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SHAZAM! and the Monster Society of Evil #1-4
Posted 28 Aug 2007
Writer: Jeff Smith
Artist: Jeff Smith
Colors: Steve Hamaker
Publisher: DC Comics
4.50 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Matt Rawson
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Can you figure out the Monster Society code?
HGFKRW, HGFKRW IZG XIVZGFIVH!*
Captain Marvel was never among my favorite superheroes, so the
thing that made me devour this prestige mini-series like finely aged
big red cheese was, of course, Jeff Smith. Bone, in this
fan’s humble opinion, was about as perfect a comic as one could
hope for, so to see Mr. Smith back at the helm of anything was
a treat.
SHAZAM! and the Monster Society of Evil, if you missed it in
issues, was a four part series in the same vein as Paul Pope’s
Batman: Year One Hundred. However, other than format and
overall quality, that’s where the similarities between these
two minis end.
“Adventure, alligators, code-words. . . Yeah, this book is
pretty darn cool.”
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With SHAZAM! Smith seemed to channel that consummate
story-telling child that we all once were (if you weren’t, then
I’m sorry, you missed something great). That backyard
yarn-spinner delivering on-the-fly adventures and donning the roles of
whatever characters populated the planet of the afternoon.
Those wonderfully spontaneous stories built up with each passing
moment and nothing, but nothing, was ever deemed too ridiculous. How
many of you instantaneously developed invulnerability when your
friends got the better of you? What was often the solution? After some
fussing, everyone usually ended up getting their own superpowers and
no one questioned it. The story moved on and just kept getting cooler.
That’s a bit how SHAZAM! and the Monster Society of
Evil plays out. Things happen quick, things get out of control,
the heroes toss on their capes and deal with it. For me to say that
SHAZAM! seems like it was written by a child is one of the
highest honors I can bestow. Children, after all, are the greatest of
all storytellers, unhindered by all the rules that we learn make a
good story as we grow up. Listening to a kid tell a story, whether
it’s true or made-up (more than likely, a little bit of both),
you never quite know what’s coming up around the next bend. It
could be Mom calling for supper, or a ten-eyed alligator that got
tired of living in the sewers and came up for a meal.
In SHAZAM! you’ll likely get the alligator. Also, each
issue has a coded message from The Monster Society (just like the one
above). Adventure, alligators, code-words. . . Yeah, this book is
pretty darn cool.
What it all boils down to is SHAZAM! and the Monster Society of
Evil is just plain fun, pure and simple. If you were a fan of
Bone, if you just love a good, all-ages superhero adventure
comic, or if you want to be reminded of the feeling of those crazy,
backyard, anything-can-happen times, then when the trade is released,
head to your comic shop and speak the magic word: SHAZAM!
You won’t be disappointed.
*For some quick help decoding my special Jeff Smith message
head over here.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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