I haven't read any of the other comments based on your posts of C.M., and I might sound like I'm repeating from someone, but I feel like DC knew that after they won the lawsuit against Fawcett, they had brought down the one thing that could stop Superman. When the rights were purchased, it seemed that DC had their enemy in their tight grip, so that he would never harm them again. But, when they thought that they could make money off of The Marvel Family, they were wrong. Reading the F.C.A. sections of Alter Ego, you could see the differences between the DC work and the Fawcett work and tell that there was a loving care that Beck and company put into it. DC 's had no soul whagtsoever and they could care less. I think now since those involved with the case in the fiftes are long gone now and a new generation has come in, maybe a new spirit will invigorate the good Captain again and return him to a beloved favorite of comicdom.
Sam | Email | Homepage | 03.30.05 - 8:40 am | #

Mike, what were the specific issues of Alter Ego you talked about in the prior post, the ones where Thomas talked about his earlier, scuttled revival plans? I'd like to check those out. I've heard of the black, Earth-1 CM he tried to create (who would've been another Captain Thunder, IIRC), but I'm curious to see what his other ideas were.
Bill | Email | Homepage | 03.30.05 - 10:51 am | #

And he was in the current JSA series for quite a while there, and I think he is on the verge of coming back or perhaps already has, I'm unsure. You might wanna mention that as well.
skyMatrix | 03.30.05 - 10:52 am | #

I agree that the Bridwell/Newton stories were the closest anybody got to a successful CM revival. Similarly, the Joe Staton-drawn Plastic Man stories in Adventure are that character's post-Jack Cole high point, and that includes Kyle Baker's series. These two late-1970s/early 1980s strips just about managed to balance cartoony absurdity with modern sensibilities about plotting, character development and dialogue.

The earliest 1970s issues of Shazam! do read a bit like Spidey Super Stories, and I can see why Beck wanted out. I'm sure he was uncomfortable with drawing long-haired 25-year-old writers' Otto Binder pastiches, no matter how well-intentioned. But the 1940s/1950s Beck/Binder originals, for all their cartoony appeal, sometimes seem to suffer from talking down to kids in a way that pulpier, more visceral comics did not. Underneath the innocent fun is a patronizing streak that guys like Kirby and Shuster couldn't even have faked.
Cole Odell | Email | 03.30.05 - 11:16 am | #

Thanks for all the info. the Big Red Cheese has always been one of my favorite characters.

Can't wait for that JLU.
Tim | Homepage | 03.30.05 - 12:00 pm | #

He's been having a rocky romance with the teenaged Stargirl in JSA.
zack soto | Email | Homepage | 03.30.05 - 1:12 pm | #

One of my very favorite comics of all time is the DC COMICS PRESENTS ANNUAL #3 teaming Superman from Earth 1, Superman from Earth 2 and Cap against Captain..er...General Sivana. Gil Kane's artwork was crackling with energy in that one.

I also thought the Power of Shazam/Starman Crossover with the interlocking covers was very good, too.
RobB | Email | Homepage | 03.30.05 - 2:11 pm | #

In addition to the 100 page issues, there are about 4 regular issues of SHAZAM! that are nothing but reprints. That was the period when DC seemed to give up on the book (it was dropped to quarterly for awhile), but kept it going for licensing reasons. Oddly, those 4 issues are probably the ones I like best of that series.

That DC COMICS PRESENTS two-parter is a gem. It also indirectly led into one of my personal favorties, CAPTAIN CARROT.
C. Elam | Homepage | 03.30.05 - 4:24 pm | #