Review — The Jig Is Up In ‘SHAZAM!’ #5

In a relatively short time, Billy Batson has been through hell. In SHAZAM! #5, he learns why and the antagonists at the center of it all see their plans come crashing down.

Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Alex Sanchez, and Troy Peteri help Billy and the Captain face the source of their troubles.

The gods that have empowered Billy Batson may have killed him. His only hope is Mary Marvel. But after Mary steps into diffuse the chaos they’ve caused with Queen Bee on the moon, they may be in it deep as Billy’s entire family is on hand to make them answer for what they’ve done.

There’s a part of me that wonders how much of the plotting of this story is Waid saying to Mora something to the effect of “here’s point A, here’s point B, let’s talk what crazy stuff you want to draw to get from here to there.” While the gods influencing Billy create the main conflict, they have drawn our heroes into a war between Queen Bee, the Emperor of the Moon and a group of apes from Gorilla City. It’s crazy, it’s fun, but it all makes sense, and still is centered on the family that Billy has around him.

Mora is an absolute modern legend, and this issue is a prime example of why. There’s genuine tension in the first few pages when we think Billy might have frozen to death in space. It’s entirely based around how he paces the pages, and the emotions we see on Mary’s face as she tries to rescue her brother. The reactions to the gods getting found out later in the issue is hilarious, and it’s again entirely based around their body language and facial expressions. Both are just examples of how great he is.

Sanchez’s color art is bright and full of light. He makes the lightning leap off the page, and the sunlight shining through space feels real. It’s gorgeous color work that adds dimension to the line art.

I like Peteri’s letters a lot. He kind of flies under the radar amongst letterers in the industry, but he conveys information well, he blocks his bubbles so they complement the art, and he also makes sure not to get in the way. Plus, he gives the best moment of the issue- the aforementioned panel of the gods- the perfect laugh out loud speech bubble. Without how he put it on the page, it wouldn’t have been nearly as funny.

SHAZAM! #5 is available now from DC Comics.