Convergence: Shazam #1

Aargh! It kills me that DC is putting out these books! It proves that they COULD put out a good Shazam comic if they actually wanted to. Jeff Parker, a long-time fave of mine, clearly gets the character. Billy Batson is optimistic and naïve, but still heroic. His family has his back. And best of all, the heroes want to do the right thing! What more could you want from a Captain Marvel book?

This is one of the stronger Convergence books because it barely acknowledges its part in the overall crossover. Three-quarters of this comic features a great showdown between the Marvel family and some of their greatest foes. It isn’t until the last few pages that we have to suffer through the redundant Convergence exposition.

Things get repetitive when we have to sit through Tellos’ exposition once again. As in most of these Convergence titles, the worst part of the story is the actual Convergence storyline. The battles between the different domed cities holds absolutely no interest for me. There aren’t enough pages to do justice to the antagonists, and in almost every case we have to just blindly accept that the heroes involved would give up and fight for Tellos’ amusement. I’m not buying it. Worst of all, I’m tired of reading the same dialogue over and over again!

It is crime that we are going to have to see Evan “Doc” Shaner spending time on the Red Rain vampire characters rather than Captain Marvel characters. Heck, I’d almost rather just get more sketchbook pages where we can see the brilliant ways Shaner would handle more characters if he got the chance. His clean style is retro and modern at the same time. Shazam looks perfect! Mary Marvel looks heroic and wholesome, like a kid-sister hero should. The villains, while threatening, are rocking a fantastic retro vibe that just makes them stand out.

How the heck did DC put out another EXCELLENT Shazam comic so soon after Multiversity. And what does it say about DC that the “real” version in the new 52 is so much less compelling?