The Revolution thought that Trials of Shazam #2 was not as good as the first issue. I am worried about Winick’s newly re-imagined world of magic and how the current incarnations of the ancient gods are going to be presented. Winick tends to try and be too trendy and I’m afraid trying to make Shazam really modern may not be the best route to take. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Howard Porter
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: This issue begins with Freddy using one of Zareb’s magic rods to blow up the magical creature that was attacking them. Zareb and Freddy then proceed on Freddy’s mission and take extra precautions since the attack my the monster is clear proof that someone knows Freddy is seeking the powers of Shazam and that they want to stop Freddy from succeeding.
We shift to a meeting of the Counsel of Merlin. They discuss their failed attempt to kill Freddy with the aforementioned monster. They discuss how if Freddy fails in his mission then the power of Shazam will be theirs. More specifically, a girl named Sabina, who is a part of the Counsel will inherit the powers of Shazam and will serve the wishes of the Counsel of Merlin.
We cut to Zareb and Freddy arriving at a tattoo parlor. Zareb introduces Freddy to the tattoo artist named Rachel Zallman. Zally, as she is called, is one big woman. She proceeds to give Freddy a tattoo on his back. During the process of tattooing Freddy, she tells him that this tattoo is an ancient magical inscripture that will provide Freddy protection and passage though the magical realms.Zally then asks Freddy how he first became Captain Marvel, Jr. Freddy tells her how he was fishing with his grandfather. Freddy was a big time jock back then since he wasn’t crippled. Anyway, Captain Marvel and Captain Nazi were fighting near where they were fishing. Captain Marvel punched Captain Nazi into near their boat. Freddy’s grandfather saved Captain Nazi from drowning and Captain Nazi re-paid Freddy’s grandfather’s kindness by killing him and then crippling Freddy. Then Captain Marvel granted Freddy a portion of his powers.
Zally asks Freddy why he wants his powers back. Freddy says that he is needed. That Captain Marvel needs him. That Freddy owes him. Zally asks Freddy why he feels he owes a man who punched a bad guy over to their boat and caused his grandfather to be killed and himself crippled. Freddy said that he hates Captain Marvel for what he did to him. That his only family was killed. That he will never forgive Captain Marvel for that. That Captain Marvel made him an orphan and a cripple, but he also made him a hero. And now he needs Freddy to be that champion. And Freddy concludes that a champion is exactly what he is.
Zally is happy to hear Freddy’s strong answer. She is done with his tattoo and informs Freddy that it will only be visible when he is in his enchanted form. Zally then wishes Freddy good luck with his trials.
We shift to Freddy and Zareb walking down the street. Zareb asks Freddy what a Costellon Goblin is. Freddy spouts out this long detailed question. Freddy then asks how in the world he knew that answer. Zareb responds that Freddy now has the wisdom of Solomon. That Zallman is Yiddish for Solomon. Freddy retorts that the god Solomon is a woman is a tattoo artists in New York? Zareb responds that Zally is a modern era’s new shape for an old god. And that Freddy has officially passed his first test. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Trials of Shazam #3 was an average read. The only scene that I really enjoyed was when Freddy told Zally his origin. Winick does a nice job adding some depth and conflict to Freddy’s character. I like Freddy’s divergent view of Captain Marvel: both hero and tormentor. It is understandable that Freddy could never forgive the man who led to him losing his only family and to becoming a cripple. At the same time, Captain Marvel did make Freddy a hero and is a force for good on this planet. This is a wonderfully complex twist on the rather traditional and one-dimensional relationship between Billy and Freddy.
One of the biggest weaknesses of the Captain Marvel Family is that it is too simple, too silly and just too old school for the modern comic book reader. Yes, I know there are plenty of long time Captain Marvel fans who love the old simple stories and characters. But, the fact is, Captain Marvel has never had much commercial success with modern fans. When was the last time Captain Marvel had a strong selling title or was relevant in the DCU? Captain Marvel desperately needed to be updated and made more appealing to the modern age comic book reader. I think Winick does a nice job updating the relationship between Billy and Freddy by making it much more intricate and compelling.
I enjoyed Porter’s artwork. I don’t think it was as good as his work on the first two issues, but it was still nice. Porter’s heavy painted and static art creates a very unique look. It is understandable if some people just can’t get into his style. Personally, I like the unique look and think it gives this title a very bold and distinctive look.
The Bad: There is an alarming trend on this title. Each issue has been slightly worse than the preceding issue. That does not bode well for the remainder of this maxi-series. I thought Winick came out strong with the first issue and then followed it up with two rather pedestrian issues.
The pacing of this issue was slow. Plus, it was rather boring. You had an unexciting generic fight at the very beginning. Then you had the obligatory scene where the bad guys are introduced. Then the rest of the issue centered on Zally giving Freddy a tattoo. Just terribly uninteresting and boring. On top of that, the dialogue was stiff and very average. Winick hasn’t been able to really develop much personality in any of the characters.
When Winick first revealed in the last issue that the ancient gods have been changed to suit the modern age of magic; I got a little worried. Winick is a very trendy writer and when you get too trendy you tend to create stories that are a bit cheesy and don’t stand the test of time. Well, Trials of Shazam #3 pretty much proved that my fears were not unwarranted. Winick is going to be in a rush to replace the image of the ancient gods who were all white men with much more modern and P.C. versions. Zally is an excellent example of this plan. Here Winick delivers a “new” version of the ancient god Solomon in the shape of a large female tattoo artist in New York City. This is vintage Winick. Attempt to make something very trendy and “hip.”
The only problem is that in a year or two, this is going to look really tacky. I mean it is already a bit cheesy as it is. First off, tattoos are so played out. They went from cool and trendy to overexposed and unoriginal in the mid to late 90’s with everyone and their grandmother running out to get a “hip” tattoo. On their arm if they were a dude or on the small of their back if they were a chick. So, I think Zally is already a bit cheesy. But, in a couple of years, this is going to look really dated.
A good example is Fate. Dr. Fate is a design and character that pretty much stands the test of time. Yes, he will never be on the cutting edge of what is hot and trendy, however, he works in any decade whether it is the 1940’s, 1980’s or the 2000’s. A classic look and design always works no matter what is hot and trendy. However, when DC junked the classic Dr. Fate and then “blessed” us with Fate, we got treated to a character that was much more modern and trendy than Dr. Fate. Initially, he was viewed as much cooler and more modern than the “stuffy” old Dr. Fate. However, after a couple of years passed, and trends changed, Fate just seemed really dated. He was clearly a product of the mid 1990’s and was unable to exist outside of his era. Honestly, don’t you just groan when you look at this lame Image Comics style character? That is the weakness of making characters too modern and trendy to fit what is currently popular versus using a classic design that is successful regardless of what the current trends may be.
This version of the ancient gods that Winick is creating simply will not stand the test of time. I can only imagine what other really modern and trendy appearances the other gods will have. Let me guess, someone has to be a biker, there probably will be some ghetto thugged out version, and maybe a blind homeless person. I’m sure that the majority of the new versions of the ancient gods will be P.C. In a couple of years, they will look goofy and cheesy and DC will probably want to revert to the more classic design of the world of magic and the ancient gods.
Sticking with the classic design is always best. Yeah, I know the classic design of the ancient gods have them all as white males, but c’mon, these are the Greek and Roman gods. Last time I checked, they were all white people. Could you imagine a comic book writer re-imaging Native American gods or African gods as whites or Asians? I think not. It is ok that the ancient gods are all white males. That is a symbol of the era and the culture. I mean is there a reader out there who would enjoy this story more if the ancient gods were made artificially racially diverse? I know that if Winick re-imaging some of them as Hispanics it wouldn’t make me like them any more than I normally would. Not everything needs to be re-imagined, modernizes and made P.C. I have a terrible feeling that this new world of magic and these new versions of the ancient gods are going to be viewed as terribly lame after a couple of years pass.
And the fact that Winick had to give Freddy the Wisdom of Solomon via a mystical tattoo is pretty lame. A tattooed Captain Marvel is something that I really never thought was necessary.
Overall: Trials of Shazam #3 is an omen that the rest of this maxi-series may end up being one seriously lame read. I really hope that Winick focuses more on fleshing out Freddy’s character and making him a more well rounded and interesting personality rather than on focusing on how trendy and modern he can make the magical world of Shazam. I’m sure that long-time Captain Marvel fans absolutely hate this title. I still think that Winick may still be able to make Captain Marvel more appealing to the average modern age comic book reader. And three issues into a twelve issue maxi-series is too early to pronounce this title a failure. However, Winick has certainly started off unimpressively and really needs to put forth his best effort to pull this off and make Trials of Shazam a great read and a cool version of Captain Marvel for the current DCU.