SHAZAM! Archives #2

• Foreword by comics historian R.C. Harvey
• Poison gas is identified as a weakness for Captain Marvel.
• Captain Marvel fights a variety of magic practitioners in these stories
• Cap’s powers are inconsistent. Sometimes he flies, sometimes not.
• Captain Marvel teams up with the Fawcett superhero Spy Smasher in a continuing story.
• Captain Marvel still remembers how to walk through walls. (An ability acquired during a confrontation with Sivana included in the first archive volume.)
• Sivana starts demonstrating his skill in building robots to battle Captain Marvel.

 

C. C. Beck
Pete Costanza
Jack Kirby
Bill Parker
Joe Simon
Charles Sultan

Special Edition Comics #1, cover by C.C. Beck, Untilted, Cap and Billy take on the superintelligent heavyweight boxing champion, his super-intelligent gorilla friend, and their henchman as the bad guys plot to take over the country. The champ goes to jail and the gorilla ends up stuffed in a museum. This same fate awaits Mr. Mind later in the title, so if you aren’t a human bad guy, you’d better not get caught; “Captain Marvel and the Haunted House,” Billy and Cap investigate mysterious happenings at a supposedly haunted house; “Captain Marvel and the Gamblers of Death,” Cap and Billy break up a murderous gambling ring; “Captain Marvel and Sivana, the Weather Wizard,” This time Sivana has found a way to control the weather on Earth from his Venus base.

Captain Marvel Adventures #1 – Untitled, Sivana invents a robotic champion named “Z” to take on Captain Marvel toe-to-toe; “Captain Marvel Out West,” Cap and Billy break up a cattle rustling ring; Captain Marvel’s “Pencil Puzzle Page,” various games; Untitled, Billy and Cap take on the Dragon-man overlords of Saturn to free their human slaves, early Jack Kirby alien art; Billy Batson’s Page of Games, more games; “Captain Marvel Battles the Vampire,” Billy and Cap take on a vampire over fifty years before Buffy hits the scene; Advertisement for the Captain Marvel Movie Serial, a brief movie review: this serial is a good solid adventure yarn. The special effects were groundbreaking in the day. It’s available on video and DVD.

Whiz Comics #15 – “Spy Smasher” – Not a Captain Marvel storty. Spy Smasher, the scourge of fifth columnists, is brainwashed by the Mask into becoming an anarchist.

Whiz Comics #16 – “Captain Marvel” – Cap tries to stop Spy Smasher and discovers that the Spy Smasher has been brainwashed; “Spy Smasher,”the befuddled Spy Smasher tries to burn his fiancee alive, but Cap saves her. Cap cannot capture Spy Smasher, however.

Whiz Comics #17 – “Captain Marvel,” Spy Smasher tries to kill Sterling Morris, but Cap saves the day; “Spy Smasher,” The brainwashed hero terrorizes the Midwest using a giant combine tractor, until Captain Marvel stops him.

Whiz Comics #18 – “Captain Marvel” – Spy Smasher has decided to conquer the world, and in the process he insults the foreign warlord, but Cap finally catches Spy Smasher stealing a submarine, and Cap uses hypnotism to undo the brainwashing, restoring Spy Smasher to normal; “Spy Smasher,” Spy Smasher is captured by the warlords agents but Cap saves him.

Whiz Comics #19 – “Captain Marvel and the Black Magician” – Billy does a radio expsose` on back woods magic, decrying it as a hoax. A magician takes exception to this and plots to destroy Billy. Captain Marvel eventually defeats the magician with help from a miniature version of himself.

Whiz Comics #20 – “Crusher of Crime” – Sivana is back with a super-strong robotic body, and this time, it’s personal.

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Note: This Contribution is copyrighted 2000 Michael A. Chary.