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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  NotesWriterArtist
Shazam: The New Beginning #1

April, 1987
Cover Price: $0.75
23 copies available from $1.75 		Dann Thomas, Roy ThomasTom Mandrake
Shazam: The New Beginning #1 Newsstand Edition

April, 1987
Cover Price: $0.75
1 copy available for $3.98 		Newsstand Edition; Origin of Captain Marvel (Billy Batson) Dann Thomas, Roy ThomasTom Mandrake
Shazam: The New Beginning #2

May, 1987
Cover Price: $0.75
19 copies available from $2.22 		Dann Thomas, Roy ThomasTom Mandrake
Shazam: The New Beginning #3

June, 1987
Cover Price: $0.75
11 copies available from $1.54 		Dann Thomas, Roy ThomasTom Mandrake
Shazam: The New Beginning #4

July, 1987
Cover Price: $0.75
14 copies available from $0.95 		Dann Thomas, Roy ThomasTom Mandrake
Shazam: The New Beginning #4 Newsstand Edition

July, 1987
Cover Price: $0.75
1 copy available for $6.98 		Dann Thomas, Roy ThomasTom Mandrake