Misplaced Pages

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132-574: Twenty-six episodes were produced, with 13 eight-minute stories and 13 twelve-minute stories. The actors who voice the Hero High cartoon characters perform onstage as their characters each week in live-action song-of-the-week and comedy-sketch segments during the program. The Hero High Singing Group: Occasionally, Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel from the Shazam! segments would appear as guest characters during

264-573: A copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. In 1972, Fawcett licensed the character rights to DC, which by 1991 acquired all rights to the entire family of characters. DC has since integrated Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family into their DC Universe and has attempted to revive the property several times, with mixed success. Owing to trademark conflicts over other characters named "Captain Marvel" owned by Marvel Comics , DC has branded and marketed

396-508: A live-action 1970s series with Jackson Bostwick and John Davey as Captain Marvel and Michael Gray as Billy Batson, and as an animated 1980s series . The 2019 New Line Cinema / Warner Bros. film Shazam! , an entry in the DC Extended Universe , stars Zachary Levi as Shazam and Asher Angel as Billy Batson. Levi and Angel return in the sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods . After

528-448: A $ 4,500 settlement from Marvel, and Marvel secured the trademark of the name. Bill Black attempted to revive Captain Marvel in 1969, but written and drawn in a more realistic Marvel Comics style for his fanzine Paragon Golden Age Greats, Vol. 1, #2 . However, on the legal advice of his friend and publishing mentor Martin L. Greim , he decided that rather than risk legal trouble with Fawcett Publications it would be better to destroy

660-543: A 10- or 12-year-old boy rather than a man." Through much of the Golden Age of Comic Books , Captain Marvel proved to be the most popular superhero character of the medium, and his comics outsold all others. Captain Marvel Adventures sold fourteen million copies in 1944, and was at one point being published bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.3 million copies an issue. Several issues of Captain Marvel Adventures included

792-504: A 45.17% market share in September due to high orders for Villain Month. It fell back to 30.77% by January 2014. Forbes , The New York Times and The A.V. Club saw The New 52 as a good editorial move from DC. The Christian Science Monitor ' s Rich Clabaugh cited the relaunched Action Comics and Detective Comics as the strongest of the first week's releases. In terms of

924-837: A blurb on their covers proclaiming the series the "Largest Circulation of Any Comic Magazine". The franchise was expanded to introduce spin-off characters to Captain Marvel between 1941 and 1942. Whiz Comics #21 (1941) introduced the Lieutenant Marvels : three other boys named "Billy Batson" who could also become adult superheroes. Captain Marvel Jr. , the alter-ego of disabled newsboy Freddy Freeman, debuted in Whiz Comics #25 (1941). Mary Marvel , alter-ego of Billy's twin sister Mary Batson, first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (1942). In contrast to Captain Marvel and

1056-473: A brainwashed Captain Marvel playing a major role in the story as a mind-controlled pawn of an elderly Lex Luthor . In 2000, Captain Marvel starred in an oversized special graphic novel, Shazam! Power of Hope , written by Paul Dini and painted by Alex Ross . Since the cancellation of the Power of Shazam! title in 1999, the Marvel Family has made appearances in a number of other DC comic books. Black Adam became

1188-422: A complete measure of the relaunch's success. Hauman emphasized that the infinite long-term availability of digital editions will mean that sales will continue on the books for weeks and months afterwards, and that the market share for that market is uncertain. By December 2011, Marvel Comics regained the top spot for market share in both dollars and units. In April 2013, DC's unit share fell below 28%, but rose to

1320-574: A free zero issue for Free Comic Book Day . The series would be set five years in the New 52's future. Co-writer Jeff Lemire stated that the series was "an exploration of DC's past, present and its future." Batman Beyond made his New 52 debut in the series. Solicitations published in December 2014 also revealed that 22 titles to be published in March 2014 would feature variant covers based on Robot Chicken , to promote

1452-554: A gatefold cover and storylines and moments that will leave readers in a state of shock, including the return of Booster Gold . However, DC later dropped the "WTF Certified" branding and did not feature it on any of The New 52 books. In February 2013, it was announced that DC Comics would launch two new politically motivated books as parts of the Fifth Wave: The Green Team: Teen Trillionaires and The Movement . These would explore concepts similar to

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1584-534: A longtime fan of the character, and Schaffenberger. Nevertheless, the next issue was the last one, though the feature was kept alive in a back-up position in the Dollar Comics -formatted run of World's Finest Comics (from #253, October/November 1978, to #282, August 1982, skipping only #271, which featured a full-length origin of the Superman-Batman team story). Schaffenberger left the feature after #259, and

1716-816: A main character in Geoff Johns ' and David S. Goyer 's JSA series, which depicted the latest adventures of the world's first superhero team, the Justice Society of America , with Captain Marvel also briefly joining the team to keep an eye on his old nemesis. Captain Marvel also appeared in Frank Miller 's graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again , the sequel to Miller's highly acclaimed graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns , which culminated in his death. The Superman/Shazam: First Thunder miniseries, written by Judd Winick with art by Josh Middleton , and published between September 2005 and March 2006, depicted

1848-594: A member of the Justice League in Keith Giffen 's and J. M. DeMatteis ' relaunch of that title. That same year (spinning off from Legends ), he was given his own miniseries titled Shazam!: The New Beginning . With this four-issue miniseries, writers Roy and Dann Thomas and artist Tom Mandrake attempted to re-launch the Captain Marvel mythos and bring the wizard Shazam, Dr. Sivana, Uncle Dudley, and Black Adam into

1980-445: A new "contemporary tonality to ensure a diverse offering of comic books." In the initial "relaunch", 24 new publications joined 25 existing publications from before Convergence , with new titles continuing to be added. In March 2015, DiDio revealed there would not be an "overarching brand on this" stating the relaunch was just "DC Comics, pure and simple." However, in May 2015, DC announced

2112-488: A number of sources. His visual appearance was modeled after that of Fred MacMurray , a popular American actor of the period, though comparisons with both Cary Grant and Jack Oakie were made as well. Fawcett Publications ' founder, Wilford H. Fawcett, was nicknamed "Captain Billy", which inspired the name "Billy Batson" as well as Marvel's title. Fawcett's earliest magazine was titled Captain Billy's Whiz Bang , which inspired

2244-498: A one-shot special, The Power of Shazam! #48. In 2011, DC published a one-shot Shazam! story written by Eric Wallace, in which the still-powerless Billy and Mary help Freddy/Shazam in a battle with the demoness Blaze . Freddy would eventually have his powers stolen by Osiris in Titans (vol. 2) #32 the same year. In 2011, DC Comics relaunched their entire comic book lineup, creating The New 52 lineup of comics. The revamp began with

2376-595: A relationship with Wonder Woman . Various character changes were implemented, such as Starfire , Guy Gardner , and Tim Drake having their origins significantly changed. Sinestro was depicted as having returned recently to the Green Lantern Corps , where he became a villain again. Meanwhile, the Earth-Two version of Alan Scott was depicted as gay . The imprint titles are divided into seven families of titles, revolving around central characters or themes. By

2508-409: A series of columns by the group where they also discussed their history with Fawcett Publications. Along with new and exclusive art by Beck and Newton, the issue included an opinion piece by the staff strongly criticizing the copyright infringement lawsuit by Detective Comics. The opinion piece was titled THE DEMISE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL and is found on the very last page above where the staff still credits

2640-467: A seven-issue miniseries , Flashpoint , which features an alternate timeline in which Billy Batson, Mary Batson, and Freddy Freeman are joined by three new kids, Eugene Choi, Pedro Peña, and Darla Dudley, as the "S! H! A! Z! A! M! Family." In this concept, all six kids say "Shazam!" in unison to become an alternate version of Captain Marvel named Captain Thunder. While the continuity would be altered again by

2772-432: A stronger focus on magic and mysticism. Trials of Shazam! featured Captain Marvel, now with a white costume and long white hair, taking over the role of the wizard Shazam under the name Marvel , while the former Captain Marvel Jr., Freddy Freeman, attempts to prove himself worthy to become Marvel's champion under the name Shazam . In the pages of the 2007–2008 Countdown to Final Crisis limited series, Black Adam gives

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2904-611: A tie-in to a crossover story arc of the same name. DC later announced that as part of the celebration of The New 52's third anniversary, all ongoing titles published in September 2014 would feature stories that tied into The New 52: Futures End . DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio declared: These stories aren't going to just be tied into the weekly. But what you'll be seeing is a lot of the writers who are working on series right now projecting forward—their ideas, their storylines, where they think their character might be five years from now. [...] The [lenticluar 3D] covers now will also have

3036-721: A timeline that details the new history and which storylines to keep or ignore. On August 31, 2011, Midtown Comics Times Square held a midnight event at which they began selling Justice League #1 and Flashpoint #5. On hand to sign the books were DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns , who was the writer of both titles, and Co-publisher and writer/artist Jim Lee , who illustrated Justice League . On January 12, 2012, DC announced that after their eighth issues, Blackhawks , Hawk and Dove , Men of War , Mister Terrific , O.M.A.C. , and Static Shock would be cancelled and replaced with six new titles, which would reveal more of The New 52 DC Universe. The new titles were dubbed

3168-811: A twice-monthly release schedule, a number of existing titles relaunching with new #1 issues, and the release of several new titles. DC has used the Green Lantern: Rebirth and The Flash: Rebirth miniseries as examples of the basis for the initiative, which has been described as a rebirth of the DC Universe. The Rebirth initiative reintroduced concepts from pre- Flashpoint continuity, such as legacy, that had been lost with The New 52 and built "on everything that's been published since Action Comics #1 up through The New 52." In June 2011, DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee revealed that he and DC Art Director Mark Chiarello had enlisted artist Cully Hamner to help spearhead

3300-472: A universe that's tightly connected and has super-internal consistency, and really one flavor, we've really broken it up. We'll have a core line of about 25 books that will have that internal consistency, that will consist of our best-selling books. But then the rest of the line, about 24 titles, will be allowed to really shake things up a little bit. The new titles would be about "reinventing key characters", such as Black Canary, Cyborg, Bizarro, and Starfire, with

3432-503: A veteran comic book writer and editor, had been lured from Marvel Comics to DC in 1981 with the specific contractual obligation that he would become the main writer of Shazam! and the Justice Society of America characters. The Marvels also guest-starred in several issues of All-Star Squadron , a series centered on the Justice Society and the other Earth-2 characters written by Roy Thomas and his wife Dann . As All-Star Squadron

3564-552: A weekly year-long series which would feature Batman, his allies, and others in Gotham City. It was announced in January 2014 that the series would begin in April of that year. The cancellation of Katana and Justice League of America's Vibe was also announced, with the titles' final publication in December 2013, while Green Team: The Teen Trillionaires would end in January 2014. Following

3696-659: A zero issue, dubbed "Zero Month". In addition, the Third Wave of titles was announced: Talon , Sword of Sorcery , Phantom Stranger , and Team 7 . With these additions to the line , Justice League International , Captain Atom , Resurrection Man , and Voodoo were cancelled. In October and November 2012, DC announced new titles Threshold , Justice League of America , Katana , Justice League of America's Vibe , and Constantine . Threshold would be published in January 2013, Constantine in March 2013, while

3828-579: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Captain Marvel (DC Comics) Captain Marvel , also known as Shazam ( / ʃ ə ˈ z æ m / ), is a superhero in American comic books originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently published by DC Comics . Artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker created the character in 1939. Captain Marvel first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 ( cover-dated Feb. 1940), published by Fawcett Comics. He

3960-472: Is now available to us as storytellers." In February 2016, DC announced its Rebirth initiative, a line-wide relaunch of its titles, to begin in June 2016. Beginning with an 80-page one-shot which was released on May 25, 2016, Rebirth also saw Action Comics and Detective Comics return to their previous numbering (#957 and #934, respectively), nearly all books releasing at US$ 2.99 , multiple books shifting to

4092-528: Is set in the present DC Universe on Earth 2 , while showcasing the events and circumstances that lead to the future depicted in Futures End . In March 2014, DC announced the launch of Infinity Man and the Forever People , the one-shot Harley Quinn Director's Cut #0, and the cancellation of Larfleeze for June 2014. March also saw the announcement of variant covers for 20 titles in June 2014, based on

Hero High - Misplaced Pages Continue

4224-774: Is the alter ego of Billy Batson , a boy who, by speaking the magic word " SHAZAM !" (acronym of six "immortal elders": Solomon , Hercules , Atlas , Zeus , Achilles , and Mercury ), is transformed into a costumed adult with the powers of superhuman strength, speed, flight, and other abilities. The character battles an extensive rogues' gallery, most of them working in tandem as the Monster Society of Evil , including primary archenemies Black Adam , Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind . Billy often shares his powers with other children, primarily his sister Mary Batson and their best friend/foster brother Freddy Freeman , who also transform into superheroes and fight crime with Billy as members of

4356-460: The Convergence miniseries in June 2015, DC would no longer use The New 52 name to brand their books; however the continuity established in September 2011 would continue. Dan DiDio stated, "In this new era of storytelling, story will trump continuity as we continue to empower creators to tell the best stories". Rather than having 52 books all in the same continuity, and really focusing on keeping

4488-460: The COVID-19 pandemic and Eaglesham's desire to take a break as reasons for discontinuing the book. In November 2022, it was announced that a new Shazam! ongoing would begin publication in May 2023, with Mark Waid writing and Dan Mora serving as artist. During this series, Billy earned a new codename for his superpowered counterpart, dubbed "The Captain", and was also trying to find a way to share

4620-699: The Hero High segments, along with Isis , an Egyptian superheroine originally created by Filmation for the 1975 series, The Secrets of Isis . Some of the Hero High characters would also appear during the Shazam! segments. BCI Eclipse LLC (under its Ink & Paint classic animation entertainment label, under license from then-rightsholder Entertainment Rights ) released Hero High: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on May 8, 2007. The 2 disc set includes many special features. The episodes presented uncut, digitally remastered and in syndication order. Features: This animated television series–related article

4752-665: The Marvel Family , also known as the Shazam Family or Shazamily. Based on comic book sales, Captain Marvel was the most popular superhero of the 1940s, outselling even Superman . Captain Marvel was also the first comic book superhero to be adapted to film, in a 1941 Republic Pictures serial , Adventures of Captain Marvel , with Tom Tyler as Captain Marvel and Frank Coghlan, Jr. as Billy Batson. Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel-related comics in 1953, partly because of

4884-731: The Multiverse , as they attempt to take over Prime Earth in the Justice Leagues' defeat at the end of "Trinity War". The "Forever Evil" event ran in other titles starting in October 2013, including three 6-issue tie-in books that launched: Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion by Brian Buccellato and Patrick Zircher; Forever Evil: Arkham War by Peter Tomasi, Scot Eaton and Jaime Mendoza; and Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. by Matt Kindt and Manuel Garcia. Other tie-in titles included: Teen Titans , Suicide Squad , Justice League , Justice League of America and

5016-633: The Occupy Movement and the role money has in a world of superheroes. A wave of cancellations was also announced for May 2013, including: The Savage Hawkman , The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man , Sword of Sorcery , Team 7 , Deathstroke , and The Ravagers . In March 2013, DC announced that it would launch four new titles in June 2013, making up the rest of the Fifth Wave: Superman Unchained , Batman/Superman , Larfleeze and Trinity of Sin: Pandora . In April 2013,

5148-592: The Rock of Eternity . The Marvel Family made a handful of guest appearances in the year-long weekly maxi-series 52 , which featured Black Adam as one of its main characters. 52 introduced Adam's "Black Marvel Family," which included Adam's wife Isis , her brother Osiris , and Sobek . The series chronicled Adam's attempts to reform after falling in love with Isis, only to launch the DC universe into World War III after she and Osiris are killed. The Marvel Family appeared frequently in

5280-405: The Shazam! book the subtitle The Original Captain Marvel , but a cease and desist letter from Marvel Comics forced them to change the subtitle to The World's Mightiest Mortal , starting with Shazam! #15 (December 1974). As all subsequent toys and other merchandise featuring the character have also been required to use the "Shazam!" label with little to no mention of the name "Captain Marvel",

5412-410: The Shazam! movie in production at New Line Cinema, DC began publishing a new ongoing Shazam! series, written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Dale Eaglesham , Marco Santucci , and Scott Kolins . The series features an older and wiser Billy Batson and his foster siblings Mary, Freddy, Eugene, Pedro, and Darla exploring their powers as the Shazam Family. As the six kids venture beyond the nexus of

Hero High - Misplaced Pages Continue

5544-484: The Shazam! project. Other attempts at reviving Shazam! were initiated over the next three years, including a reboot project by John Byrne , illustrator of Legends and writer/artist on the Superman reboot miniseries The Man of Steel (1986). None of these versions saw print, though Captain Marvel, the wizard Shazam, and Black Adam did appear in DC's War of the Gods miniseries in 1991. By this time, DC had ended

5676-500: The Trials of Shazam! changes. Issues #23-25 of Justice Society featured Black Adam and a resurrected Isis defeating Marvel and taking over the Rock of Eternity. Adam and Isis recruit the now-evil Mary Marvel to help them in the ensuing fight against a now-powerless Billy Batson and the Justice Society. Billy and Mary Batson made a brief appearance during DC's 2009–2010 Blackest Night saga in

5808-693: The "Batman" line of titles. The event, initially conceptualized to tell Batman's origin in The New 52, was featured in issue #25 of Action Comics , The Flash , Green Arrow , and Green Lantern Corps , along with Batgirl , Batwing , Batwoman , Birds of Prey , Catwoman , Detective Comics , Nightwing , and Red Hood and the Outlaws in the "Batman" line. The various books explored their characters' connections to Gotham City, and their first encounters with Batman. On June 17, 2013, DC announced two new titles, Justice League 3000 and Superman/Wonder Woman as

5940-519: The "Forever Evil: Blight" storyline in Constantine , Justice League Dark , Trinity of Sin: Pandora , and Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger . Forever Evil #1 was also reprinted in a director's cut one-shot in October 2013. It was also announced in June 2013 that the " Batman: Zero Year " storyline in Batman would spin off into an event during November 2013, which would include other titles outside

6072-507: The "Trinity War" and " Forever Evil " crossover storylines, Shazam appeared as a member of the Justice League from Justice League (vol. 2) #30–50 from 2014 through 2016, and also in a one-shot spinoff titled Justice League: The Darkseid War - Shazam (cover-dated January 2016). He also appeared as a supporting character in the Cyborg series as the friend of Victor Stone/Cyborg. New takes on

6204-403: The 12-issue bimonthly painted Justice maxi-series by Alex Ross , Jim Krueger , and Doug Braithwaite , published from 2005 to 2007. The Trials of Shazam! , a 12-issue maxiseries written by Judd Winick and illustrated by Howard Porter for the first eight issues, and by Mauro Cascioli for the remaining four, was published from 2006 to 2008. The series redefined the Shazam! property with

6336-427: The 1930s. The relaunch included changes to the publishing format; for example, print and digital comics began to be released on the same day. New titles were released to bring the number of ongoing monthly series to 52. Various changes were also made to DC's fictional universe to entice new readers, including changes to DC's internal continuity to make characters more modern and accessible. In addition, characters from

6468-403: The Captain Marvel property back into print. On June 16, 1972, DC entered into an agreement with Fawcett to license the Captain Marvel and Marvel Family characters. Because Marvel Comics had by this time established Captain Marvel as a comic book trademark for their own character , created and first published in 1967, DC published their book under the name Shazam! . Infantino attempted to give

6600-509: The DC Collectibles "Bombshells" statue line designed by Ant Lucia , the covers feature retro and pinup versions of female characters. DC also revealed two new publications for July 2014: an ongoing series Star-Spangled War Stories and a one-shot Harley Quinn Invades San Diego Comic-Con . In April 2014, DC announced Suicide Squad and Teen Titans would be relaunched in July 2014, with

6732-542: The Lieutenants, both Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. remained kids in superhero form, and were given their own eponymous books in addition to appearing as the lead features in Master Comics and Wow Comics , respectively. Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and Mary Marvel appeared together as a team in another Fawcett publication, The Marvel Family . In addition, there was a talking animal spin-off character, Hoppy

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6864-576: The Marvel Bunny , which was created in 1942 for Fawcett's Funny Animals comic book and later given an eponymous series as well. With Bill Parker having been drafted into World War II , chief writing duties on the Captain Marvel-related comics stories went to Otto Binder by 1942. C.C. Beck remained as lead artist, and he and Binder steered the Captain Marvel stories towards a whimsical tone that emphasized comedy and fantasy elements alongside

6996-632: The Marvel Bunny was sold to Charlton Comics , where a few Fawcett-era stories from that strip were reprinted as Hoppy the Magic Bunny , with all references to "Captain Marvel" and "Shazam" removed. In the 1950s, a small British publisher, L. Miller and Son , published a number of black-and-white reprints of American comic books, including the Captain Marvel series. With the outcome of the National v. Fawcett lawsuit, L. Miller and Son found their supply of Captain Marvel material abruptly cut off. They requested

7128-569: The Marvel Family characters also appeared as guest stars in the Justice League of America series, in particular issues #135–137 (vol. 1) for the "Crisis on Earth-S" story arc in 1976. Limited Collectors' Edition #C-58 (April 1978) featured a "Superman vs. Shazam!" story by writer Gerry Conway and artists Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano . Captain Marvel, and often the Marvel Family, also co-starred with Superman in several issues of DC Comics Presents written by Roy Thomas . Roy Thomas,

7260-450: The New 52 multiverse was the result of a phenomenon called Hypertime . In the book, Brainiac takes cities from the Pre-"Crisis", Post-"Crisis", and Post-"Flashpoint" multiverses and placed them on a planet in another reality. He leaves a portion of himself behind; this part of Braniac renames himself Telos and has the cities battle each other. Deimos of Skartaris tries to take complete control of

7392-404: The Rock of Eternity to explore the mysterious Seven Magic Realms, Doctor Sivana teams up with Mister Mind and a reluctant Black Adam to form the Monster Society of Evil , and Billy's long-missing father C.C. Batson returns to attempt to re-connect with his son. The first issue, featuring a manga backup story focused on Mary and her pet rabbit Hoppy by Johns and Shazam! fan Mayo "SEN" Naito,

7524-487: The Second Wave: Dial H , Earth 2 , G.I. Combat , World's Finest , Ravagers and Batman Incorporated , which was absent from the initial line of Batman titles, and would continue Grant Morrison's storyline from before The New 52 involving the conflict between Batman and Talia al Ghul . On June 9, 2012, DC announced that in September 2012, the first anniversary of The New 52 launch, all titles would get

7656-695: The Spoiler in the teaser issue to Batman Eternal in Batman #28. Barbara Gordon recovered from the paralysis inflicted upon her by the Joker's bullet in Batman: The Killing Joke and returned to crimefighting as Batgirl . As for Superman, his romantic relationship and marriage to Lois Lane has not transpired, and his adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent have died. He was depicted as being slightly more short-tempered, retaining his American identity, and in

7788-705: The Telos' world but is killed by the Parallax-possessed Hal Jordan. This triggers a chain reaction that threatens to collapse the multiverse. To prevent this, Telos sends several of the heroes back to the Crisis on Infinite Earths to prevent the destruction of the original multiverse. Telos states "They have done it. Reality is resetting, stabilizing. Each world has evolved, but they all still exist." In an interview, writer Jeff King stated "Post-Convergence, every character that ever existed, in either Continuity or Canon,

7920-459: The Wildstorm and Vertigo imprints were absorbed into the DC Universe. The New 52 branding ended after the completion of the " Convergence " storyline in May 2015, although the continuity of The New 52 continued. In June 2015, 24 new titles were launched, alongside 25 returning titles, with several of those receiving new creative teams. In February 2016, DC announced their Rebirth initiative with

8052-530: The Wizard, Black Adam, Tawny the tiger, and the Shazam Family (Freddy, Mary, Darla, Eugene, and Pedro) to continuity. The Shazam! feature concluded with Justice League (vol. 2) #21, preceding DC's crossover storyline " Trinity War " which heavily features the Shazam mythos. Johns and Frank's reboot was met with both acclaim and criticism, and the renaming of the hero as Shazam brought mixed reactions. Johns noted that

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8184-425: The ability to have a 'flicker' effect. That means that the images change and show the transformation going on... There is a level of change that is taking place with our characters during the course of this story. DiDio added that new ongoing titles would launch in June and July to be included in the event. Following the month of tie-ins, a third weekly titled Earth 2: World's End launched in October 2014. This title

8316-672: The advertising campaign DC You for the relaunch, which highlighted the four main themes of characters, talent, stories and fans. The initiative, which began in DC's print and digital comics on May 20, before transitioning to other digital content on June 3, was featured on print inserts and ads, as well as on the DC Comics website and across social media with a special hashtag of #DCYou. Pre-orders for Justice League #1 exceeded 200,000 copies. Justice League #1 has been sent back to press at least four times and all of The New 52's first issue titles sold out by September 24, 2011. For

8448-544: The book was renamed Whiz Comics , and Fawcett artist Pete Costanza suggested changing Captain Thunder's name to "Captain Marvelous", which the editors shortened to "Captain Marvel". The word balloons in the story were re-lettered to label the hero of the main story as "Captain Marvel". Whiz Comics #2 ( cover-dated Feb. 1940) was published in late 1939. Captain Marvel, the comic's lead feature, introduced audiences to Billy Batson, an orphaned 12-year-old boy who, by speaking

8580-892: The books themselves, Keith Phipps and Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club praised the art in Justice League #1, but thought its writing and structure was a weak point. In all, the two reviewers named O.M.A.C. , Captain Atom , Animal Man and Wonder Woman their favorite books of the relaunch. They gave Batman high praise, and enjoyed Action Comics , Swamp Thing , Batwoman , Frankenstein Agent Of S.H.A.D.E. , Demon Knights , Batman and Robin , Nightwing , Aquaman , The Flash , All Star Western , and Voodoo . However, they both disliked Detective Comics , Hawk and Dove , Legion Lost , Red Lanterns , Legion Of Super-Heroes , DC Universe Presents: Deadman , Superman , Batman: The Dark Knight , The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men , and The Savage Hawkman . On

8712-561: The cancellation of I, Vampire and DC Universe Presents in April 2013. To celebrate the 60th birthday of Mad Magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman , DC solicited variants drawn by Mad artists for 13 titles being published in April 2013. Starting with titles released on January 28, 2013, all printed New 52 publications featured advertisements for the fictional news channel Channel 52. The two page back-ups, titled Channel 52 , appear in all books, starting in February 2013, and replaced

8844-608: The cancellation of Batman Incorporated was announced for July 2013. DC also solicited two director's cut one-shots for the Superman Unchained book and the " Batman: Zero Year " story arc. In May 2013, it was announced that Batman Incorporated Special #1 would be published to finish off the Batman Incorporated series in August 2013. Another director's cut one-shot was solicited for the " Trinity War " story arc, along with

8976-423: The cancellations of Demon Knights , Legion of Super-Heroes , Threshold and Dial H . In June 2013, DC announced that all titles in September 2013 would be "relaunched" as a #1, featuring a villain from that respective book, as part of " Villains Month ". For example, Detective Comics , which would have published issue 24 in September, would be released as Detective Comics #23.1 and Poison Ivy #1, with

9108-491: The change was made "because that's what everyone thinks his name is anyway," owing to the inability to use the "Captain Marvel" moniker on comic book covers and merchandise. In updating Shazam! , Johns and Frank skirted some controversy among long-time fans by introducing Billy Batson as a cynical foster child who comes to appreciate his potential as a hero and the concept of family, rather than starting him from that point as with earlier retellings. Following his appearances in

9240-406: The character using the trademark Shazam! since his 1972 reintroduction. This led many to assume that "Shazam" was the character's name. DC renamed the mainline version of the character "Shazam" when relaunching its comic book properties in 2011, and his associates became the "Shazam Family" at this time as well. DC's revival of Shazam! has been adapted twice for television by Filmation : as

9372-479: The character was revived in 1982 by writer Alan Moore in the pages of Warrior Magazine . Beginning in 1985, Moore's black-and-white serialized adventures were reprinted in color by Eclipse Comics under the new title Miracleman (as Marvel Comics objected to the use of "Marvel" in the title), and continued publication in the United States after Warrior ' s demise. Within the metatextual story line of

9504-808: The classic Fawcett versions of Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family appeared in Grant Morrison 's 2014 miniseries The Multiversity (which takes place on the parallel world of Earth-5) and in a 2015 spin-off to the Convergence crossover event, Convergence: Shazam! (which takes place on the parallel world of Earth-S). Following DC's 2016 DC Rebirth soft-relaunch event, the Shazam! characters were largely absent from new DC continuity, though Mary Marvel of Earth-5 appeared in Superman (vol. 4) #14–16 (2016), and Black Adam appeared in Dark Nights: Metal #4–5 (2017) to battle Wonder Woman. In late 2018, with

9636-537: The comic series itself, it was noted that Marvelman's creation was based upon Captain Marvel comics, by both Moore and later Marvelman/Miracleman writer Neil Gaiman . In 2009, Marvel Comics obtained the rights to the original 1950s Marvelman characters and stories, and later purchased the rights to the 1980s version and those reprints in 2013. In 1966, M. F. Enterprises produced their own Captain Marvel: an android superhero from another planet whose main characteristic

9768-417: The conclusion of the story, creating the "New 52" multiverse, the three new Shazam! kids would be reintroduced for later appearances. One of these relaunched series, Justice League (vol. 2), began featuring a Shazam! backup story with issue #7 in March 2012. The feature, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Gary Frank , introduces Billy Batson and his supporting cast into the new DC Universe. As part of

9900-494: The copyright of Captain Marvel to Fawcett Publications. When superhero comics became popular again in the mid-1960s in what is now called the " Silver Age of Comic Books ", Fawcett was unable to revive Captain Marvel, having agreed to never publish the character again as part of their 1953 settlement. Looking for new properties to introduce to the DC Comics line, at the urging of Jack Kirby who recently defected from Marvel Comics , DC publisher Carmine Infantino decided to bring

10032-513: The creative team for the Superman-related comics from 1954 through the 1960s. Schaffenberger snuck an unauthorized cameo by Captain Marvel into a story in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #42 in 1963. Whiz Comics had ended with issue #155 in June 1953, Captain Marvel Adventures was canceled with #150 in November 1953, and The Marvel Family ended its run with #89 in January 1954. Hoppy

10164-424: The end of "Forever Evil" in March 2014 would mark the end of the first phase of The New 52, with a new phase starting in April 2014, "one that will see the introduction, and re-introduction, of a lot of characters, concepts and a decidedly new center to the DC universe." In December 2013, it was announced that another weekly year-long series titled The New 52: Futures End would begin publication in May 2014, with

10296-463: The entire print run except for two copies that he saved for his personal files. Black then rewrote the story using his own newly created hero Captain Paragon. In 1970, fanzine Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) staffed C.C. Beck , Don Newton , Robert Kline, and Gene Arnold for a special issue called The Rocket's Blast Special 8 . The comic book focuses on Captain Marvel's origins and creation through

10428-683: The evil Doctor Sivana , and found Billy Batson talking his way into a job as an on-air radio reporter with station WHIZ. Captain Marvel was an instant success, with Whiz Comics #2 selling over 500,000 copies. By 1941, he had his own solo series, Captain Marvel Adventures , the premiere issue of which (cover-dated March 1941) was written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby . Captain Marvel continued to appear in Whiz Comics , as well as periodic appearances in other Fawcett books, including Master Comics . Captain Marvel's first appearance, Whiz Comics #2, did not have any copyright registration or renewal. Inspiration for Captain Marvel came from

10560-419: The fee-per-use licensing agreement with CBS Publications and purchased the full rights to Captain Marvel and the other Fawcett Comics characters. In 1991, Jerry Ordway was given the Shazam! assignment, which he pitched as a painted graphic novel that would lead into a series, rather than starting the series outright. Ordway both wrote and illustrated the graphic novel, titled The Power of Shazam! , which

10692-533: The first 10 issues of the book before quitting because of creative differences. Bob Oksner and Fawcett alumnus Kurt Schaffenberger were among the later artists of the title. As per DC's agreement with Fawcett, DC paid Fawcett—and after 1977, its successor CBS Publications —a licensing fee per issue, per page for each of the Fawcett characters who appeared, either in Shazam! or crossovers in other comic series. With DC's Multiverse concept in effect during this time,

10824-550: The first post- Crisis meeting between Superman and Captain Marvel. The Marvel Family played an integral part in DC's 2005/2006 Infinite Crisis crossover, which began DC's efforts to retool the Shazam! franchise. In the Day of Vengeance miniseries, which preceded the Infinite Crisis event, the wizard Shazam is killed by the Spectre , and Captain Marvel assumes the wizard's place in

10956-489: The first titles of the Sixth Wave, which began publication in October 2013. On July 16, 2013, DC announced Harley Quinn , the third and last title of the Sixth Wave, which began publication in November 2013. In August 2013, it was announced that Justice League 3000 ' s initial publication would be delayed to December 2013, following creative changes on the title. In October 2013, DC announced Batman Eternal ,

11088-474: The formation of the team. The initial run of first issues show a universe in which superheroes have only appeared within the last five years and are viewed with suspicion and hostility, with Superman and Batman being pursued by the police five years ago at the start of their careers. In the present day, organizations such as the United Nations and the United States government seek to exploit and control

11220-490: The former being retitled New Suicide Squad . A new series, titled Grayson , focusing on character Dick Grayson following his role in " Forever Evil ", and a one-shot issue Robin Rises: Omega , tied into the Batman and Robin storyline "The Hunt for Robin", would also debut. It was revealed that July 2014's variant theme would be Batman's 75th anniversary, with 21 publications featuring "Batman 75" themes. April also saw

11352-509: The hackneyed formulas of the pulp magazine , but going back to the old folk-tales and myths of classic times." The first issue of the comic book, printed as both Flash Comics #1 and Thrill Comics #1, had a low print run in the fall of 1939 as an ashcan copy created for advertising and trademark purposes. Shortly after its printing, however, Fawcett found it could not trademark "Captain Thunder", "Flash Comics", or "Thrill Comics", because all three names were already in use. Consequently,

11484-504: The help of a British comic writer, Mick Anglo , who created a thinly disguised version of the superhero called Marvelman . Captain Marvel Jr. was adapted to create Young Marvelman, while Mary Marvel had her sex changed to create the male Kid Marvelman. The magic word "Shazam!" was replaced with "Kimota" ("Atomik" spelled backwards). The new characters took over the numbering of the original Captain Marvel's United Kingdom series with issue number #25. Marvelman ceased publication in 1963, but

11616-560: The inking credit subsequently varied. When World's Finest Comics reverted to the standard 36 pages, leftover Shazam! material saw publication in Adventure Comics (#491–492, September–October 1982). The remaining 11 issues of that run contained reprints, with Shazam! represented by mostly Fawcett-era stories (left out of Adventure Comics #500 and the final #503, where two features were doubled up to complete their respective story arcs ). Outside of their regular series and features,

11748-451: The integration of the Wildstorm imprint's characters into DC continuity, with Martian Manhunter as a part of the new Stormwatch team in the relaunched Stormwatch series. Justice League was the first book of the relaunch, with the first issue released on August 31, 2011. The first story arc takes place five years in the past, detailing the first meeting of the Justice League members and

11880-433: The issue being known by both titles. It was the first major crossover in the New 52 since "Flashpoint" and spun out of the aftermath of "Trinity War". Each book featured 3D lenticular front and back covers. DC also released 2D versions of the covers. Some books published multiple "Villains Month" issues, while others skipped publication in September 2013. For example, Batman , Superman , and Justice League are some of

12012-530: The modern DC Universe with an altered origin story. The most notable change that the Thomases, Giffen, and DeMatteis introduced into the Captain Marvel mythos was that the personality of young Billy Batson is retained when he transforms into the Captain. This change would remain for most future uses of the character as justification for his sunny, Golden-Age personality in the darker modern-day comic book world, instead of

12144-478: The month of September 2011, DC had eight of the top ten comic books, in spite of Marvel's heavily publicized replacement Ultimate Spider-Man , Miles Morales debuting in that title the same month. Justice League #1 was the top selling comic book in 2011. Writer Warren Ellis was unimpressed with the relaunch's sales, stating that it garnered DC a half-point lead in dollar share and a five-point lead in units sold over Marvel Comics . Ellis also pointed out that

12276-472: The name of the ancient wizard Shazam , is struck by a magic lightning bolt and transformed into the adult superhero Captain Marvel. Shazam's name was an acronym derived from the six immortal elders who grant Captain Marvel his superpowers: Solomon , Hercules , Atlas , Zeus , Achilles , and Mercury . In addition to introducing the main character, his alter ego, and his mentor, Captain Marvel's first adventure in Whiz Comics #2 also introduced his archenemy,

12408-432: The new book, Parker also wrote a story about a team of six superheroes. Each superhero in this team possessed a special power granted to them by a mythological figure. Fawcett Comics' executive director Ralph Daigh decided it would be best to combine the team of six into one hero who would embody all six powers. Parker responded by creating a character he called "Captain Thunder". Staff artist Charles Clarence "C. C." Beck

12540-550: The new continuity did not constitute a full reboot of the DC Universe but rather a "soft reboot". While many characters underwent a reboot or revamp, much of the DC Universe's history remained intact. Many major storylines such as " War of the Green Lanterns ", " Batman: A Death in the Family " and Batman: The Killing Joke remained part of the new continuity, while others have been lost in part or in whole. DC editorial constructed

12672-603: The official announcement of The Multiversity , which began publication in August 2014; the 8-issue limited series was first mentioned by writer Grant Morrison in April–May 2009 intended for a 2010 release date. The Multiversity was intended to pick up on storylines left over from 52 and Final Crisis . In May 2014, DC announced that six titles, All-Star Western , Batwing , Birds of Prey , Superboy , Trinity of Sin: Pandora and Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger , would have their final publications in August 2014. It

12804-453: The old days, make a good story better by bringing it to life with drawings. But I couldn't bring the new [Captain Marvel] stories to life no matter how hard I tried". Shazam! was heavily rewritten as of issue #34 (April 1978), and Bridwell provided more realistic stories, accompanied by similar art; the first issue was drawn by Alan Weiss and Joe Rubinstein , and thereafter by Don Newton ,

12936-453: The others would be published in February 2013. DC later consolidated these new titles as the Fourth Wave of The New 52. G.I. Combat , Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. , Grifter , Blue Beetle , and Legion Lost were cancelled as a result. Young Romance: A New 52 Valentine's Day Special #1 was published as the 52nd title in February 2013. In January 2013, DC Comics announced

13068-554: The powerless Mary Batson his powers, turning her into a more aggressive super-powered figure, less upstanding than the old Mary Marvel. By the end of the series, as well as in DC's 2008–2009 Final Crisis limited series, the now black-costumed Mary Marvel, possessed by the evil New God DeSaad , becomes a villainess, joining forces with Superman villain Darkseid and fighting both Supergirl and Freddy Freeman/Shazam. A three-issue arc in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) undid many of

13200-511: The powers of Shazam with his foster family after their connection was cut off. The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books . Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint " crossover storyline, DC cancelled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series in September 2011. Among the renumbered series were Action Comics and Detective Comics , which had retained their original numbering since

13332-429: The presiding judge decided that Captain Marvel was an infringement, DC was found to be negligent in copyrighting several of their Superman daily newspaper strips , and it was decided that National had abandoned the Superman copyright. As a result, the initial verdict, delivered in 1951, went in Fawcett's favor. National appealed this decision, and Judge Learned Hand declared in 1952 that National's Superman copyright

13464-540: The previous "DC Comics: All Access" features. This news feature stars Bethany Snow, Ambush Bug , Vartox , and Calendar Man as reporters and anchors on the fictional in-universe news show. The art is provided by Freddie E. Williams II. Each week brings new content regarding the current or future goings-on in the DC universe. Channel 52 and Bethany Snow make an appearance in the second season of Arrow . On January 30, 2013, DC announced that all titles released in April 2013 would be "WTF Certified". Each title would feature

13596-486: The redesign of characters for the relaunch of the DC Universe. In late July 2011, DC released The New 52 , a free preview book giving solicitations and previews of all of the new titles launching from August 31, 2011. Notable continuity changes shown included Superman 's two new looks: one which consists of jeans, a blue T-shirt with the "S" logo and a cape, the other consisting of Kryptonian battle armor that resembles his classic costume. Other notable changes included

13728-573: The redesign, Captain Marvel received a new costume designed by Frank with a long cloak and hood, and a metallic belt instead of a sash. His lightning bolt appears as an opening into his body with magical energy visibly inside of him. Johns noted that the character's place in the world will be "far more rooted in fantasy and magic than it ever was before". The character also was officially renamed "Shazam" at this time. The Shazam! origin story, which included two full issues in Justice League (vol. 2) #0 (2012) and 21 (2013), reintroduced Billy Batson/Shazam,

13860-520: The release of Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure , DC announced cover variants for 20 titles published in January 2014, featuring Scribblenauts-inspired artwork. In November 2013, DC announced one-shot issues Superman: Lois Lane #1 and Batman: Joker's Daughter #1 for February 2014, featuring Lois Lane and the new Joker's Daughter , respectively. DC also announced that 20 titles being published in February 2014 would feature steampunk -inspired cover variants. As well, Johns revealed that

13992-509: The release of an 80-page one-shot on May 25, 2016, and continuing through late 2016. Following the conclusion of the Flashpoint limited series, DC cancelled and relaunched all titles set in the DC Universe with new #1 issues. The new continuity features new outfits and backstories for many of DC's long-established heroes and villains. An interview with DC Comics executive editor Eddie Berganza and editor-in-chief Bob Harras revealed that

14124-406: The release of the October 2013 solicitations, DC was no longer grouping the titles by these families. Instead they began releasing one larger solicit, titled "The New 52 Group". However, titles that were not participating in an event for the month, such as " Forever Evil ", were still grouped together in the larger solicit by the previous family headings. In February 2015, it was revealed that after

14256-464: The revived Marvel Family and related characters lived within the DC Universe on the parallel world of "Earth-S". The Fawcett material was still considered canon , with the Marvel Family's 20-year layoff explained in the comic as time spent in suspended animation due to Doctor Sivana. While the series began with a great deal of fanfare, the book had a lackluster reception. The creators themselves had misgivings. Beck said, "As an illustrator, I could, in

14388-487: The second Robot Chicken DC Comics Special . In January 2014, DC announced Aquaman and the Others , Justice League United , Secret Origins and Sinestro ongoing series and Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs Bane #1 for publication in April 2014. In addition, DC revealed that Justice League of America , Nightwing , Stormwatch , Suicide Squad , Superman Unchained , and Teen Titans would end in April 2014. It

14520-516: The sellouts and reprintings make returns unlikely, the sales will remain 10% lower throughout the period the books can be returned, which will last through December, and that actual sales would be adjusted for this factor in Diamond Comic Distributors ' end of year figures. Writer and ComicMix columnist Glenn Hauman wrote that relying solely on Diamond's numbers, to the exclusion of newsstand, overseas and digital sales, does not provide

14652-610: The success of National Comics ' new superhero characters Superman and Batman , Fawcett Publications started its own comics division in 1939, recruiting staff writer Bill Parker to create several hero characters for the first title in their line, tentatively titled Flash Comics . Besides penning stories featuring his creations Ibis the Invincible , the Spy Smasher , the Golden Arrow , Lance O'Casey , Scoop Smith , and Dan Dare for

14784-402: The superhero action. Other artists associated with the Marvel Family at Fawcett included Pete Costanza , Mac Raboy , Marc Swayze , and Kurt Schaffenberger . Otto Binder would write over 900 of the approximately 1,790 Captain Marvel-related stories published by Fawcett. Several of Captain Marvel's enduring supporting characters and enemies—including the non-powered Uncle Marvel , Tawky Tawny

14916-574: The superheroes through groups such as the Justice League International and the Justice League of America . The "Batman" family of titles strongly resemble the past continuity. However, former Batgirls Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain have had their histories erased. Additionally, all of the Robins have been accounted for, including the previously non-canonical Carrie Kelley . Stephanie Brown made her first appearance in The New 52 as

15048-539: The talking tiger, and the villains Mister Mind and Black Adam —were created by Binder during the mid-to-late 1940s. Detective Comics (later known as National Comics Publications, National Periodical Publications, and today known as DC Comics ) sued both Fawcett Comics and Republic Pictures for copyright infringement in 1941, alleging that Captain Marvel was based on their character Superman. After seven years of litigation, National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. went to trial in 1948. Although

15180-471: The time. Feeling that this decline in the popularity of superhero comics meant that it was no longer worth continuing the fight, Fawcett agreed on August 14, 1953, to permanently cease publication of comics with the Captain Marvel-related characters and to pay National $ 400,000 in damages. Fawcett shut down its comics division in the autumn of 1953 and fired its comic book staff. Otto Binder and Kurt Schaffenberger ended up at DC, becoming prominent members of

15312-402: The title Whiz Comics . In addition, Fawcett took several of the elements that had made Superman the first popular comic book superhero (super-strength and speed, science-fiction stories, a mild-mannered reporter alter ego) and incorporated them into Captain Marvel. Fawcett's circulation director Roscoe Kent Fawcett recalled telling the staff, "Give me a Superman, only have his other identity be

15444-441: The title became so linked to Captain Marvel that many people took to identifying the character as "Shazam" instead of "Captain Marvel". The Shazam! comic series began with Shazam! #1 (Feb. 1973). It contained both new stories and reprints from the 1940s and 1950s. Dennis O'Neil was the primary writer of the book. His role was later taken over by writers Elliot S. Maggin and E. Nelson Bridwell . C. C. Beck drew stories for

15576-475: The titles that published four issues, while The Flash published three issues, Aquaman and others published two issues, and Green Arrow and others published only one. In addition to "Villains Month", a seven-issue limited series titled Forever Evil , by Geoff Johns and David Finch, launched in September 2013 and focused on the Crime Syndicate , an evil version of the Justice League from Earth-3 in

15708-401: The traditional depiction used prior to 1986, which tended to treat Captain Marvel and Billy as two separate personalities. This revised version of Captain Marvel also appeared in one story arc featured in the short-lived anthology Action Comics Weekly #623–626 (October 25, 1988 – November 15, 1988), in which a Neo-Nazi version of Captain Marvel was introduced. At the end of the arc, it

15840-399: The units DC sold are returnable. Columnist Heidi MacDonald stated that while the market share comparisons are correct, the sales figures for single issue books do not take into account the fact that returnable comics are downgraded by approximately 10%, and that DC's sales are about that amount lower than the actual sales, in order to allow for potential returns. MacDonald opined that while

15972-481: Was a critically acclaimed success, leading to a Power of Shazam! ongoing series which ran from 1995 to 1999. That series reintroduced the Marvel Family and many of their allies and enemies into the modern-day DC Universe. Captain Marvel also appeared in Mark Waid and Alex Ross 's critically acclaimed 1996 alternate universe Elseworlds miniseries Kingdom Come . Set 20 years in the future, Kingdom Come features

16104-464: Was also announced that April 2014 publications would feature a second wave of variant covers inspired by MAD magazine. In February 2014, Gail Simone revealed that her series The Movement would be canceled in May 2014 after 12 issues. It was also revealed that 19 titles published in May 2014 would feature variant covers drawn by Mike Allred in the style of Batman '66 . A one-shot issue, Superman: Doomed #1 would also be published in May, as

16236-440: Was also revealed that 22 titles published in August 2014 would feature "DC Universe Selfie" variant covers, focusing on the popular trend of taking selfies . A second Superman: Doomed one-shot was also announced. In June 2014, DC announced six new titles for their Ninth Wave: Arkham Manor , Deathstroke , Gotham Academy , Klarion , Lobo , and Trinity of Sin for publication in October 2014. In February 2015, it

16368-417: Was announced that following the Convergence storyline in May, the New 52 branding would not be used anymore, although the continuity of the New 52 would continue. That June, 24 new titles were unveiled under a newly introduced DC You initiative, and most of the 25 remaining titles of The New 52 had new creative teams. The Multiversity Guidebook #1 changed the nature of the 52 multiverse. In this book,

16500-563: Was announced that this would lead to a new Shazam! ongoing series. Though New Beginning had sold well and multiple artists were assigned to and worked on the book, it never saw publication owing to editorial disputes between DC Comics and Roy Thomas. As a result, Thomas's intended revival of the Marvel Family with a new punk -styled Mary Bromfield/Mary Marvel (a.k.a. "Spike") who was not Billy's sister, and an African-American take on Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel Jr., did not see print. Thomas departed DC in 1989, not long after his removal from

16632-419: Was in fact valid. Judge Hand did not find that the character of Captain Marvel itself was an infringement, but rather that specific stories or super feats could be infringements, and this would have to be determined in a retrial . He therefore sent the matter back to the lower court for final determination. Instead of retrying the case, however, Fawcett settled with National out of court. The National lawsuit

16764-439: Was not the only problem Fawcett faced in regard to Captain Marvel. While Captain Marvel Adventures had been the top-selling comic series during World War II, it suffered declining sales every year after 1945, and, by 1949, it was selling only half its wartime rate. Fawcett tried to revive the popularity of its Captain Marvel series in the early 1950s by introducing elements of the horror comics trend that had gained popularity at

16896-404: Was published on December 5, 2018. Thirteen issues from Johns, Eaglesham, and others - along with two guest issues, #12 and 15, from writer Jeff Loveness and artist Brandon Peterson - were published between 2018 and 2020. Despite initial positive reviews, the third volume of Shazam! fell victim to several publishing delays. The book was cancelled with issue #15 (November 2020); Johns cited

17028-444: Was recruited to design and illustrate Parker's story, rendering it in a direct, somewhat cartoony style that became his trademark. "When Bill Parker and I went to work on Fawcett's first comic book in late 1939, we both saw how poorly written and illustrated the superhero comic books were," Beck told an interviewer. "We decided to give our reader a real comic book, drawn in comic-strip style and telling an imaginative story, based not on

17160-536: Was released in 1994. Power of Shazam! retconned Captain Marvel again and gave him a revised origin, rendering Shazam! The New Beginning and the Action Comics Weekly story apocryphal while Marvel's appearances in Legends and Justice League still counted as part of the continuity. Ordway's story more closely followed Captain Marvel's Fawcett origins, with only slight additions and changes. The graphic novel

17292-454: Was set during World War II, several events of the comic fell concurrent with and referenced the events of the original early-1940s Fawcett stories. With their 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries , DC fully integrated the characters into the DC Universe . The first Post- Crisis appearance of Captain Marvel was in the 1986 Legends miniseries. In 1987, Captain Marvel appeared as

17424-503: Was the ability to split his body into several parts, each of which could move on its own. He triggered the separation by shouting "Split!" and reassembled himself by shouting "Xam!" He had a young human ward named Billy Baxton. This short-lived Captain Marvel was credited in the comic as being "based on a character created by Carl Burgos ". Marvel Comics subsequently created their own character named Captain Marvel in 1967, and Myron Fass sued Marvel for trademark infringement. Fass accepted

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