The Seven Magic Lands!, chapter 6
SHAZAM! #6 AUGUST 2019 BY GEOFF JOHNS, DALE EAGLESHAM, MARCO SANTUCCI, SCOTT KOLINS AND MIKE ATIYEH
SYNOPSIS + REVIEW
Billy and Mary try to escape the Funlands and rescue their siblings, but in their way to the Wildlands, Black Adam tries to take their power and they end up back at home in Philadelphia (also known as “The Earthlands”).
Despite this, Sivana (and Mr. Mind) is successful at defeating Black Adam.
Mary wants to tell their parents about the danger the other kids are in, but Billy doesn’t want to put them in danger with the knowledge. They do go down so that the police can leave and that is when Billy reunites with his biological father.
If you’ve seen the movie, this may not seem as a surprise, but C. C. Batson was in prison all this time and is now on parole. He explains Billy that he tried to provide for his family in a very difficult moment, by trying to rob a bank. He doesn’t know where his mom is, though, but he intends to find her and be a family again.
The Wizard rescues Eugene and Pedro from the Gamelands, just in time (as they were clearly losing). I expect this plot to come back and bite them in the ass.
Meanwhile in the Funlands, King Kid is planning a war against all adults... in the Earthlands.
Finally, Mary tells her parents that the others are trapped in the magic lands. They do not understand her until she becomes Mary Marvel Lady Shazam.
You know what works so well in such a decompressed story? Each issue explores concepts, spends time with characters that we barely knew before the series started. This is decompression done well. However, it would be nice if some plots start, you know, getting solved. There are enough plots here for a 70 issues run, something that is no longer possible in comics (unless they go bi-weekly). Have in mind that, hopefully, by the end of the year Doomsday Clock will end and the DCU will have to catch up to the next status quo, so I am expecting some relaunches.
It is also surprising. Mary telling her parents wasn’t really one of the possibilities I had in mind. Same as Black Adam being defeated even before he could go into the magic lands.
And next issue, if the Wizard doesn’t rescue Freddy and Darla, Mary will have to, perhaps with the Vasquez?
Eaglesham is not Jerry Ordway, but he manages to do some realistic images. The splash page were Billy reunites with C. C. really reminded me of Ordway’s Shazam.
I give this issue a score of 9
