Review of
Superman
vs. Shazam!, by Roy Thomas et. al. ISBN 9781401238216
Four out of five stars
This collection
of stories, which has Superman and Captain Marvel fighting together more than
in opposition, expresses a sharp contrast with the stories in the Marvel line.
The dialog has a more kiddie feel to it, after a while you get tired of reading
“Holy Moley!” and some of the auxiliary characters are heavily into the cutesy.
For example, there is the bunny with Shazam powers.
The plot device
of multiple Earths with a gateway between them is used to provide all the
backdrops needed to have the heroes of great power “coexist.” Despite living on
different Earths, Superman, Captain Marvel and all their powerful foes are
aware of each other, often through the medium of comic books. People on the
Earth of Superman read Captain Marvel comic books and the people on the Earth
of Captain Marvel read Superman comic books.
The stories use
the standard powerful villains and evil doers found in the comic book lines of
the two heroes. Sometimes they operate solo and other times they team up. A
common theme of the villains is that they want to destroy their super foes and
even the Earths.
In terms of
action, in general it is a series of super punches, where villain hits hero and
he flies back, only to have the hero come back and hit the villain and knock
him just as far. Fans of Marvel will miss the battle chatter of the hero as
they cannot help but engage in smart dialog, even while getting blasted by a
powerful punch.
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