Billy Batson and the Magic of SHAZAM! #14 - DC

I can't believe that Mike Norton didn't come on this book long before now. I've been watching his talent grow ever since he started doing the Atom series. The one thing that's really impressed me is the way that he can adjust his style to fit whatever series he's working on. And then when he started doing that work with Bill Sienkiewicz . . well, that was just brilliant. But now . . now he's on this book. And out of all that work, I don't thing his stuff has ever felt more comfortable than it does here. His style is a little different from the other artists that have done this series, but . . that's ok. It's got a fluidity, and nostalgia to it that fits this book and character perfectly. It's like . . this is the book that he was meant to draw. Simply fantastic. Anyways, in Art Baltazar and Franco's story this issue, Theo has figured out the magic word to turn himself back into Black Adam. And he's coming after Billy with a vengeance. But it's a pretty even fight. Because of the nature of their powers, they can't really hurt one another. At least not directly. But that's not to say that Black Adam isn't above putting others in danger. Anyways, he decides that he can't take on the Marvels alone, so . . he recruits Freddy Freeman to be his Black Adam Jr. I enjoyed this issue. I thought it was very entertaining. The art just put it over the top for me. Plus I think it's a style that a lot of kids will enjoy. Which is the audience the title is aimed at.