Shazam! #6 Review

    

    

Written by: Mark Waid
Art by: Dan Mora
Colors by: Alejandro Sánchez
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Dan Mora
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: December 5, 2023

Shazam! #6 finds Freddy making a plea to Zeus to grant him the power of Shazam instead of Billy. Will this betrayal destroy Billy's family, or is something else going on?
Is Shazam! #6 Good?

Call it outlandish. Call it silly. Call it whatever you like, but Heaven help me, I had a lot of fun with Shazam! #6. Mark Waid somehow manages to take Silver Age silliness and gives it a modern polish for a wild adventure that truly is one of the few DC comics on the shelves suitable for the whole family.

When last we left Billy Batson, he offered to give up his powers rather than allow himself to be used as a puppet by the gods. When the deal was just about sealed, Freddy arrived and offered to be the bearer of Shazam's power. Now, Freddy slyly lets Billy know his offer was a ruse to buy time until the cavalry could arrive. Enter The New Squadron of Justice (aka Billy's family wielding magical weapons from the rock of Eternity's storage).

If this series has had one consistent downpoint, it's the inclusion of the alien T-Rex in a tux endlessly demanding the completion of paperwork. In Shazam! #6, the T-Rex joins in on the conflict in a way that puts his running gag away (for good?) and makes use of his presence in a meaningful way.

What's great about Shazam! #6? Mark Waid's script is wall-to-wall fun. The Batson siblings get to battle the gods, and it's a hoot. Weapons and armor we haven't seen in years get to come out and play with clever tactics and attacks you won't see anywhere else.

What's not so great about Shazam! #6? I will concede that the Batson siblings held their own much better than they had any right to against Zeus and the Pantheon of Gods. It's fun to watch, but the King of the Gods realistically would have been more formidable in a fight.


How's the art? Dan Mora's art is exquisite. If every DC comic looked this good, the publisher's sales would probably be a bit better.


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Shazam! #6 is wall-to-wall fun, adventure, and excitement when the Batson family faces off against Zeus and the Pantheon of Gods. Waid's script is a near-perfect blend of Silver Age imagination and modern polish, and Mora's art is some of the best in any DC comic.

9/10