Billy Batson, aka Shazam, aka Captain Marvel (but, no, not that Captain Marvel) is one of the more beleaguered heroes in all of superhero comics. Lawsuits, alleged infringement (with the Man of Steel himself!), and copyright issues have kept the world’s mightiest mortal from never quite reclaiming his title as the most popular hero of the 1940’s (or so I’m told).
Nonetheless, there’s all sorts of storied and celebrated Captain Marvel comics throughout DC’s history, including of course, Mary Marvel, Freddie Freeman, and the larger Marvel Family. In the 2000’s, Marvel’s rival Black Adam became an integral part of series like JSA written by Geoff Johns, as well as the weekly classic 52.
Below you’ll find a complete guide to Shazam! comics throughout history. Likewise, you’ll find plenty of stories including Dr. Sivana, Black Adam, and the whole Marvel Family.
Related Reading Orders:
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Captain Marvel Origins – The 1940’s and Early 50’s
Shazam!: A Celebration of 75 Years
Collects: Whiz Comics #2 – “”Introducing Captain Marvel””
Whiz Comics #21 – “”The Vengeful Four””
Captain Marvel Adventures #18 – “”Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel””
Captain Marvel, Jr. #12 – “”Baffin Land””
Captain Marvel Adventures #38 – “”The Monster Society Of Evil Ch. 17: Mr. Mind’S Movie Madness””
Captain Marvel Adventures #39 – “”The Monster Society Of Evil Ch. 18: Peril Behind The Camera””
Marvel Family #1 – “”The Mighty Marvels Join Forces!””
Hoppy The Marvel Bunny #6 – “”Phantom Of The Forest””
Captain Marvel Adventures #137 – “”King Kull And The Seven Sins””
Captain Marvel Adventures #148 – “”Captain Marvel Battles The World””
Superman #276 – “”Make Way For Captain Thunder!””
Shazam #1 – “”In The Beginning…””; “”The World’S Wickedest Plan””
Shazam #29 – “”Ibac Meets Aunt Minerva!””
World’S Finest #275 – “”The Snatching Of Billy Batson””
Dc Comics Presents #49 – “”Superman And Shazam””
L.E.G.I.O.N. #31 – “”Where Dreams End””
Power Of Shazam #1 – “”Things Change””
Power Of Shazam #2 – “”The Arson Fiend””
Power Of Shazam #33 – “”Yeah — This Is A Face Only A Mother Could Love…””
Action Comics #768 – “”O Captain, My Captain””
Jsa #48 – “”Princes Of Darkness Part 3: Enlightenment””
Shazam: Monster Society Of Evil #2 – “”Chapter 2: Nzib Gzpvh Gsv Xzpv!””
Justice League (Volume 2) #21 – “”Shazam!: Conclusion””
Shazam!: The Greatest Stories Ever Told VOL 01
Collects: Whiz Comics #2,Captain Marvel Adventures #1,137,148, Marvel Family #21, 85, Shazam! #1, 14, Dc Comics Presents Annual #3, Superman #276, L.E.G.I.O.N. ’91 #31, Power Of Shazam! #33 And Adventures In The Dc Universe #5
“Shazam!, The – Archives, Volume 1
Collects: Whiz Comics #2
Whiz Comics #3A
Whiz Comics #3B
Whiz Comics #4
Whiz Comics #5
Whiz Comics #6
Whiz Comics #7
Whiz Comics #8
Whiz Comics #9
Whiz Comics #10
Whiz Comics #11
Whiz Comics #12
Whiz Comics #13
Whiz Comics #14
Whiz Comics #15
Shazam!, The – Archives, Volume 2
Collects: Special Edition Comics #1
Captain Marvel Adventures #1
Whiz Comics #16
Whiz Comics #17
Whiz Comics #18
Whiz Comics #19
Whiz Comics #20
Shazam!, The – Archives, Volume 3
Collects: America’S Greatest Comics #1
Captain Marvel Adventures #2
Captain Marvel Adventures #3
Whiz Comics #21
Whiz Comics #22
Whiz Comics #23
Whiz Comics #24
Captain Marvel Thrill Book #1
X-Mas Comics #1
Shazam!, The: Archives – Volume 4
Collects: Captain Marvel Adventures #4
Captain Marvel Adventures #5
Master Comics #21
Whiz Comics #25
Master Comics #22
America’S Greatest Comics #2
It’s worth noting here that the Fawcett era of Captain Marvel comics (before their lawsuits and eventual sale to DC) runs for substantially more issues than collected here. Whiz Comics ran for 155 issues, Captain Marvel Adventures reached issue #150, and The Marvel Family made it to issue #89.
Shazam! Family Archives: Volume 1
Collects: Master Comics 23-32, Captain Marvel Jr. #1 And Captain Marvel Adventures #18
Shazam Relaunch Of the 1970’s
Collects: Shazam! #1-35 (1973-1978)
The first chunk of these relaunched Shazam issues can also be found in the more recent collection below.
Shazam: The World’s Mightiest Mortal Vol. 1
Collects: Shazam! #1 to #18
Collects: Dc Comics Presents #33-34 And 49, And Dc Comics Presents Annual #3
Crisis And The Marvel Family
Collects: Crisis On Infinite Earths #1-12
The Marvel Family’s “Earth-S” gets integrated into the fully merged post-Crisis DC Universe.
Collects: Legends #1-6
Shazam: A New Beginning 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Collects: Shazam!: The New Beginning #1-4 And The Captain Marvel Stories From Action Comics Weekly #623-626
Roy Thomas write the new origins of Captain Marvel for the post-Crisis DCU.
Collects: Justice League #1-6 And Justice League International #7
Shazam In The 1990’s
Collects: Graphic Novel
Nearly 100 page story written and painted by Jerry Ordway, retelling the modern origins of Captain Marvel.
Power of Shazam (1995 to 1999)
Collects: Following The Success Of Ordway’S Graphic Novel Origins, Shazam Got His Own Marvel Family Ongoing For The Remainder Of The 90’S.
Collects: Ogn
The Mark Waid and Alex Ross DC classic features Billy Batson in an essential role, and a position as a secret weapon in the DC Universe.
Collects: Ogn
Paul Dini and Alex Ross’s oversized graphic novel collection through the DC Pantheon expands to include Shazam!
Marvel Family In The 2000’s
Collects: Jsa (1999 To 2006) #26 To #81
The Geoff Johns JSA relaunch brings Black Adam and Captain Marvel into the mix
Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder Deluxe Edition
Collects: Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder #1 To #4
Collects: Infinite Crisis #1 to #6
Collects: 52 #1 To #52
The Marvel family plays a smaller role, but Black Adam and the new Black Adam family are a huge part of 52 and developing the Captain Marvel Universe mythos.
Collects: Graphic Novel
Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil
Collects: Graphic Novel
By Jeff Smith of Bone fame!
Collects: Trials of Shazam #1 to #6
Collects: Trials Of Shazam #7 To #12
Collects: Justice Society Of America #23 To #28
Collects: Power Of Shazam #48
Power of Shazam was resurrected for a single issue (the 48th in the series) as a Blackest Night event tie-in.
Collects: Shazam (2011) #1, Titans #32
The World’s Mightiest Mortal! (Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!)
Collects: Billy Batson And The Magic Of Shazam #1 To #6
Magic Words! (Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!)
Collects: Billy Batson And The Magic Of Shazam #7 To #12
Brother vs. Brother! (Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!)
Collects: Billy Batson And The Magic Of Shazam #13 To #17
Perilous Peril! (Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!)
Collects: Billy Batson And The Magic Of Shazam #18 To #21
Shazam In The New 52
Collects: Flashpoint #1 To #5
It’s a sideplot, but the Marvel Family is reimagined in the Flashpoint universe.
Shazam! Vol. 1 (The New 52): From the Pages of Justice League
Collects: Justice League #0, 21 And Stories From Justice League #7-11, 14-16, 18-20
You can find more of the Justice League in Comic Book Herald’s complete New 52 reading order.
Collects: Justice League #30 To #52
Captain Marvel takes on an active role in the New 52 Justice League after the events of Trinity War and Forever Evil.
Justice League – Darkseid War: Shazam
Collects: Justice League – Darkseid War: Shazam #1
Collects: Cyborg #1 To #12
Billy Batson plays a supporting role in Cyborg’s solo ongoing as part of DC You
Collects: The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1
Even if the Marvel Family had nothing to do with Multiversity, you still gotta read Multiversity!
Collects: Convergence: Shazam #1 To #2
Convergence is a mess, but these two Shazam issues from Jeff Parker, Ordie Bellaire, and Doc Shaner are nearly perfect.
DC Rebirth Shazam and the Marvel Family
Collects: Dark Nights: Metal #1-6
Light connections, but the mythos of the Marvel Family plays a role, as does Black Adam, for the first time (that I can tell) in DC Rebirth!
You can enjoy all of Metal following the complete Dark Nights: Metal reading order.
Can you guys make it single issue?
How good is Power of Shazam? I’ve only read about 3 things from this list.