Mary Marvel Gets Scared — ‘Knight Terrors: Shazam!’ #1 Reviewed
by Tony Thornley
DC’s Knight Terrors event is in full swing. Unfortunately for Mary Marvel, that means she’s in for a scare as Knight Terrors: Shazam! begins.
Mark Waid, Roger Cruz, Wellington Dias, Arif Prianto, and Troy Peteri drop Mary into the Nightmare world.
All the stress in Mary Bromfield’s life is getting to her. She just needs a little rest. Unfortunately, the events of the Knight Terrors are reaching across the world. Can the magic word save Mary Marvel? Or will the power of Shazam just make it worse?
This is the first issue of Knight Terrors I’ve read. I honestly didn’t fully know what was happening, but I still liked it quite a bit for two reasons. The first was that Waid continues to show how well he understands these characters. Mary is on the page fully formed, but he also takes her on a journey that sees her grow in even this short period of time. The second is that this plot genuinely feels like a real life nightmare- there’s some twisted logic, a bit of unsettling surrealism and a lot of truly scary moments.
Cruz and Dias’s very cartoony art makes for the horror hitting harder. They’re just realistic enough that the characters are relatable. But the scary moments are even more heightened and unsettling because it’s so light and energetic. It makes the frightening nature of the monsters and nightmares even more heightened. Prianto switches his palette with what’s on the page, adding to the feeling of horror and dread. In all, it makes for a great looking book that fits the scares perfectly.
Knight Terrors: Shazam! #1 is available now from DC Comics.
Overview
If a new series is going to have to pause so soon for a crossover, I really hope more of it is like this. It’s fun, scary and gets into the head of its lead.
