Billy Batson goes to hell, and it’s not even the first time. Will he make it out? Your Major Spoilers review of Shazam #2 from DC Comics awaits!
SHAZAM #2
Writer: Tim Sheridan
Artist: Clayton Henry
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Mike Cotton
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 17, 2021
Previously in Shazam: Hell is full of temptations and distractions as Billy Batson searches for the missing Rock of Eternity, alongside his guide from Teen Titans Academy, the mystical and mysterious Dane. Earth’s Mightiest Mortal must face demons and would-be kings of the underworld. But even with the power of Shazam, Billy finds himself outwitted and outmatched, until Dane reveals a secret that will change his relationship with Billy and the new Teen Titans Academy forever.
MEANWHILE, IN HELL
As this issue opens, the mysterious Dane and Billy Batson teleport into “The Underrealm”, which is apparently the newest euphemism for Aitch-Ee-Double-Hockey-Sticks. They find a strange world that looks like Las Vegas, and sneak into one of the casinos, looking for information on The Rock of Eternity, which has apparently gone missing. Dane starts playing craps while Billy heads to the bar for information. What he finds instead is a beautiful young demon girl and a complete lack of helpful information. Fortunately, he gets a name: Sulibak. Unfortunately, Sulibak is the proprietor of the casino that Dane has spent half the issue cheating in with magic, and now he wants his stakes back. With a little help from his beautiful new friend, Billy helps Dane escape and finds the Rock of Eternity, allowing him to Marvel up and fight, only for the demon to turn into a giant and trump his super-powers.
And then, Dane’s secret is revealed…
THIS IS DANE’S STORY, NOT SHAZAM’S
As the cover promises, this issue isn’t actually a Shazam comic at all, but a spinoff of Teen Titans Academy that focuses primarily on Dane, whose magical abilities have been an enigma so far. That’s not necessarily a bad thing overall, but the reveal of what’s going on with Dane feels incredibly on-the-nose to me, especially given the discussion early in the issue about how the leadership of Hell is continually changing. (There is a nice bit of continuity with Billy/Shazam/Captain Marvel’s previous run-ins with Hell that I enjoyed, though it does shine a light on the fact that we’ve seen “Innocent Hero In Hades” done a LOT.) Dane isn’t the only predictable part of the issue, though, as every beat of the story, from Sulibak’s reveal to the fact that the cute girl is his daughter to the fact that the Rock of Eternity is LITERALLY right outside the window feels is predictable. It’s disappointing, to say the least. Henry’s art is a bit more successful than the story in this issue, but even there the art keeps giving us strangely elongated figures with incredibly long faces page after page, which makes the humans look as bizarre as the demons.
BOTTOM LINE: EXTREMELY PREDICTABLE
All in all, Shazam #2 is a disappointing package across the board for me, with a very predictable story married to inconsistent art, but worst of all is the fact that it’s very poorly marketed as a Shazam book when it’s merely a subplot for Teen Titans Academy, earning 2 out of 5 stars overall. If you’re looking for Billy Batson and his alter ego, there’s very little to be had here, but if you want more of what Sheridan is doing in the main Academy title, this might be the book for you.
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SHAZAM #2
Though it's billed as a Shazam story, this is a story all about the mysterious Dane, and while that's not a fatal blow, it's also predictable and not really engaging.
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Writing3
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Art6
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Coloring4
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