REVIEW: Knight Terrors: Shazam #1

The Shazamily is in serious trouble as Mary Marvel and a very evil Billy Batson face off in Knight Terrors: Shazam #1. The nightmare here? The terrifying prospect of losing family.

In this world, Mary Marvel is the champion Shazam and Billy is the darker version, the Black Adam if you will. He even comes fully equipped in the Black suit while Mary dons the red version. Mary is stuck in a dream but also dreaming within the dream. Definitely Inception movie vibes happening in this issue. Billy is seemingly trying to take her powers yet also maybe trying to warn her. But then also definitely trying to take out the rest of their foster family. Insomnia is quite devious in this issue and his mental torture of Mary is quite cruel. There are two very emotional moments for Mary that are conveyed beautifully (in the saddest way possible) by writer Mark Waid.

The emotion and intensity of the writing is aided by some stellar art. There is a mix of subtly and outright craziness. Some of it is just enough to make the reader question if Mary has finally awoken or is still stuck in the nightmare. Also, the Black Adam version of Billy Batson look pretty sick. He’s no knockoff Superman in this issue that’s for sure. The constant shifts in visual tones keeps readers on their toes. The colors are bright but that’s to emphasize the intensity of the situation. It’s not a “happy” kind of bright as there is some intense nightmarish gore sprinkled in throughout. Good stuff by Roger Cruz, Wellington Dias and Arif Prianto.

Knight Terrors: Shazam #1 has a lot going on, and it can be confusing, but in a good way. The dream within a dream angle is very cool. And bad Billy Batson is also lowkey cool. But it comes down to this, Mary’s love for her family is her strength and her weakness. Insomnia knows this and is using her fear of losing them to try and get what he’s looking for. But does Mary even know where the Nightmare Stone is? Is there a part of this Billy Batson that is actually trying to help her? This is a unique look at the Shazam family and it all concludes with the most intense final panel in the series so far.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Coloring – 4 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Mark Waid
Art by; Roger Cruz, Wellington Dias
Colors by; Arif Prianto
Letters by; Troy Peteri
Published by; DC Comics

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Christopher R. Ford

Writer, author, and blogger. Published author of three children's books and also writes for the boy Creators For The Culture. Part-time sneaker head, full time nerd.