Johns Wants His Shazam Run to Waid’s Flash, Miller’s Daredevil

CBR

Johns Hopes Fans Compare His Shazam Run to Waid’s Flash, Miller’s Daredevil

By Meagan Damore

Published Sep 2, 2018

Drawing inspiration from the original Fawcett comics, writer Geoff Johns plans to give Shazam his first great reintroduction in years.

Writer Geoff Johns has big things planned for his Shazam! run with artist Dale Eaglesham. Drawing inspiration from the original Fawcett comics, he plans to give the character his first great reintroduction in years. Then, when all is said and done, he hopes fans compare the run to Frank Miller's iconic take on Daredevil and Batman or Mark Waid's reinvention of The Flash.

"We're taking the Golden Age Fawcett comics as the basis of it. Like, all these characters over the years -- like Daredevil and Batman and the Incredible Hulk... Peter David redefined the Incredible Hulk and changed it forever and Frank Miller redefined Daredevil and Batman and Mark Waid redefined Flash. I think Shazam! hasn't yet really had that really, I think, great reintroduction," Johns explained to CBR at Comic-Con International in San Diego. "Between hopefully the book and the movie, we'll push this into the next level, but it's almost like Shazam! skips over the grim and gritty phase of comic books, and so we're looking at if Fawcett just kept evolving."

"There's this great cover -- my favorite cover! I bought it -- of Captain Marvel Adventures where Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel are flying with Santa Claus. It's an awesome cover, and I want to do comics where that can be a cover and it doesn't feel weird. A comic that is... still grounded in reality. It's still rooted in emotional reality. The stakes are still real. It's not just a goofball comic, but I think there's got to be a magic and a whimsical nature to the stories and the characters for Shazam, for me. That's just my take. That's how I see it."

STORY CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO

According to the solicitation for Shazam! #1, which drops this fall,

The superstar team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Dale Eaglesham reunite to launch the first all-new SHAZAM! monthly title set in the DC Universe in almost 20 years! (What took you guys so long?!) Teenager turned super-hero Billy Batson struggles to balance school and superheroics! (Guess which one is more fun?) But when Shazam unlocks a shocking secret deep within the Rock of Eternity, it challenges everything he knows about the worlds of magic and his family’s future as its champions! Also, witness the bizarre team-up of Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind as they set off to build a society all their own! Don’t miss the start of an epic run in the making as “Shazam and the Seven Realms” begins!

Johns and Eaglesham's Shazam! #1 goes on sale November 21.