Shazam! #10: No, Me. I Mean The Other Me!

Shazam! #10 is the start of a new arc for the series with a major creative shift. Josie Campbell takes over the writing duties for Mark Waid, who transitioned off the series after committing to the next big DC event, Absolute Power. Thankfully, this change does not completely derail the series, with Campbell picking up on Waid’s loose threads, maintaining the current status quo in expert fashion. The issue itself sees Billy Batson and his foster family move into their new home while Zeus attempts to interfere since he feels Billy owes him a debt.

While the writing here definitely feels different from what Waid was bringing to the series, there is no doubt that Campbell was the best choice for his successor. Campbell actually takes the series into some more uncharted territory, choosing to utilize the supporting cast in a stronger fashion than her predecessor. This means that characters like Freddie and Mary have a lot more to do. It’s nice to see these characters get more to do, especially since Mary’s last big outing was in the New Champions of Shazam series that Campbell also wrote. It was a no-brainer to see her utilize the characters she is more familiar with, while not taking anything away from the narrative that Waid was already pursuing.

The big thread that Waid left behind was that Billy and The Captain were slowly becoming two different entities. This was a major callback to Captain Marvel’s origins, but had yet to fully be explored within the narrative. That plotline appears to be at the forefront for Campbell’s narrative, with Mary stepping in as the voice of reason, finally asking the questions that readers have been waiting for.

Not only is that major plot thread picked up, but so is the plot with Zeus claiming a favor he feels owed by Billy. Nothing in the world of these characters can ever be normal, and it’s great to see this creative team embrace that. The only piece that felt off about the book was the character designs from Emanuela Lupacchino and Mike Norton. The age of Billy and his foster family often fluctuates, but this iteration has Billy looking very young, but only at times. Sometimes he looks like a teenager and other times he looks like a child. Mary, on the other hand, stays fairly consistent. Then, when they transform into their super hero personas, the same problem occurs. Sometimes The Captain looks like an adult and other times he looks like a teenager.

The most intriguing part of this new creative team is the mystery behind the plot moving forward. Especially now that Waid is off the series, it seems especially important that the identity of The Captain is in flux. This is an issue that is definitely going to be contained within this series, with no worry of outside context interfering. With Waid, it almost felt inevitable that some kind of plotline would bleed into the next big event, so it’s nice to see a self-contained, long running plotline evolve in one book, without the need of having to fork out a bunch of extra money when an event takes it over.