almost feel the paper.
Dudley is the greatest uncle/father figure in comics. There is just something so wholesome about Billy and Unc’s relationship.
Lastly, I really liked that this origin story had Black Adam in it. A lot of origin stories don’t have the character’s biggest villain. I liked that this book did.
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I would LOVE to see Billy hanging out with Jon and Damian. I could see Jon and Billy ganging up on Damian.
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First time being part of the book club. This is also my first time reading a Shazam/Captain Marvel comic, my only exposure to him has been through the animated movies/shows, and I absolutely loved it. Billy Batson is a great kid and I found myself smiling throughout the whole thing. His relationship with his uncle Dudley is the cutest. This got me so excited for the live action movie.
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Matt. I’ve wanted to join for a while, I don’t do email so I hope this is ok. I read the Shazam’s yesterday. Loved it. Kept waiting for Hoppy to be morphed into his Shazam form when they were all around Dr. Sivanas equipment. Also his children are way more attractive then the ones I remember when I read Shazam as a kid. They were basically identical to Sivana in those. Hope u don’t mind me jumping on board. I just happened to read them yesterday & I was always a day late on the previous ones so I figured I’d I don’t join post now I’ll keep forgetting.
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Excuse that I’d in last sentence forgot to remove it.
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@djd187
No worries! You did everything right! Thanks for stopping by and sharing, glad you liked it!
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Next week’s book will be announced tomorrow at 12PM EST! Discussion here lasts until the end of the day:)
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Late breaking news: I finally read the 4 issues!
There was a time in my life when much of what I purchased had “Roy Thomas” on the byline. And I still pick up some of his books now. My local comic shop dealer today told me about a series “Anthem” that Roy wrote around 2006, a story he always wanted to publish for the Justice Society here but never got to. Roy Thomas started his comic writing career when he took over the Avengers writing reins after Stan Lee’s tenure, bringing characters like the Vision and Ultron to life, and staging epics like the Skrull / Kree War in the Avengers. His strength is in the plots and back stories of the characters. I also enjoyed his sword and sorcery books like Conan of the early '70s with Barry Windsor-Smith and later the Elric books with P. Craig Russell.
I can see his love of blending earliest civilization histories and myths with current times in this retelling of the Captain Marvel story. I think it’s great that the new current Shazam comic sticks with the premise of this story from the mid-80’s of the magician Shazam hiding in a subway in the city.
The story is action-packed and moves along quickly. One or two of the “coincidences” stretch the believability a bit, but the ingenious uses of Billy Batson to save the day or assist where Captain Marvel can’t work well. Tom Mandrake is a decent artist, and I seem to recall him working on Batman and the Spectre back then as well.
Tom Mandrake’s The Spectre:
