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Shazam!: The World's Mightiest Mortal #1
Shazam: The World's Mightiest Mortal Vol. 1
The 1970s adventures of Shazam--Now the star of his very own movie--are collected in color for the first time!
In 1973 DC brought back one of the most beloved superheroes of all Shazam!
After a 20-year publication hiatus, the popular Golden Age hero (dubbed "the Big Red Cheese" by his archnemesis, Dr. Sivana) returned with a bang for a series of all-new adventures. Back in the '40s, comic books featuring Shazam sold millions of copies. These comics from the '70s combined the timeless and cartoony artwork of C.C. Beck (the original artist from the 1940s) with a modern, self-conscious sensibility from writers such as Denny O'Neil.
Shazam!: The World's Mightiest Mortal Vol. 1 collects Shazam! #1-18.
In 1973 DC brought back one of the most beloved superheroes of all Shazam!
After a 20-year publication hiatus, the popular Golden Age hero (dubbed "the Big Red Cheese" by his archnemesis, Dr. Sivana) returned with a bang for a series of all-new adventures. Back in the '40s, comic books featuring Shazam sold millions of copies. These comics from the '70s combined the timeless and cartoony artwork of C.C. Beck (the original artist from the 1940s) with a modern, self-conscious sensibility from writers such as Denny O'Neil.
Shazam!: The World's Mightiest Mortal Vol. 1 collects Shazam! #1-18.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2019
About the author
Dennis O'Neil
1,754 books283 followers
Dennis "Denny" O'Neil
was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.
His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.
His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 11, 2019
Shazam: The World's Mightiest Mortal Vol. 1 collects Shazam! #1-18.
The original Captain Marvel, now referred to as Shazam due to copyright reasons we won't go into here, is one of those characters I've always wanted to read more of. After watching the Filmation Shazam series as a kid, I kept my eyes open for more Shazam. I've got maybe 15-20 comics featuring the Big Red Cheese in my collection. When I saw this was coming out, I pre-ordered it and devoured it in a couple evenings.
When DC acquired the rights to the original Captain Marvel in the early 1970s, they wasted no time grabbing the best artists who worked on his comics twenty years earlier, CC Beck and Kurt Schaffenberger. CC Beck hadn't lost a step in two decades. His work still looks as iconic as ever. I cannot stress how much I enjoyed CC Beck's art in this. He's right up there with Jack Cole for me, an artist whose influence is still felt decades after his prime. It's a shame he quit about a year into the run over creative differences. Schaffenberger and Bob Oksner follow his lead so Captain Marvel is on model in every story. Dave Cockrum channelled Mac Raboy and knocked out a great Captain Marvel Junior story. Dick Giordano, Pat Broderick, and Vince Colletta all chipped in as well.
Denny O'Neil, E. Nelson Bridwell, and Elliot S! Maggin do the writing chores. I said on Twitter that the book probably would have sold better if they had been doing 1970s stories instead of 1940s stories in the 1970s and I stand by that. The stories feel like they were meant for a more innocent time, like if Carl Barks had ever taken a stab at Superman. Captain Marvel and family beat up the bad guys and haul them off to jail.
The stories are all in the 8-10 page range and most of them use a six panel grid. They remind me more of Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge stories than super hero comics from the late silver age/early bronze age. In fact, Sunny Sparkle and Doctor Kilowatt feel like forgotten golden age characters rather than new ones created for this run. They feel natural alongside characters like Tawkey Tawny, the talking tiger who wears human clothes.
One aspect I really enjoyed is that Captain Marvel and Billy Batson, while linked, are two different beings. In modern depictions, Cap has Billy's mind, frequently so he can play second banana to Superman. I feel like in some ways, DC has never forgiven Captain Marvel for outselling Superman in the '40s.
I wonder if DC really had any ideas for the Marvel Family when they acquired them. The Marvel Family does best on its own earth. In a universe with Superman and related characters, they're a little redundant. The stories in this volume have a timeless quality but I don't think they're breaking much ground that the Fawcett series hadn't already trod upon. That's another point I want to make: while many of these issues contained reprints of 1940s Captain Marvel stories, none of those are reprinted here.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed this quite a bit. CC Beck's artwork is iconic and the writing hearkens back to a more innocent age. Let's hope DC reprints more. Four out of five stars.
The original Captain Marvel, now referred to as Shazam due to copyright reasons we won't go into here, is one of those characters I've always wanted to read more of. After watching the Filmation Shazam series as a kid, I kept my eyes open for more Shazam. I've got maybe 15-20 comics featuring the Big Red Cheese in my collection. When I saw this was coming out, I pre-ordered it and devoured it in a couple evenings.
When DC acquired the rights to the original Captain Marvel in the early 1970s, they wasted no time grabbing the best artists who worked on his comics twenty years earlier, CC Beck and Kurt Schaffenberger. CC Beck hadn't lost a step in two decades. His work still looks as iconic as ever. I cannot stress how much I enjoyed CC Beck's art in this. He's right up there with Jack Cole for me, an artist whose influence is still felt decades after his prime. It's a shame he quit about a year into the run over creative differences. Schaffenberger and Bob Oksner follow his lead so Captain Marvel is on model in every story. Dave Cockrum channelled Mac Raboy and knocked out a great Captain Marvel Junior story. Dick Giordano, Pat Broderick, and Vince Colletta all chipped in as well.
Denny O'Neil, E. Nelson Bridwell, and Elliot S! Maggin do the writing chores. I said on Twitter that the book probably would have sold better if they had been doing 1970s stories instead of 1940s stories in the 1970s and I stand by that. The stories feel like they were meant for a more innocent time, like if Carl Barks had ever taken a stab at Superman. Captain Marvel and family beat up the bad guys and haul them off to jail.
The stories are all in the 8-10 page range and most of them use a six panel grid. They remind me more of Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge stories than super hero comics from the late silver age/early bronze age. In fact, Sunny Sparkle and Doctor Kilowatt feel like forgotten golden age characters rather than new ones created for this run. They feel natural alongside characters like Tawkey Tawny, the talking tiger who wears human clothes.
One aspect I really enjoyed is that Captain Marvel and Billy Batson, while linked, are two different beings. In modern depictions, Cap has Billy's mind, frequently so he can play second banana to Superman. I feel like in some ways, DC has never forgiven Captain Marvel for outselling Superman in the '40s.
I wonder if DC really had any ideas for the Marvel Family when they acquired them. The Marvel Family does best on its own earth. In a universe with Superman and related characters, they're a little redundant. The stories in this volume have a timeless quality but I don't think they're breaking much ground that the Fawcett series hadn't already trod upon. That's another point I want to make: while many of these issues contained reprints of 1940s Captain Marvel stories, none of those are reprinted here.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed this quite a bit. CC Beck's artwork is iconic and the writing hearkens back to a more innocent age. Let's hope DC reprints more. Four out of five stars.
August 18, 2019
In 1972, Captain Marvel had been missing from newsstand shelves for almost 20 years, since National (later DC) sued Fawcett until they stopped publication, using the deranged claim that Captain Marvel was too much like Superman and so a copyright violation. It's thus entirely ironic that it was DC who would eventually bring Captain Marvel back into print (under license), with the comic titled Shazam!, since Marvel Comics had snatched up the trademark while the Big Red Cheese was out of print.
To explain the Captain's 20-year absence, Dennis O'Neil had the Marvel Family and many of their friends trapped in Suspendium for decades. And certainly, the Captain Marvel comic does feel like it's from a different time (both then and now). There's an innocence to it, in the attitudes of the Marvels and in C.C. Beck's clean, crisp art, yes, but also in their whole worldview.
Billy Baton's world is one where tigers talk and people can be so nice that everyone gives them things. It's a place where no one ever notices the lightning bolts that turn the Batsons and friends into heroes, where a kindly would-be uncle is gently supported when he pretends to be a hero too. The comics not only embrace this worldview, but they build on it, imagining a world with different physics, where those scientific foundations too could be manipulated if they were understood.
The best of these 18 comics are the ones by Dennis O'Neill with art by C.C. Beck, which are a minority of the volume, but almost everything in here is enjoyable. It's not deep, and it's not about big plots or people who change. But it's a funny-pages sort of superhero, done well, and the sort of thing that you can't find any more.
To explain the Captain's 20-year absence, Dennis O'Neil had the Marvel Family and many of their friends trapped in Suspendium for decades. And certainly, the Captain Marvel comic does feel like it's from a different time (both then and now). There's an innocence to it, in the attitudes of the Marvels and in C.C. Beck's clean, crisp art, yes, but also in their whole worldview.
Billy Baton's world is one where tigers talk and people can be so nice that everyone gives them things. It's a place where no one ever notices the lightning bolts that turn the Batsons and friends into heroes, where a kindly would-be uncle is gently supported when he pretends to be a hero too. The comics not only embrace this worldview, but they build on it, imagining a world with different physics, where those scientific foundations too could be manipulated if they were understood.
The best of these 18 comics are the ones by Dennis O'Neill with art by C.C. Beck, which are a minority of the volume, but almost everything in here is enjoyable. It's not deep, and it's not about big plots or people who change. But it's a funny-pages sort of superhero, done well, and the sort of thing that you can't find any more.
January 24, 2025
I hate the way DC went about getting the rights to publish Captain Marvel comics, but love that when they did, their first instinct was to replicate what worked about the old Fawcett series.
The first story in this collection explains how the Marvel Family and their supporting cast were placed into suspended animation by the Sivanas and reawakened in the '70s when these issues were originally published. That done, the rest of the series is a combination of reprinting Golden Age adventures and creating new adventures in the old style. Those focused on Captain Marvel are light and whimsical, Captain Marvel Jr's tend to be more grounded, and the tone of Mary Marvel's is somewhere between.
For the most part, the male family members look just like they did in the '40s, but Mary got a '70s makeover. I don't know exactly how old she was in the original adventures, but she was drawn as being about the same age as Billy: early- to mid-teens at the oldest. Now she's in her late teens or early 20s with a '70s miniskirt and a Laurie Partridge hairstyle. That's not a complaint, she looks great, but it's meaningful that she's the only character the creators thought needed an update.
Another interesting thing about this collection is that it includes a Lex Luthor story that makes clear that the Marvel Family inhabits a different reality from the rest of the DCU. There's no Infinite Earths talk, but when Luthor is transported to the Marvels' world, we learn that he and the Marvels are both fictional characters in each others' realities.
And it's weird that Superman is never mentioned by name. And when he appears in the story, we don't see his face. I don't know why DC was walking some kind of tightrope about mixing Superman and Captain Marvel, but it appears that they were. Odd.
The first story in this collection explains how the Marvel Family and their supporting cast were placed into suspended animation by the Sivanas and reawakened in the '70s when these issues were originally published. That done, the rest of the series is a combination of reprinting Golden Age adventures and creating new adventures in the old style. Those focused on Captain Marvel are light and whimsical, Captain Marvel Jr's tend to be more grounded, and the tone of Mary Marvel's is somewhere between.
For the most part, the male family members look just like they did in the '40s, but Mary got a '70s makeover. I don't know exactly how old she was in the original adventures, but she was drawn as being about the same age as Billy: early- to mid-teens at the oldest. Now she's in her late teens or early 20s with a '70s miniskirt and a Laurie Partridge hairstyle. That's not a complaint, she looks great, but it's meaningful that she's the only character the creators thought needed an update.
Another interesting thing about this collection is that it includes a Lex Luthor story that makes clear that the Marvel Family inhabits a different reality from the rest of the DCU. There's no Infinite Earths talk, but when Luthor is transported to the Marvels' world, we learn that he and the Marvels are both fictional characters in each others' realities.
And it's weird that Superman is never mentioned by name. And when he appears in the story, we don't see his face. I don't know why DC was walking some kind of tightrope about mixing Superman and Captain Marvel, but it appears that they were. Odd.
December 29, 2019
This was a blast from the past. It is the first half of the DC Shazam! comic from the 70's when Captain Marvel was on TV and traveling the country in his uncle's Winnebago and calling on the wisdom of the "gods" (Solomon isn't a god, I guess they couldn't think of a God that starts with "s").
As many know - he was the original Captain Marvel and the only reason the comic had to be called Shazam (the magic word young Billy Batson uses to transform into Captain Marvel) was because Faucett comics (the company that originally published Captain Marvel's adventures) went bankrupt and during that time Marvel Comics came up with a character called Captain Marvel and had the rights to that name.
But enough about the history these are the children friendly adventures of Captain Marvel and his family. We even get the original Captain Marvel artist C.C. Beck to draw some of the stories and then the art is done by Bob Oksner and eventually (my fav) Kurt Schaffenberger. We get Dennis O'Neil, Elliot Maggin! E. Nelson Bridwell as the writers.
They are all fun stories and I would best describe them as Richie Rich or Uncle Scrooge comics but with super heroes, in terms of them being very child-like but fun to read. I think the comics got better in the second half (volume 2) because they drew on more of the villains from Captain Marvel's past (like Black Adam) and the stories were a bit more super hero oriented instead of silly adventures that happened to involve a super hero. The highlight story in this collection is a disgruntled hippie who calls space-villains to Earth with his music box. It showed a good dose of cleverness with a real reason to get Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel JR. involved. My main complaint is I wish they had been less superficial stories and we got to see a bit more of their alter egos Billy, Mary and Freddy.
Overall, a lot of fun and seeing Schaffenberger's art reprinted in a high quality format like this is always a treat. He (IMO) is one of the most underrated artists in the medium. And these fun stories are perfect for his style.
As many know - he was the original Captain Marvel and the only reason the comic had to be called Shazam (the magic word young Billy Batson uses to transform into Captain Marvel) was because Faucett comics (the company that originally published Captain Marvel's adventures) went bankrupt and during that time Marvel Comics came up with a character called Captain Marvel and had the rights to that name.
But enough about the history these are the children friendly adventures of Captain Marvel and his family. We even get the original Captain Marvel artist C.C. Beck to draw some of the stories and then the art is done by Bob Oksner and eventually (my fav) Kurt Schaffenberger. We get Dennis O'Neil, Elliot Maggin! E. Nelson Bridwell as the writers.
They are all fun stories and I would best describe them as Richie Rich or Uncle Scrooge comics but with super heroes, in terms of them being very child-like but fun to read. I think the comics got better in the second half (volume 2) because they drew on more of the villains from Captain Marvel's past (like Black Adam) and the stories were a bit more super hero oriented instead of silly adventures that happened to involve a super hero. The highlight story in this collection is a disgruntled hippie who calls space-villains to Earth with his music box. It showed a good dose of cleverness with a real reason to get Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel JR. involved. My main complaint is I wish they had been less superficial stories and we got to see a bit more of their alter egos Billy, Mary and Freddy.
Overall, a lot of fun and seeing Schaffenberger's art reprinted in a high quality format like this is always a treat. He (IMO) is one of the most underrated artists in the medium. And these fun stories are perfect for his style.
January 26, 2022
A collection of the first DC Shazam stories in the early 70's, done up in the Golden Age style. These are appropriately light-hearted and silly, an interesting product of the vibe they were going for and the time they were living in.
November 22, 2025
This book was ridiculous and goofy…and I loved every minute of it! 😀 I can see now why a lot of people still prefer to call Shazam “Captain Marvel”, although I’m still not one of them. I especially enjoyed getting to know the Marvel Family. I have a soft spot for Freddy 💗
July 26, 2024
Outrageously funny and outright wholesome!
For someone who has a hard time with comedy, rarely laughing, this book is a riot!
Captain Marvel's 70's surprise continuation of its 1940-53 timeline is one of the funniest books I've ever read!
The charm of the original Captain Marvel stories shines brightly to make some of the most wholesome and hilarious times for you!
Seeing C.C. Beck (co-creator and original artist of Captain Marvel) come back is a great joy and the team of artists, that take over after, do a phenomenal job replicating his style!
Only warning for this book is one extreme instance of a horrendous Asian characture! Other than that rather unforgivable point, this book does have a lot of focus on uplifting feel-good comradery!
This collection is also beautifully presented and does a phenomenal job of giving the historical context and placement of this series!
This book is truly electric with fun and funnys!
For someone who has a hard time with comedy, rarely laughing, this book is a riot!
Captain Marvel's 70's surprise continuation of its 1940-53 timeline is one of the funniest books I've ever read!
The charm of the original Captain Marvel stories shines brightly to make some of the most wholesome and hilarious times for you!
Seeing C.C. Beck (co-creator and original artist of Captain Marvel) come back is a great joy and the team of artists, that take over after, do a phenomenal job replicating his style!
Only warning for this book is one extreme instance of a horrendous Asian characture! Other than that rather unforgivable point, this book does have a lot of focus on uplifting feel-good comradery!
This collection is also beautifully presented and does a phenomenal job of giving the historical context and placement of this series!
This book is truly electric with fun and funnys!
January 20, 2020
I am so happy to see DC reprint the '70s revival of the original Captain Marvel from SHAZAM! (and hope the company will continue after the announced Volume 2 with a third volume containing stories from WORLD'S FINEST COMICS, ADVENTURE COMICS, and DC COMICS PRESENTS).
The first SHAZAM! comic I ever bought and read (#18) is collected in this volume, though I didn't really become a fan until the series took Billy Batson and Uncle Dudley on a trip around the United States, just like the TV series did. Reading most of the stories here for the first time, there is a lot of FUN to be found.
Highly recommended!!!
The first SHAZAM! comic I ever bought and read (#18) is collected in this volume, though I didn't really become a fan until the series took Billy Batson and Uncle Dudley on a trip around the United States, just like the TV series did. Reading most of the stories here for the first time, there is a lot of FUN to be found.
Highly recommended!!!
June 21, 2022
I’ve got a real soft spot for the Big Red Cheese and his old, lighthearted adventures. It’s nice to take a break from the self-serious stories of most contemporary superheroes and visit a time when things were just a little lighter. This collection has some clunkers, but there were a couple of tales that got a real chuckle out of me.
May 14, 2026
”….In the Beginning…” starts with Billy Batson meeting a Mr. Binder who is shocked that Billy has been missing for 20 years and hasn’t aged a day. Billy explains (to the reader) his origin story.
Complete with ‘mysterious guide’. Did we ever find out who he is?
Yes, in the definitive 1990s The Power of Shazam! graphic novel by Jerry Ordway, the "mysterious stranger" who leads Billy Batson to the subway tunnel is revealed to be the ghost of his father, C.C. Batson. This version established that the spirit was guiding Billy toward his destiny to become the champion of the wizard Shazam.
Shazam tells Billy that he is an ancient Egyptian wizard. Then he brings a huge stone block down from over his head to squash him to oblivion. But he appears as a spirit and says that he can be summoned by lightning the brazier here. Wherever here is.
”The World’s Wickedest Plan” starts with Billy hearing gunshots on the streets and the Captain running to find out why. He sees a car running from the police while shooting. He notes that not much has changed in the twenty years he’s been gone. He stops the crooks and hands them over to the grateful police.
The Captain thinks back to what he can remember. The Marvel family and some others were abducted by a spaceship controlled by the Sivana family. They had created a giant bubble of Suspendium which held all their captives. An accident had the Sivana family caught in the bubble as well. It orbited the sun for twenty years.
Coming close to the sun the heat begins vaporizing the bubble. This allows the Captain to think and move enough to shout Shazam using his smaller size to get free.
The Sivana’s manage to escape, but the Marvel family rescues everyone else trapped in the bubble and brings them to earth.
Then the Captain heads to Sivana’s old hideout and busts in and captures them.
I suppose this was a story built to allow the Marvel family to be updated into the ‘modern’ world, but it’s got no charm whatsoever.
1 star
December 4, 2025
All you need to know is that he was trapped in stasis for 20 years. This book is quite odd, it has the same tone as it did back in the 50s but came out in a very different landscape in the 70s. I honestly think its to its detriment. At the time we had moved on from these episodic stories, or at least Marvel did, so it feels weird to read this. I wish there was more of a concrete story. Also I did say in one of my reviews I wished they showed Freddy more but I honestly didn’t like the 2 side stories they kept doing with Freddy and Mary, it honestly just made Billy’s more interesting stories shorter.
June 5, 2023
Wonderful collection of stories with top notch illustrating by C.C. Beck and Bob Oskner.
A few of the stories are a bit much, but all are fun, which comics should be.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
A few of the stories are a bit much, but all are fun, which comics should be.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
August 28, 2019
Great all-ages stories!
January 5, 2020
It felt a bit like reading old Archie comics: quirky characters in a world with simple b&w rules. Relaxing to read.
April 13, 2023
Not really a fan of shazam the first part just got me disappointed in superheroes and right now same over here.
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