MAGIC WORLDS

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and SHAZAM! are perfect entry points for comics fans of any stripe. Writer Mark Waid tells us all about them.

MARK WAID has been helping shape the DC Universe, on and off, for over three decades. While most famous for his work with Alex Ross on one of the most revered DC stories of all time, 1996’s Kingdom Come, DC fans have watched him guide everyone from the Justice League and Wally West to the Legion of Super-Heroes, and many more. But the writer appears to be having his most fun in years on Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and SHAZAM!, two series that allow Waid and artist Dan Mora to showcase the most iconic versions of everyone’s favorite heroes and villains, with as little baggage as possible. If you just want a tour of the DCU, either as a new or lapsed fan, this is the perfect place for you.

But these aren’t just “greatest hits” packages, as each title brings modern touches to its classic feel. World’s Finest, while set several years in the past, is still setting the stage for upcoming DC storylines, even as the book tells its own selfcontained stories.

“It’s not because I have an affinity for older comics…,” Waid says of the setting and tone. “Those comics exist; they have a place; this is not an attempt to recreate that stuff. But the beauty of being able to step back a few years is that we are not beholden to what is happening in the Superman or Batman books right this second. This gives us a chance to sort of form our own little pocket so that we can set things up that will spill over into the main DC Universe. It’s set in the past, but it’s connected. There are origins here for things that will be big in the DC Universe in 2023 and 2024.”

It’s a tricky line for a modern superhero comic to straddle, but

BY MIKE CECCHINI

Comic books Batman/ Superman: World’s Finest and SHAZAM!, both written by Mark Waid, showcase the most iconic versions of some of DC’s biggest heroes and villains in self-contained stories.

Mora’s art makes it look effortless. “One of my favorite things about Dan Mora, besides his storytelling, besides the fact that the pages are beautiful and impactful, is that I’ll often send him references on [older] costumes, characters, or whatever, and tell him, ‘Some of this stuff looks a little outdated, feel free to punch it up a little bit,’” Waid says. “And every time, it comes back just exactly the way it used to look, and yet it somehow has some sort of Dan Mora touch on it that makes it look contemporary. It’s amazing.”

Waid and Mora’s SHAZAM!, while set in the modern DCU, is a soft reboot for the character, returning more magic and whimsy to his adventures. And in what might be equally important to some fans, Waid found a solution to the fact that DC won’t use the character’s original name of Captain Marvel.

“I just was very uncomfortable with him being called Shazam because then he can’t say his own name out loud,” Waid says. “And if he can, then you’ve set up a situation by which sometimes the word works, and sometimes it doesn’t, and to me, that takes all the magic out of the concept and out of the word. It’s not a magic word anymore. Obviously, his original name, Captain Marvel, is off the table. This was our compromise…. It’s like Doctor Who. He doesn’t call himself ‘Doctor Who;’ he’s just ‘The Doctor.’ [Shazam is] ‘The Captain’ now.”

While Waid is spending time with the Man of Steel in every issue of World’s Finest, he’s also going to tell a modern story in the upcoming Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor (with Bryan Hitch on art), which sees Supes trying to save the life of his biggest enemy. Waid has written Superman and Luthor stories before, notably in his take on their first meeting in 2003’s Superman: Birthright (with Leinil Francis Yu on art). The writer considers that book a tie for his favorite DC work, alongside Kingdom Come, and he’s hoping to revisit elements of it with this new story.

“It’s sort of a semi-sequel to Birthright,” he says. “You don’t need to have read one to read the other. It’s not necessarily a continuance of the story. But the interpretation of Luthor and Superman that you will see in Last Days of Lex Luthor, if you read Birthright, will be very familiar to you.”

Shazam and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest release new issues monthly. Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor #1 arrives on July 25.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 recently wrapped up the team’s big-screen exploits, they have been around for over 50 years in the comics. But it’s only very recently that they started to even remotely resemble the gang of freaks, misfits, and outcasts that you see in the MCU. With that in mind, there’s no better place to jump in than with 2017’s All-New Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Communication Breakdown by Gerry Duggan and Aaron Kuder, which feels like it takes place in between the movie adventures. It even comes complete with music recommendations.

The Flash

The Flash movie is loosely inspired by Flashpoint, by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert. But while that tale of parallel universes may have some bearing on what we’ll see in the movie, if you want the best pure entry point into the world of Barry Allen, you can’t go wrong with The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes

Twice by Joshua Williamson and Carmine di Giandomenico. For any fans only coming to the character via knowledge of the TV show or film, this book feels like a perfect extension of that world.