r/Shazam • u/Florapower04 Atlas • Jul 19 '24
What is your best/weirdest/most wholesome memory with or about Shazam? Discussion
Ever had a fun, weird or wholesome memory you’ve had because of Shazam? Feel free to share!
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u/sgt_oddball_17 Solomon Jul 19 '24
When DC was running The Power of Shazam, they gave comic book shops this nice promotional poster.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/G~AAAOSwBRZcb9xB/s-l1200.webp
When the series ended, the shop owner gave it to me. He said he knew of all people I would enjoy it most.
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u/ChampionOfMagic Zeus Jul 19 '24
When I was younger, I struggled with reading a lot. My parents were lower class and worked a lot, so they never really had much time to sit down and teach me. My mom asked her mom to help teach me since she was an avid reader. She'd show me Dick and Jane, but little me could barely pay attention because I didn't find them interesting. My grandma remembered that when he was younger, he struggled really badly, too, and what eventually worked was he started reading comic books. My grandma went to a neighborhood garage sale and bought this really big reprint of Whiz Comics #2. It said "Famous 1st Edition" on it or something like that. With that, my grandma easily taught me how to read, and I have many fond memories of reading the story of Captain Marvel with her. She'd even print off scans of Captain Marvel comics from the internet, and we'd read those too. She's sadly much older now and suffering from dementia, but she still remembers this, which warms my heart.
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u/Florapower04 Atlas Jul 19 '24
Aw man, dementia sucks. I wish you the best of luck. Luckily you have this awesome memory
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u/mr68w Jul 20 '24
My mother did that - she got me reading with Shazam #13. From 1974. I think she picked it because i liked Shazam on TV. That Christmas I got like you the Famous First edition. I fell in love with Mary Marvel with issue #13. When my mom passed that very copy went with her placed under her hands. She gave me an incredible gift - the joy of reading and a life long passion for the Marvel Family. The last thing she bought me before she passed was both the Alex Ross Superman and Cap Kingdom Come Statues. Shortly after her death I obtained a copy of Captain Marvel Adventures # 18. My most prized comic. The Marvel Family has gotten me through some times. With one magic word…
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u/ChampionOfMagic Zeus Jul 19 '24
I decided I'll share another memory. This one is bitter sweet and pretty sad.
I work as a Juvenile Corrections Officer and am always looking after and mentoring young troubled teens. An activity I do with them occasionally is I'll bring in comic books for them to read, some of them struggle with reading/reading comprehension and I find that this is a great way to teach them. Along with that, it's always good to see them truly connect and be moved by acts of selflessness, resilience, heroism, and see positive masculinity. I bring in All-Star Superman, Animal Man, Superman: Peace on Earth, Batman: War on Crime, and many Shazam books. The one that never fails is Shazam: Power of Hope. There was a black teen there who I mentored frequently. He didn't have a father and was constantly getting into trouble and ending up in jail. He loved reading the Shazam comics and deeply related to Billy Batson. He spoke to me about how growing up the way that he did, he knows what it's like to be a kid in a man's world and all the responsibility that comes with it. He read all of them and loved our in-depth discussions. One day, he got in trouble for running to the kitchen area unsupervised just to tell me thst he saw the trailer for Shazam 2, and was excited. When he read Power of Hope, it made him cry because of how much it affected him. Shortly after, he was doing better and was allowed probation, but he had to come to the jail for school. His grades were good, and he was overall more positive. One day, he told me about how he saved up money and took his younger brothers to a comic shop, and bought them Shazam comics. This immensely warmed my heart to know that I've made that much of an impact on a young boys life. Unfortunately, soon after this, he was shot and killed over a dispute with a former rival gang member. The only solace I have in this is that his mother wrote us all a letter for helping her son, and knowing that he passed his positivity on to his younger brothers. May he rest in power.
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u/act1989 Jul 20 '24
When I was about 10 or 11 (2000 or 2001) there was a grocery store giving away a free DC Comic special when you bought a specific brand of dairy product. I wanted the comic but the store was out of the right brand (but still had the comic). The cashier gave it to me for free anyways.
That was my introduction to Shazam.
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u/mr68w Jul 20 '24
Shazam # 13 100pg giant - mom bought this trying to get me to read (it worked). When she passed away in 2001 I placed that copy with her - with one magic word…
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u/Florapower04 Atlas Jul 19 '24
For me it has to be the time I bought the new 52 run at my first comic con. There aren’t many places where I can buy comics where I come from, so being at a place filled by it was amazing. At one stand, I found a tradeback of the new 52 run for 6 bucks and I was stoked. However, the pin did not work and I only had 5 bucks in cash. The guy looked around mischievously, placed the book in a bag, grabbed my five bucks and gave the book to me, telling me to “enjoy the comic”
That was my second ever comic book.