by
P. C . H a m e r l i n c k
“The Battle Nearly Four Decades in the Making!” declared a 1978 DC Comics advertisement for the tabloid-sized, maladroitly titled comic-book epic, “Superman vs. Shazam!”—more formally known as All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-58—which marked the first genuine full-length fracas between Superman and Captain Marvel that restless readers had patiently anticipated since DC acquired the publishing rights to Captain Marvel, due to the heroes’ harried history together. The conflict first began during ostensibly simpler times when the two found themselves at odds in a courtroom— where one hero’s probably only true crime was outselling the other one. After the lengthy litigation concluded, roundabout rematches would tease readers over the ensuing years, with “Superduperman” and “Captain Marbles” trading jabs in MAD #4 … a decked, dazed and confused Marvel’s succinct and subtle slot in Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #42 … a faux Big Red Cheese’s scuffle with the Big Red “S” in Justice League of America #103 … a thunderous CM-doppelganger meeting the Man of Steel in Superman #276 … an Earth-One/Earth-S showdown in Justice League of America #137 … Superman scoundrel Lex Luthor involuntarily transporting himself to Captain Marvel’s universe in Shazam! #15 … and the World’s Mightiest Mortal’s mêlée with a Sivana-designed Superman robot in Shazam! #30. But by 1978, writer Gerry Conway, artist Rich Buckler, and inker Dick Giordano finally made the two superheroes’ worlds collide in a big way over the course of 72 over-sized, potent pages. After being treated to a comparison chart of our two heroes, we’re introduced to an eyeball earring-wearing Martian named Karmang the Evil. Formerly an ancient scientist known as Karmang the Good, he devises a way to resurrect his dead race by colliding the parallel worlds
Heroes Behaving Badly Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano’s cover to AllNew Collectors’ Edition #C-58, Superman vs. Shazam! Note that the cover features the story’s co-stars, Supergirl and Mary Marvel. Cover art by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano. TM & © DC Comics.
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