Superman DC Super Hero Stamp Album

Don't even get me started.

Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1 - Feb. 2015

Comics Weekend "Captain Marvel and the Day That Never Was" by Grant Morrison, Cameron Stewart, and Nathan Fairbairn.

With no new Aquaman comic this week, and the Sea King still flat on his back over in Justice League, I thought it would be fun to profile a different new comic on the shelves. And since Shazam!/Captain Marvel has taken more than his fair share of abuse by the Shrine over the years, it's only appropriate to take a look a comic featuring him. Plus that cover is pure awesome!

This story opens at the Rock of Eternity, with Shazam! under attack from...Sivana! Having followed Shazam's lightning back to its original source, the mad scientist has come up with another nefarious plan: by duplicating Captain Marvel's powers, he transforms his three nebbish, but evil, children into muscle-bound superheroes while he messes with the time stream!

Captain Marvel calls members of his family, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel, to help out and take on Sivana's rampaging kids. Meanwhile, Sivana uses temporal energy from other universes to create...an extra day! Teaming up with other alternate universe Sivana, the ultimate plan is to rule the Multiverse! Bw-ha-ha-ha!

The battle continues to rage in Fawcett City, and things looks grim for our heroes when it's revealed that Sivana's kids were just there to distract the Marvel Family while the big guns were called in: The Monster Society of Evil!

Luckily, just at that moment, the Lieutenant Marvels also show up, and together with Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary, they free Captain Marvel to head back to the subway where he was created to stop Sivana's plan. Before he can free Shazam, Sivana uses the magic lightning to transform himself into a Sivana/Black Adam hybrid!

A massive fight ensues, but it takes Captain Marvel to point out the flaw in Sivana's plan: trusting the other Sivanas! The extra day created has a fatal flaw, which ruins Sivana's plan! Soon after, Shazam is freed, the monsters are defeated, and The Marvel Family is read for another adventure:

I have not been following the Multiversity storyline, so I had no idea what world this was, or its greater context, but it only took a page or two for me to realize I didn't care. Other than one throwaway meta line of dialogue, this is a classic Marvel Family adventure, full of humor and action, brought to life by the brilliant work of Cameron Stewart. Sivana's plan is classic Mad Scientist stuff, and Grant Morrison even found a way to make appearances by Fat and Hillbilly Marvel seem cool.

 

Hey DC--more of this, please!

 

 

DC Superman Club Form

Newest F.O.A.M. member Bob Fisher posted his DC Superman Club membership swag on Facebook a few weeks ago, which consisted mostly of items I'd seen before--the certificate, the envelope, the awesome poster by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (PBHN). But then...there was this.

I had no idea that there were individual chapters to the club, one each representing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, The Legion of Super-Heroes, the Justice League, and...Captain Marvel! Arggghhh!!

Now, I know, intellectually, that this was around 1978, and Aquaman was at  particularly low ebb with the company--his solo title had just been cancelled (again), and he was bopping around DC's anthology titles, so DC probably figured there just weren't enough Aqua-Fans to support his own membership club. But it still smarts to see all those heads up there, with no Aquaman to be found.

But I guess it could be worse: as you can see, the editor-in-chief of the club is then-DC staffer Laurie Sutton, who would quickly transition into a writer/editor at the company, and beyond. Now knowing that she's an avowed Aquaman fan, she must have really been upset!

This Means Justice League: War

I'm betting this is how Aquaman feels upon word of the newest DC Animated movie, Justice League: War, coming in 2014. Why is he so mad? Because there doesn't seem to be any indication that Aquaman will be part of it, despite the fact that it's based upon the first six issues of the New 52 Justice League book, where the team--including ol' Arthur here--squared off against Darkseid!

Seriously--they've announced who will be playing Superman (Alan Tudyk), Batman (Jason O'Mara), Wonder Woman (Michelle Monaghan), Flash (Christopher Gorham), Green Lantern (Justin Kirk), and Cyborg (Shemar Moore), but not a single mention of Aquaman! What's the deal, Warner Brothers?


Post Script: All around the web, WB seems to be taking down the promo video for the movie, but you can still find it here. Thanks to newest F.O.A.M.er Moise Gamin-duPont for the link!

Post Script 2: As if DC is personally trying to hurt me, it would seem (based on the video), that Aquaman's role in the movie is being taken by...Shazam.

Post Script 3: I wrote this in the comments, but I think it's worth repeating here: there may be a perfectly justifiable reason why Aquaman has been removed from this movie. But the fact that DC/WB saw no reason to mention what that might be--not anticipating (or simply not caring) people's reaction--is the part that confounds me the most.

Aquaman is one of DC's biggest hits in the New 52, so removing him from a major project like this was bound to incite some gnashing of teeth. Why not head it off by addressing it (even briefly) up front?

Post Script 4: Over on our Twitter feed, we see that Warner Bros. itself has taken notice of this post! So please keep commenting, sharing, and tweeting (remember to be polite, though, please!). This is the best way for us Aqua-Fans to be heard!

 

Fruit of the Loom Funpals Ad

Sometimes My Grudge Against Shazam! works out in my favor.

DC Covers Blanket

This piece of DC Comics merchandise presents a bit of a mystery!

These photos were sent in by one Lincoln Cowan, who was given this blanket when he was born in 1981. He's had it ever since, and other than a 1975 copyright notice, he's never been able to find any other information about it--so he contacted the Shrine to see if we knew anything.

Looking at it, two thoughts come to mind:

1)Aquaman isn't on it, in favor of...Captain Marvel, though I guess that's understandable in this case because the Sea King never made it onto a Golden Age comic cover. You got lucky, Shazam.

2)Running classic comics covers on merchandise seems more like a modern design motif, so the fact that this came out in 1981 was genuinely surprising to me.

So, has anyone ever seen this baby before?

DC Super Hero Stamp Album - 1976

Both DC and Marvel released sets of collector's stamps in 1976, and thanks to the work by the likes of Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, the DC stamps are quite a beauty to behold.

I have yet to procure a full set of the stamps--they were released in several different packages, highlighting various DC stars, the ones you see above. Do you see Aquaman? No you do not. But you do see Captain Marvel...

*sigh*

Super Powers T-Shirt

When people ask me why I have such a grudge against Shazam!, I can point to stuff like this as Exhibit A.

Someone had to go out of their way to take Aquaman off of this, because he is on the original piece (which comes from a JLA Treasury Edition), a decision that Make Rob Angry, Make Rob Want To Smash.*

If I wanted to really petty, I could point out that Aquaman is starring in a top-selling book, while Captain Mar--oh, excuse me, it's Shazam! from now on--is still nowhere to be seen in the New 52. I think, sometimes, it's like you want to fail!


(h/t: F.O.A.M.er Jason Motes Bowles)


*Shrine Correspondent Russell Burbage pointed out to me that Captain Marvel is actually on the original illustration, which appeared in the 1975 DC Comics Calendar. It was Aquaman who was added when the piece was re-used for the JLA treasury book. So, to be fair, I guess my outrage should be watered down a bit. And yet it isn't.

Gulliver Action Figure

This is an Aquaman action figure, produced by a company called Gulliver, which was part of a line of DC and Marvel figurines made in the 1970s.

I own another figure from this same company, though mine is unpainted. I'm not sure, but I believe that's how they came--the version you see above has been painted after-the-fact. This figure looks like Aquaman telling a story about how he once saw a fish this big.

Via F.O.A.M.er Kyall Coulton, I found this pic on the SuperHerois-BR site, which has tons of great photos of the other figures in the line, like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Tarzan, and The Phantom!

It also has a pic of the package the figures came in. See if you can guess what my reaction was when I saw this:

Yep: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and...Captain Marvel! Aaaaargggghhh!

Legends of the Superheroes - 1979

It occurred to me a few days ago--I complain a lot about Aquaman being bumped off various projects in favor of Captain Marvel, especially in the 1970s. But sometimes that works in Aquaman's favor--case in point:

Yes, that's Green Lantern, Hawkman, Black Canary, and Captain Marvel laughing uproariously at the racist comedy stylings of Ghetto Man, from the second Legends of the Superheroes TV special (Warners has banned all embedding of clips from the show, so click here to see this video and other segments from the show).

If for some reason you feel the need to own this, go right ahead and click away:

Thank you, Hanna Barbera, for leaving Aquaman out of this!

My Grudge Against Shazam!: The SuperSteins!

Okay everybody, say it with me now...arrrrgggghhhh!!

I had never seen these SuperSteins before, but thanks to F.O.A.M.er Brian Heiler and his iconic Plaid Stallions blog, I can relive My Grudge Against Shazam! all over again (which Brian even sort of gleefully points out in his post).

I love the design of these babies--the classic pose on one side, with a panel of comic art on the other. Had there been an Aquaman one, odds are it would have been by Jim Aparo, which means I could grown up drinking my Coca-Cola Slurpees out of a cup that had a Jim Aparo Aquaman on it.

I'm sorry, I can't talk about this anymore. Normally this is where I'd thank Brian for the tip, but I need a good cry first...

DC Superhero Pencil Toppers

This awesome collection of superhero "pencil toppers" comes from my pal and F.O.A.M. member Dan Hunter (who co-runs the equally awesome horror movie site The Terror Trap).

Dan thought the presence of Captain Marvel in this set in lieu of Aquaman would make me mad--and it does! That said, these are wonderfully little figures, very highly detailed and colorful for such little pieces. Here are some close-ups:

...very spiffy. I love how they made the effort to replicate Marvel's off-the-shoulder cape look. Thanks Dan!


This is probably as good a time as any mention, my series of posts labeled "My Grudge Against Shazam" have led some Aqua-Fans to think that I don't like the good Captain.

Actually, nothing could be further from the truth: I've always loved the character, both as a comic book star and as a TV one (I watched the Shazam! Saturday morning show religiously), so my issue is really with DC, over their decision to favor him so much over Aquaman in terms of 70s merchandising. But since about every fourth post on the Shrine involves some grudge I have with DC, I thought in this case I'd give it a different name.

Missed Opportunity: Secret Origins - 1975

A couple of days ago, when talking about Aquaman's cover appearance on the Superman Vs. Flash tabloid edition, a question was asked about whether Aquaman made many appearances in DC's treasury comics of the 1970s.

The answer, sadly, is no--he had small roles in three of them: Super Friends, Justice League of America, Superman Vs. Flash, and that's it: that's the sum total of Aquaman's presence in the classic treasuries.

And as you can see from the above cover, even when there was a great opportunity to give Aquaman a solo slot, other heroes were favored, like Flash, Green Lantern...and Captain Marvel.

Frequent readers of the Aquaman Shrine will know of My Grudge Against Shazam, and I'm not going to go all over it again here. Plus, the Big Red Cheese was a big star of the 70s, having his own live-action TV show, so it only makes sense that DC would promote him so heavily. Plus, Black Manta was never given an origin, so that cut Aquaman's chances to be in these books by half.

That said, when DC decided to do a second collection of Super-Villain Secret Origins, who did they highlight in place of Captain Marvel and Aquaman?:

...Hawkman?!? Aaarrgggghhh!

Super Heroes Trash Can

Another entry for my Grudge Against Shazam! file, courtesy our newest F.O.A.M. member, Craig Bostick.

This trash can, besides subbing Captain Marvel for Aquaman, is all over the place: no Wonder Woman, totally mismatched pieces of stock art (Adams, Beck, Kane, Infantino), and what's with that Flash shot? It looks like he's telling people to get out the way.

Thanks(?) Craig!


Update: Here's the back of the trash can, again courtesy of Craig:

As Craig points out: "The other side prominently displays Wonder Woman, making Aquaman's omission that much more egregious."

You said a mouthful, Craig!

Super Heroes Light Up Desk - 1977

Say it with me now: Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!



(Image courtesy WonderWomanCollectors.com)

Midtown Comics

These are pics of Midtown Comics, a great, sprawling comic book store located in the heart of Manhattan. I try to stop in there every time I'm in NYC (which is not enough), and its pretty much everything a comic book fan could ask for in a LCS.

Except...check out the characters in the window, specifically the DC ones: you've got Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and...Captain Marvel?

This kick in the pants towards Aquaman is only further proof that my rambling essay from 2008, My Grudge Against Shazam!, is not only completely justified, but still in effect, long after The Big Red Cheese stopped being a TV star.

The photos are courtesy F.O.A.M.er Marc Tyler Nobleman, who labeled the email he sent these pics in "The Indignity File." Truer words were never spoken!

My Grudge Against Shazam!

Ok, I've been wanting to talk about this for a while, but never quite got around to doint it. But after reading the newest, Shazam!-centric issue of Back Issue!, I finally got the impetus to sit down and write about what I call My Grudge Against Shazam!

When I say grudge, I don't mean anything personal about Captain Marvel/Shazam!/The Big Red Cheese/The World's Mightiest Mortal, whatever you want to call him. I think he's a great character. I loved him as a kid, and I still like him today.

But as a kid, I always had a chip on my shoulder towards him, because, as far as I could tell, it was he who got a lot of the attention that I thought was due my hero, Aquaman.


In the late 1960s, Filmation had the rights to Superman, Batman, and Aquaman, and of course they each starred in their own series of successful cartoons, still popular to this day.

At some point in the early 1970s, the rights expired, and they were snapped up by Hanna-Barbera, along with Wonder Woman, who put them all in a little thing called Super Friends--again, popular to this day.

That left Filmation with not a lot of options, in terms of "A"-list characters with which to build a new TV show around. So they went with a character that the head of the network liked: Captain Marvel.

Of course, DC made a big deal about their adding the good Captain to their stable of characters, with the debut of Shazam! in 1972. While Aquaman was relegated to only showing up in Justice League of America, Captain Marvel got a marketing push nearly unprecedented in comics back then. (In addition to his regular title, he headlined no less than three treasury-sized editions:)

Even though the Shazam! comic series was not a big hit, the combination of it and the TV show reintroduced the character to a whole new generation of kids, and that meant, when it came time for merchandising, the Big Three--Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman--were of course represented. But when merchandisers had room for a fourth character to slap onto something, they often as not went for TV star Captain Marvel instead of the King of the Seven Seas.

As a kid, this drove me nuts. I kept looking at these ads, and wondering where the hell was Aquaman?? Sure, he made it onto a lot of merchandise himself (this blog is proof of that), but look at all the stuff he missed out on:

...shoelaces?

Sometimes the indignity was really hard to take, like with the pencil sharpeners, a few pictures above. They had to go out of their way take Aquaman off the Super Friends logo, and instead emblazoned one of the sharpeners with Shazam! As Arrested Development's Gob Bluth would say, "Come on!"

Sometimes it felt like toy manufacturers were really out to get poor Arthur. I remember seeing this ad on the inside of what seemed like every DC comics for two years:

...now I have to admit, that Shazam! Car is really, really cool--but hardly necessary! Captain Marvel can fly!! Corgi could have repurposed Superman's Rock'Em Sock'Em Spaceship into an Aquaman Jet Ski with just a few tweaks. Harrumph, I say.

Even DC themselves got into the act sometimes, pushing Aquaman aside in favor of their big TV star:

And of course, all this Shazam! stuff left a deep impression on kids of the 70s, some of whom grew up to become comic book pros themselves--guys like Paul Dini and Alex Ross, who produced that series of superb, treasury-sized books starring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman...and Shazam!

To think, if only things had worked out differently, we might have gotten this:

...I would've bought 100 copies of this. Easy. *sigh*

Now, I realize, I need to be realistic about this. As I've said here before, being Aquaman fan means having to manage expectations, because so frequently hopes are dashed (I guess its like being a Cubs fan).

Even if he had been available, a live-action Aquaman TV show would have been far beyond, budget-wise, what any production company could've managed. So I realize we really never could've had this:

But sometimes I really wonder why, so frequently, Aquaman just misses that brass ring of success.

But since I want to end this angry screed on an up-note, I guess I could say, hey, I'm lucky that H-B tapped Aquaman to be in the Super Friends, otherwise the show might have looked like this:

Holy Moley!



(Post Script: In my research for this piece, I had to scour every ad for DC superhero merchandise I could find. And in one instance, Aquaman and Shazam! had the right to both be mad:

...a Green Arrow patch? And a Silver Age Green Arrow, at that? The mind reels...)