Shazam: The New Beginning

    (DC, 1987)
™ and ©1986 DC Comics, Inc.

The original Captain Marvel first appeared back in 1939’s Whiz Comics #1. This “Mightiest Man on Earth” was actually a boy named Billy Batson who transformed into Captain Marvel whenever he spoke the word “Shazam!” Throughout the forties, Captain Marvel starred in a series of high-flying adventures that combined adventure with a gentle sense of humor. Incredibly, popular, he was even known to outsell Superman on occasion.

Captain Marvel fell into obscurity in the years that followed, even losing his name to a character from Marvel Comics. In the 1970s, DC attempted to bring him back, but the sense of whimsy that made him so popular in the forties fell flat on this modern audience. In the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Shazam disappeared retroactively from existence. In this four-issue mini-series, DC seized the opportunity to create a new Captain Marvel, combining the legend of Shazam with a more modern sensibility.
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Issues from this title are available as part of 2 sets
  • 1
    #1
    Apr 1987
    Cover: $0.75
    W: Dann Thomas, Roy Thomas  ·  A: Tom Mandrake
    Origin of Captain Marvel (Billy Batson)
    24 copies from $0.99
  • 1/NS
    #1 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition
    Apr 1987
    Cover: $0.75
    W: Dann Thomas, Roy Thomas  ·  A: Tom Mandrake
    Origin of Captain Marvel (Billy Batson)
    1 copy for $3.98
  • 2
    #2
    May 1987
    Cover: $0.75
    W: Dann Thomas, Roy Thomas  ·  A: Tom Mandrake
    Versus Black Adam
    18 copies from $1.00
  • 3
    #3
    Jun 1987
    Cover: $0.75
    W: Dann Thomas, Roy Thomas  ·  A: Tom Mandrake
    Origin of Black Adam (Teth-Adam)
    9 copies from $1.75
  • 4
    #4
    Jul 1987
    Cover: $0.75
    W: Dann Thomas, Roy Thomas  ·  A: Tom Mandrake
    11 copies from $2.25
  • 4/NS
    #4 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by Tom Mandrake
    Jul 1987
    Cover: $0.75
    W: Dann Thomas, Roy Thomas  ·  A: Tom Mandrake
    1 copy for $6.98