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Showcase Presents #17
Showcase Presenta: Shazam!, volumen 1
Inauguramos la línea Showcase, destinada a recopilar historias de antaño de DC Comics en formato libro de bolsillo con una gran cantidad de páginas y en blanco y negro. Para empezar nada menos que todo un clásico del mundo del cómic: Shazam, justo a tiempo para coincidir con su mes temático (con El poder de Shazam y Superman/Shazam: Primer trueno, sin contar con La monstruosa sociedad del mal del mes pasado). En este recopilatorio pueden encontrarse las historias correspondientes a los números 1 a 38 de la serie original, publicada originalmente entre 1973 y 1978. Shazam está acompañado de toda la familia Marvel con Mary y Junior para hacer frente las amenazas de Black Adam, Dr. Sivana y la Monstruosa sociedad del mal. Por autores de la talla de Dennis O´Neil, E. Nelson Bridwell, Elliot S. Maggin, C.C. Beck, Kurt Schaffenberger o Dick Giordano, entre otras leyendas que hicieron historia en DC Comics y que ahora, por fin, estarán disponibles.
528 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 2006
5 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
E. Nelson Bridwell
286 books8 followersEdward Nelson Bridwell was a writer for Mad magazine (writing the now-famous catchphrase, "What you mean...we?" in a 1958 parody of The Lone Ranger in Mad) and various comic books published by DC Comics. One of the writers for the Batman comic strip and Super Friends, he also wrote The Inferior Five, among other comics. He has been called "DC's self-appointed continuity cop."
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 14, 2021
While Captain Marvel is not one of my favorite Golden Age heroes this was an enjoyable read. Nice collection of the early stories. Recommended
October 14, 2025
Serie degli anni '70 con il sapore degli anni '40, questo potrebbe essere lo slogan di questa serie.
In realtà abbiamo molti volti in queste storie: si parte da C.C. Beck, creatore dei Marvel e disegnatore dallo stile molto waltdysneiano, non solo nelle pose dei personaggi, ma anche nella costruzione delle storie. Per un lettore italiano come me c'è molto di topolinesco in queste storie, specialmente nelle prime. Non so quanto di Dennis O'Neal ci sia realmente in queste prime storie.
Seguono quelle scritte da Maggin e poi Nelson Bridwell, che ricalcano molto la linea naif ma cercano, ad un certo punto, di recuperare altri personaggi della Fawcett come Kid Eternity e Minuteman e di creare una serie di storie collegate l'una all'altra.
Personaggi come Capitan Marvel Jr e Mary Marvel rimangono sulla stessa linea, e così lo Zio Marvel ed i tre tenenti Marvel. Diciamo che sono storie molto fanciullesche, che non prendono granchè ma almeno fanno sorridere se non proprio ridere, avendo l'età giusta.
Per i disegni oltre alla vecchia guardia rappresentata da C.C.Beck abbiamo soprattutto Bob Oksner e Shaffenberg, che quando sono inchiostrati da Vince Colletta sono anche gradevoli.
Non me la sento di massacrarle con 1 stella, ma davvero, non andiamo oltre le 2 stelle.
In realtà abbiamo molti volti in queste storie: si parte da C.C. Beck, creatore dei Marvel e disegnatore dallo stile molto waltdysneiano, non solo nelle pose dei personaggi, ma anche nella costruzione delle storie. Per un lettore italiano come me c'è molto di topolinesco in queste storie, specialmente nelle prime. Non so quanto di Dennis O'Neal ci sia realmente in queste prime storie.
Seguono quelle scritte da Maggin e poi Nelson Bridwell, che ricalcano molto la linea naif ma cercano, ad un certo punto, di recuperare altri personaggi della Fawcett come Kid Eternity e Minuteman e di creare una serie di storie collegate l'una all'altra.
Personaggi come Capitan Marvel Jr e Mary Marvel rimangono sulla stessa linea, e così lo Zio Marvel ed i tre tenenti Marvel. Diciamo che sono storie molto fanciullesche, che non prendono granchè ma almeno fanno sorridere se non proprio ridere, avendo l'età giusta.
Per i disegni oltre alla vecchia guardia rappresentata da C.C.Beck abbiamo soprattutto Bob Oksner e Shaffenberg, che quando sono inchiostrati da Vince Colletta sono anche gradevoli.
Non me la sento di massacrarle con 1 stella, ma davvero, non andiamo oltre le 2 stelle.
August 24, 2017
Even though most of the stories are short, it still takes a long time to read 500 pages of comics! Shazam (aka Captain Marvel) is so much fun. Lighthearted, optimistic, unrealistic, colorful (even in black and white)! Cap and his crew of sidekicks - Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and Tawky Tawny the tiger - are always ready to foil the preposterous, Saturday Morning cartoon plots of Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind, the universe's most diabolical worm! Watch out, evildoers! When you see that bolt of magical lighting, you know the world's mightiest mortal is getting ready to save the day!
I have to say, I truly and thoroughly enjoyed these stories much more than I expected! I mostly wanted this for the Mary Marvel backups from the 1970s, with Mary solving the mystery of a haunted clubhouse, rescuing an envious teenager from a cave of dynamite, etc. But I read every page and was reminded why Captain Marvel is so great! Some might see him as a corny crusader from another era, but like He-Man, he is just so earnest and good and fun to cheer for that you can't help getting swept up in the magic, even if it's served with a side of nonsense.
I have to say, I truly and thoroughly enjoyed these stories much more than I expected! I mostly wanted this for the Mary Marvel backups from the 1970s, with Mary solving the mystery of a haunted clubhouse, rescuing an envious teenager from a cave of dynamite, etc. But I read every page and was reminded why Captain Marvel is so great! Some might see him as a corny crusader from another era, but like He-Man, he is just so earnest and good and fun to cheer for that you can't help getting swept up in the magic, even if it's served with a side of nonsense.
September 28, 2017
If you are looking for modern, gritty comics such as Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, you won't find it here. However, if you love the campy, light hearted comics of the Silver and Golden Age, you'll love this collection.
This series is a throwback to simpler times, and really even when it was first published comics had taken a much darker turn. These were published in the 70s when Batman had gone dark and Marvel was filled with angst ridden anti-heroes and horror characters. But Shazam always remained the wide eyed poster boy of comics aimed at younger readers. The early art was even by C.C. Beck who had drawn Captain Marvel in the Golden Age.
We have the entire cast here, The Wizard Shazam, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Uncle Marvel and even Tawky Tawny. The goofy rogues gallery is here as well including the Sivana Family, Mister Mind the worm, IBAC, and even Black Adam shows up.
Overall this is book is a fun, campy read and it was nice change of pace from the more serious comics I usually read. If you are a Golden and Silver Age comics fan, this is for you.
This series is a throwback to simpler times, and really even when it was first published comics had taken a much darker turn. These were published in the 70s when Batman had gone dark and Marvel was filled with angst ridden anti-heroes and horror characters. But Shazam always remained the wide eyed poster boy of comics aimed at younger readers. The early art was even by C.C. Beck who had drawn Captain Marvel in the Golden Age.
We have the entire cast here, The Wizard Shazam, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Uncle Marvel and even Tawky Tawny. The goofy rogues gallery is here as well including the Sivana Family, Mister Mind the worm, IBAC, and even Black Adam shows up.
Overall this is book is a fun, campy read and it was nice change of pace from the more serious comics I usually read. If you are a Golden and Silver Age comics fan, this is for you.
May 28, 2012
Great graphic novel collection. However, there are several issues that had content cut (due to older reprints) and entire issues left out. There were covers were in place of the missing issues.
February 22, 2018
I'm on another Captain Marvel kick. These older comics are a lot like the old 60s Batman TV show: not particularly good, but comforting and enjoyable in a nostalgic way. The 33 issues included in this volume showed how the writers were starting to utilize Captain Marvel's potential as a character--even if they didn't quite reach it. The older ones felt like they were made more for kids, with simplistic plots and an easily identifiable pattern. The same was true for the later ones, but with the exception that they started experimenting a bit. I'd be curious to know if sales were down or if there was something else going on behind the scenes to inspire the changes we began to see on the page. Taking Captain Marvel to different cities was a nice change of pace. Even if the storytelling stayed simple (the villain proclaims the city he's going to attack next and it coincidentally is the next city on Billy Batson's list), the writers were at least trying to build up a bit more continuity and add in some new aspects to the canon. (Though, did we really need "fat"--and "hill" and "tall"--variations of Billy/Captain Marvel? That seemed a bit childish even by this title's standards... and it has a talking tiger!) However, it was cool to see a story that took place in Columbus. ("O-H-I-O!") But I was disappointed that some stories were completely cut out. This collection included those comics' covers, but not the actual stories. If you're going to include 33 issues, doesn't it make sense to actually include those 33 issues?!? But, even with those missing, this was a nice enough read. Not exactly superb storytelling, but a nice snapshot into comic history that also serves as a great interruption if you happen to have a stressful week (which I did).
December 3, 2023
3.5 syars, 4 stars for OG Captain Marvel fans like me, because this features C.C. Beck's final Big Red Cheese art as well as Bridwell's fun ongoing story of Billy Batson's cross-country road trip (revisiting a ton of Golden Age characters), but the stories in between those two stretches of solid material are pretty dull.
April 19, 2018
Though very cheesy, I enjoyed the recurring characters, the suspension of disbelief idea that it is an alternate dimension, and the 1950s-ish writing made it enjoyable. It aged, but it reminded me of reading a favorite newspaper comic strip from the past. Super easy to read.
April 9, 2019
3.5. Fun without being overly memorable. Nice Art.
April 3, 2019
Man. This was goofy and weird and I loved it. It brought back memories of digging through long boxes on the floors of comic shops and pulling out magic. Shazam comics just do whatever they want. Talking Tiger? Sure. Evil megalomaniac worm? Yes. Being loosy-goosy with time and space? Check.
I love how this 70s run updates the 50s stories without running from the quirk. I also like how they wrote the 20 year gap into the story. This isn't for everyone, but if you are part of the club, it's just right.
I talk with author Elliot S! Maggin and take a deep dive into Shazam on this episode of the All the Books Show podcast.
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
I love how this 70s run updates the 50s stories without running from the quirk. I also like how they wrote the 20 year gap into the story. This isn't for everyone, but if you are part of the club, it's just right.
I talk with author Elliot S! Maggin and take a deep dive into Shazam on this episode of the All the Books Show podcast.
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
March 7, 2013
Kleine spaßige Geschichten
Captain Marvel ist so ein Superheld, der nicht ins Schema passt. Er wird von seinen Feinden als "großer roter Käse" bezeichnet, einer seiner größten Feinde ist ein Wurm mit einem Sprechgerät, und ein Freund von ihm ist ein sprechender Tiger, der im Anzug durch die Stadt läuft.
Hier in diesem Band findet man viele recht kurze Geschichten, die in einem sehr eigenen, wenig DC-haften Zeichenstil gezeichnet sind, und die relativ unspannend sind. Dafür sind sie immer sehr leicht, unterhaltsam, und die Autoren nehmen die Charaktere nicht so ernst. Spassig und für Zwischendurch eine nette Abwechslung vom modernen, düsteren, fast schon zu ernsten Superheldentypus.
Wenn man diese Geschichten gelesen hat, wird man verstehen, wie schwierig es ist, diese Welt in den üblichen Kanon des DC-Universums zu bringen, und was für eine tolle Leistung es war, Captain Marvel in "Kingdom Come" von Waid/Ross so unterzubringen, wie es dort geschehen ist.
Captain Marvel ist so ein Superheld, der nicht ins Schema passt. Er wird von seinen Feinden als "großer roter Käse" bezeichnet, einer seiner größten Feinde ist ein Wurm mit einem Sprechgerät, und ein Freund von ihm ist ein sprechender Tiger, der im Anzug durch die Stadt läuft.
Hier in diesem Band findet man viele recht kurze Geschichten, die in einem sehr eigenen, wenig DC-haften Zeichenstil gezeichnet sind, und die relativ unspannend sind. Dafür sind sie immer sehr leicht, unterhaltsam, und die Autoren nehmen die Charaktere nicht so ernst. Spassig und für Zwischendurch eine nette Abwechslung vom modernen, düsteren, fast schon zu ernsten Superheldentypus.
Wenn man diese Geschichten gelesen hat, wird man verstehen, wie schwierig es ist, diese Welt in den üblichen Kanon des DC-Universums zu bringen, und was für eine tolle Leistung es war, Captain Marvel in "Kingdom Come" von Waid/Ross so unterzubringen, wie es dort geschehen ist.
November 1, 2013
Este tomo está lleno de historias cortas de la Familia Marvel y tiene unas cuantas historias bastante naifs, simplonas, infantiles, ilusas y -sobre todo- muy pero muy divertidas. No entiendo qué necesidad hay de volver a "Shazam!" un personaje adulto y melodramático si el tono de estas aventuras le queda tan pero tan bien. En cuanto a los muchos dibujantes que participan en el tomo, todos son bastante simplones, casi caricaturescos, prolijitos, bonitos y muy pero muy buenos narradores.
Lástima que no se hayan editado más tomos porque me aseguraban otras quinientas páginas de sana diversión para toda la familia.
Lástima que no se hayan editado más tomos porque me aseguraban otras quinientas páginas de sana diversión para toda la familia.
September 22, 2016
Prior to reading this collection I have read a couple of Shazam collections, so I had some knowledge about the characters and common themes, but this was something else.
As you would expected, the stories are simple, naive, at times unintentionally hilarious, short and fun.
The art fits the stories rather well, and even though there are a few artist that did the collection, the art looks pretty much the same throughout the book.
Overall, a fun trip to a time with much simpler superhero comics.
As you would expected, the stories are simple, naive, at times unintentionally hilarious, short and fun.
The art fits the stories rather well, and even though there are a few artist that did the collection, the art looks pretty much the same throughout the book.
Overall, a fun trip to a time with much simpler superhero comics.
November 4, 2011
The Best superhero in the entire world :D Get It
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews