‘Future State: Shazam!’ #2: A Dark Freaky Friday

Writer: Tim Sheridan / Artist: Eduardo Pansica / DC Comics In a slew of pretty good Future State books, Future State: Shazam! rises to the top. In the first issue of this short run, we find out that Shazam has stayed in his Godly form 24/7 for years, leaving many to wonder what has happened to Billy Batson.  Well, it turns out that he had to stay in the underworld to guard the gates of Hell from remaining open so the demon Neron couldn’t escape and wreak havoc on the world. But nobody knows this but Billy, who is in Hell, and Shazam, who has returned to Earth.  Something’s off with Shazam, though. Without Billy’s boyish demeanor and innocent wisdom, Shazam is susceptible to outside influence. That’s where Neron comes in. When he split Shazam and Billy into two, he also was able to manipulate Shazam into doing his bidding without realizing it. So when Shazam returned to Earth, he started killing heroes, one after one, without anyone knowing.  Issue two ups the intensity as Shazam’s team begins to wonder just who is behind the God’s decisions. They don’t know that Billy isn’t there. They just know that something is wrong.

This issue is paced really well. It seeps out the necessary information just when we need it. And by doing it that way, it allows the reader to be compelled to turn each page with conviction, so they can get to the answer quicker. It’s a slow burn, for sure. But it’s compelling. It also helps that The Question is a main character in this stor…