Shazam! #9: Juxtaposition at its Finest

Shazam! #9 marks the end of Mark Waid’s time writing The Captain, as he makes way for DC’s blockbuster event, Absolute Power. Being everything that has been great about this series so far, with all the charm that can come from The Creeper, Shazam! #9 sees Billy being taken on a journey out of his control as he and The Creeper take on the Shadow Thief. While this issue does pose as a transition point creatively, a lot can be said about the nature of Waid’s story and how befitting it is of the character that he has practically redefined over the last year.

Waid’s time on this series has redefined the character’s relationship with the DC universe, recapturing elements from his origins while reminding readers what makes this character so endearing. Shazam! #9 captures all of that in a bottle, showing a simple, yet wacky adventure that contrasts the mighty Captain with The Creeper. Waid is a comic genius, and Shazam! #9 depicts exactly why. The Captain is a character that trades his childlike mind and body for that of a superhuman man, whereas The Creeper is a man who trades his business attire and journalist persona for an insane, childlike superhero. How has no one thought of this before? While many may just look at this issue as a transition point, Shazam! #9 is actually one the most emblematic depiction of Waid’s intelligence and masterful storytelling. This series may not be as popular as his Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, but there is no doubt that he put just as much love and care into this as he did that. It may just be a footnote in his amazing career, but Shazam! #1-9 should be viewed as a crowning achievement.

Shazam! #9 also sees the introduction of Emanuela Lupacchino on art, who will be taking over this series’ primary art duties moving forward. Lupacchino puts a lot of emotion behind these characters, highlighting The Captain’s bewildered response to The Creeper. This helps establish the juxtaposition that Waid sets up, creating a very fun, introspective one-off story. Lupacchino also does a great job capturing the tone and nuance behind the story that has been established in the first eight issues. This series has very low stakes, but also keeps the narrative centrally focused around its characters first and foremost. The emotion and reactions from Billy are at the foremost center and Lupacchino captures that all perfectly.

The colors from Trish Mulvihill are as spectacular as they always are, but one page in particular steals the show, the final splash page. A running joke in this series is that Jack Ryder is constantly putting Metamorpho down for absolutely no reason. The man isn’t even there to defend himself. The issue concludes with Ryder arriving home after concluding his adventure with The Captain, only for Metamorpho waiting to take his revenge. Luppachino depicts this as Metamorpho taking the form of a pitcher of water, ready to pour on Ryder’s head. This image is a fun conclusion to the story and simultaneously is a great example of Mulvihill’s skill as a colorist. Metamorpho’s aquatic form perfectly takes in the twilight behind him, giving off this gorgeous blue and orange hue. 

Rounding out the creative team is Troy Peteri on letters, who does a great job in delivering on the content created in the art and writing. Peteri really ties this whole picture together with easy to follow lettering that makes this issue fun to read.