Well, I hate to say it, but . . Mike Kunkel is no longer the creative force behind this book . . as of this issue, and you can tell. He still does the cover, but the insides are done by Art Baltazar & Franco with Byron Vaughns doing the art. I mean, it's still a fun book. It'll hold the younger reader's interest, but . . Mike just had a way of bridging that gap between the younger and more mature readers. It was aimed at the younger audience, but . . his humor was discreet enough that the more mature reader would be able to pick it up. Now . . now it just seems like a kids book. Obviously he put more work into it, because the book didn't come out on a regular schedule. Which is probably part of the reason for the creative change, but . . it was always worth the wait. Billy Batson, and SHAZAM, have always been one of my favorite characters. In lieu of a regular SHAZAM title, this one more than filled the gap for me. But now . . now it'll have a hard time holding my interest. The stories will end up being like those in Tiny Titans or Super-Friends, and sooner or later I'll have to just let the title go. I'm not trying to be a defeatist, and I really do enjoy the change of pace from the regular super-hero genre. But . . I also like to think, and try to figure out what's going on . . a little bit of a challenge. Unfortunately, when it aims for such a young targeted audience . . it loses that. But, I'll hang out for a few issues and see what happens. I'll be hopefully optimistic. But, I wasn't to impressed with this issue. Sorry!
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