Mary has returned home to solve the mystery of her parents’ disappearance, but you can’t be Shazam’s avatar without magic trouble finding you… Your Major Spoilers review of The New Champion of Shazam #2 from DC Comics awaits!

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THE NEW CHAMPION OF SHAZAM #2

Writer: Josie Campbell
Artist: Evan “Doc” Shaner
Colorist: Evan “Doc” Shaner
Letterer: Becca Carey
Editor: Brittany Holzherr
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 6, 2022

Previously in The New Champion of Shazam: Mary is back home in the City of Brotherly Love, and she’s feeling nothing but hate! Not only did she have to leave her dream school, but now she’s the caretaker of her siblings and a city that is skeptical about the new hero in town. Everyone wants a piece of Shazam, and super-powered misfits are lining up to take her on! When her world is falling apart, can our hero keep it together?

BACK AT GOOD OL’ FAWCETT

With her parents missing, Mary Bromfield is forced to return home to Philadelphia to take care of her younger siblings… but they’re not happy with her. Freddy blames himself, wishing that he still had powers to protect their family. Eugene is finally making a life of his own, Pedro is tired of talking about everything and Darla just wants Mary to come home and stay home for good. As for Mary, she returns to the local community college to keep up with her studies, only to have her first class interrupted by a car crash on the nearby interstate. It’s no ordinary crash, though, as it involves a giant alligator, tons of magic, and some unusual new villains who have set their sights on collecting magic, for reasons unknown.

That’s when Mary realizes the key to the whole mystery: Her parents aren’t the ONLY ones who have gone missing.

SHOCKING (BECAUSE LIGHTNING, GET IT?)

Doc Shaner’s art is on my list of favorites, and I’m still impressed with the slight tweaks to his style that he’s using for the adventures of the once-and-former Marvel Family. Mary’s battle with a photo-realistic crocodile is still as entertaining as the cartoony crocs that CC Beck used to deliver in the Golden Age, while the design of the new, unnamed villains is really cool. The story is also entertaining, with the combined effect being a fun comic that still feels like it has stakes, even if they’re mostly interpersonal and human. I’ve never been a huge fan of the “six kids sharing the power” conceit that Geoff Johns grafted onto Captain Marvel, but this issue uses Mary’s brothers and sisters in ways that are interesting and not entirely focused on them getting back their portion of the power or being props in Mary’s ongoing story. Each of them has their own deal going on, making Mary’s attempt to be the interim parent that much more stressful.

BOTTOM LINE: ANOTHER FUN READ

My biggest complaint about this issue is the fact that Mary STILL doesn’t have a super-alias of her own, and the issue actually calls it out just to mock me. That said, The New Champion of Shazam #2 once again thrills and entertains, combining excellent art with an above-average story for 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. This comic book feels like a conscious attempt to balance old-school Captain Marvel with post-modern Shazam, resulting in a fusion that I really enjoyed reading.

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