Once again united in the power of the magic lightning, the Marvel Family has to face down the Batman of a Victorian alternate Earth. Is even the World’s Mightiest Mortal prepared to battle the Steampunk Knight? Your Major Spoilers review of Convergence: Shazam #2 awaits!
CONVERGENCE: SHAZAM #2
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Evan “Doc” Shaner
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Convergence: Shazam: After a year powerless under the dome, the Marvel Family has once again regained their powers and defeated Sivana, Kull and IBAC (with a little help from Bulletman and Bulletgirl.) Sadly, they still have Telos’ world battle to deal with (though that has a little bit less bite now that we know that they’re not actually going to die at the end) and the threat of incursion from the parallel world of ‘Gotham By Gaslight’…
MEANWHILE, ON EARTH-S
Once more able to negotiate the skies, Captain Marvel joins Bulletman and Bulletgirl in taking on the airships, only to discover the mind behind them is Batman…
…which is totally not a surprise, but plays really well. Their meeting is that old cliche, heroes meet, misunderstand and fight, played straight and well-written. The interference of Killer Croc proves to Marvel that Batman can’t be all bad, and they combine forces to find the man pulling the strings, a mastermind who turns out to be Mister Atom! The giant atomic robot has a new Monster Society of Evil in his clutches, consisting of the steampunk versions of Gotham City’s worst criminals, leading to a pitched battle where our heroes are heavily outnumbered…
THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF TWO WORLDS
…until the rest of the Marvel Family arrives, including Mister Tawney at the stick of a WWII-era fighter plane! Things quickly turn, and Captain Marvel finds a familiar worm piloting the Atom robot, leading to a massive explosion that negates the conflict between the cities. As the story closes, Captain Marvel enjoys taking to the sky with his friends and family beside him for the first time in what feels like forever (for him and for me as a reader.) ‘Doc’ Shaner’s art is just plain wonderful, and filled with beautiful little moments here and there, and the first appearance of ‘GbG’ Batman in this issue is as heroic a page as I can recall. Jeff Parker likewise delivers on the wonder, especially a moment where a lightning-based attack nearly forces him back to his normal tween self, only to overcome by sheer force of will.
THE BOTTOM LINE: IMMENSELY LIKEABLE
In short, if any book had to come AFTER the immediate narrative threat of “One City MUST DIE!”, this one is a great choice, as it combines the nostalgia factor of old-school Marvel Family tales with a more modern sensibility and some truly inspired art and writing. Convergence: Shazam #2 is one book that I’d pay money to see return as a regular ongoing story once we’re into the DCYou, especially with this creative team running the show, earning a very impressive 4 out of 5 stars overall. Fingers crossed for more Parker/Shaner Shazam in the near future…
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1 Comment
Thanks for his review. I loved this book as much as you did, and I, likewise, would pay money to see more work by this team on these characters.
However, I thought this was a great missed opportunity. WE saw very little of the world of GBG, and almost zero interaction with it from the Marvels outside fighting the villains. Billy, Mary, and Freddy have gone through spooky, strange worlds like that before, back in the Fawcett days. IT might have been interesting to see them in that world for a longer adventure.
But then. that could be said about many of these “Convergence #2” stories.
But did you notice that on the first page of this issue is didn’t ay “Earth-S,” but rather, “Earth-5”?