For The Love of Comics

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For The Love of Reviews - Trials of Shazam 12

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Let me start off by saying that I wanted to like this series - I really, really, reaaaallllly did want to. I even avoided reviewing any of the past issues in the hope that it would all pay off in the end, but it never really worked for me. For whatever reason, Judd Winick’s superhero characters just never quite feel anything less that awkward and not quite in-character. He seems to try to make the characters what he thinks they should be instead of what they are, continually taking me out of the story.

In this final issue, Freddy leads the Justice League against Merlin’s demon forces to maintain the balance of magic. I don’t think I’m really spoiling anything by telling you that Freddy’s willingness to sacrifice himself in order to save the world prompts Zeus to give him the full power of Shazam. The surprise is in where Zeus was all along, and that I won’t spoil for you.

Honestly, with the exception of me wondering what the hell Superman is doing fighting against demons when magic is one of his very few weaknesses - sit this one out, Big Blue - and my uncertainty about a long-haired Captain Marvel that is now just called “Shazam”, this story had alot of potential, the execution was just flawed.

Honestly, unless you’re a big continuity and/or Captain Marvel buff who just has to have the story of the Captain Marvel mantle being passed from Billy Batson to Freddy Freeman, I would give this series a skip.

But if you just have to have these issues -or any others, for that matter - take a look at Itaggit’s Comic Price Guide to see if you can hunt them down for a reasonable price.

Technorati Tags: Comics, Shazam, Captain Marvel, Trials of Shazam, Freddy Freeman, Billy Batson, Judd Winick

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