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SUPERMAN STORE
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Rating:  -
Ok I never write reviews, but I think that this book is awesome. I have read some reviews that over scrutinize Jeff Smith's work. It's important that before you form a judgment you have have to realize that Jeff Smith reworked a character that doesn't have the same popularity of Batman, Seperman, or even Green Lantern for that matter. He took this character and made an attmept to "sell" him to a much younger reader. As adults we tend to forget that comics and heroes are icons that we became familiar with as children and that is what makes these characters unforgettable because children love hero stories and alot us of got our sense of right and wrong from heroes and their battles regardless of what our parents told us. These stories and characters were just a bit more relevant to us than lectures and scoldings.
Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil is a children's story that was painstakingly molded to still be a worthwile read for adults as well because it brings back the things we love about heroes, it has action although not like that of a Batman or Superman story but at the same time blood and bullet wounds don't always make terrific action sequences. The book has humor in some areas that well let's face it everybody loves to chuckle a little in a story. It has times of uncertainty that makes even the greatest heroes more relevant to the audience. (I hate the term "more human" because superheroes are not real and I think it is important to keep that in perspective. I've seen people toally immerse themselves in these characters and they reel from harsh reality when they realize they're not real the prime example here would be Star Trek. Sorry people Captain Kirk and Spok are not real and the Starship Enterprise isn't in the outer reaches of space probing Alien murders and stuff like that. So the whole Spok ears operation is a little much.) Sorry I had to get that off my chest. The story is also a very good barometer of jungian archetypes and this is relevant because in everyday life we face the basic defintions of archetypes. (theres no reason we can't take a little something like that away from stories) Psychologically we always take away bits and chunks from stories that stick with us becasue the mind makes them important and puts them away for future usage. It also contains moments of compassion. Beneath the surface every hero has the same thing in common they're always protecting somthing or someone, in Captain Marvel's case it's Mary and not so much the desemation of earth so it's a little bit of a detour from cataclysmic earth shattering destruction or earthly invasion.
Perhaps the aspect of this book that some over dissect is that it's an origin story and what makes origin stories great is that every writer has a different take and they incorporate things that were importnat to them. Making Billy Batson and Captain Marvel seem like more different entities is probably something that was important to Jeff Smith. I think it was interesting and don't mind it because Billy is a just a host body for the world's mightiest mortal. I'm speculating but since it was an origin story the two were getting used to each other and should Jeff Smith write another Captain Marvel I think he will make their relationship progressive.
I know I rammbled a bit but if you're an adult and have been a Captain Marvel fan I completely recommend this book because it has what made you like superheroes in the first place and it brings a different take on a character that was a bit forgotten in the DCU and I think it was a bit forgotten because Captain Marvel is a character that not everyone can write effectively. For kids this a great jumping off point to rekindle the magic of comics in a world where playstation and xbox reign supreme. Superheroes will be around forever but a character like Captain Marvel might not be unless kids and teenagers take chances and see how special and how this truly was a labor of love for Jeff Smith. Don't hate this book because a few changes and a really cartoonish feel give it a chance even if you've never heard of Captain Marvel and come across it by chance, it is a very special work.
Rating:  -
Jeff Smith, the critically acclaimed creator of Bone, takes on DC's resident big red cheese Captain Marvel with Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil. Now I've never been much of a Captain Marvel/Shazam! fan, at all, but I was looking forward to checking out Jeff Smith's take on the character. Well, low and behold, Smith doesn't disappoint artistically, but his overall take on Captain Marvel is supremely disappointing to say the least. Re-working the Shazam origins for modern day appeal, Smith injects a good deal of political commentary into the story as young Billy Batson is a homeless kid that discovers the powers of the Rock of Eternity. As you've no doubt read in other reviews, Smith has decided to make Billy and Captain Marvel seperate entities instead of Billy transforming into him at the utterance of the magic word. This really does take away from the fun and escapism aspect that has always been a part of the Shazam mythos, and combined with Smith's somewhat misguided political commentary, combine for the most disappointing Shazam story in recent memory. Worth a look for die hard fans of the character and/or Jeff Smith, but all others should avoid.
Rating: -
I grew up a Marvel fan...not Captain Marvel here, the company. Spidey and the like. Anyways, for the longest time, I discounted the various DC classic characters as cheesy, old and just plain annoying. Very recently I started pick up various titles for DC...well, mostly Batman honestly. And as I looked into the characters I still felt a few were too old for me to get into. Captain Marvel was one of them. He just seemed far too old set for me to get into. Then I randomly picked up this book because I saw Jeff Smith's name and thought "huh, he did a version of Shazam!?". From the moment I opened the book, I fell in love with it. The characters are well rounded, the story is simple enough for a kid but with enough nods to the classic stories[thank you Wikipedia] to keep older readers entertained. And of course, the artwork is superb. This book has won me over to the "original" Captain Marvel and I hope to read more. And I encourage anyone remotely interested in this character or comics in general to pick this up. You will not regret it.
Rating:  -
Forget those reviewers who tanked this item, along with any recommendations to find Jerry Ordway's awful treatment of Marvel in the Power of Shazam! series. Smith's story is a restoration, not the misfired retcon Ordway's was. CM is not supposed to be an adult running around with the brain of an adolescent (it's the Wisdom of Solomon, folks, not the Wisdom of Forrest Gump). This story is a lot of fun, and has found a place alongside Dini and Ross's Shazam!:Power of Hope on my bookshelf.
Rating: -
(From an extended feature, copyright 2007 Michael F. Hopkins)
This is an excellent time for Captain Marvel. Buoyed by the
stalwart work of Jerry Ordway throughout the 1990s, one
of Comicdom's elder characters is currently enjoying some
prime treatment from an array of top notch talents, from the
current TRIALS OF SHAZAM from Judd Winick, to the superb
one-shot SHAZAM: POWER OF HOPE from Paul Dini and Alex
Ross. The one many have been waiting for, the Sequential
saga from the pioneering author of BONE, is finally here.
Jeff Smith's SHAZAM: THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL is now
assembled in one highly impressive volume from DC Comics,
its oversized pages full of the wide-eyed wonder and
satiric wit which has distinguished the finest Captain Marvel
adventures across the decades.
In fact, the character's daring and whimsy has never been
handled better than here, in this cavalcade of thrills and
charm, magic galore and perils deeply rooted in the current
day. One look at Smith's rendition of Sivana, a holder of
high office mouthing self-serving platitudes borne dead
from the political cesspools of post-2001 Americana, and
you begin to feel the unique genius of this tale. Balance
this with his Billy Batson and Captain Marvel, as much a
wry nod to Alan Moore's MARVELMAN (No small miracle here)
as they are incisive hat tips to author Otto Binder and
artist C.C. Beck, and you perceive the achingly humorous
and meticulously wise work which Smith has wrought.
If that's not enough, try the outrageously effective
re-working of Mary Marvel as a precocious child grounded
in sheer nerve, linking the child in us all to teach this
generation what's at stake (check her final confrontation
with Sivana, if you doubt). As for Talky Tawny, the creator
of BONE's roguish tiger Rocque Ja brings an exceptional
take to one of the most revered characters of the entire
Captain Marvel mythos. As jocular as ever, Tawny bears a
whole new dignity and impact which further distinguishes
this tale as a standout epic.
Don't worry about fitting this tale into continuity (Which
one?). SHAZAM: THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL is a whopping
great storybook, filled with good vs. evil, monsters big
and small, and a colorful, hearty compassion which reaches
out to all willing to read this tale on its own merits.
Turn the fawcett on, and drink deep.
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