The Contents of SHAZAM!: From the 40's to the 70's HC Collection

As I mentioned in the first episode of the Superman & Captain Marvel Power Hour Podcast, for the foreseeable future, most of the stories I'll be covering on the podcast will be pulled from the SUPERMAN: From the 30's to the 70's and the SHAZAM!: From the 40's to the 70's hardcover collected editions released by Harmony books in cooperation with DC writer and editor E. Nelson Bridwell in the late 1970's. These gorgeous hardcovers featured introductions to each character by Bridwell and then collected some of the best chronicles of each hero throughout the decades. Of course since Captain Marvel's Adventures ended in 1953 before his revival by DC in the early 70's, there is a 20 year absence where we unfortunately went without any new Captain Marvel material, meaning that the SHAZAM!: From the 40's to the 70's collection is more heavily weighted on the 40's, 50's, and 70's material than the Superman collection is. Unfortunately the Captain Marvel collection is going to be much harder to come by than the Superman one is, and probably set you back upwards of $70!!! So what this blog post is going to do, is outline the contents of the Captain Marvel collection, listing out each story contained within each collection, and also tell you where else these stories are reprinted, that way, you can follow along with the podcast coverage with the resources you have access to. And if you haven't already, be sure to check out the blog post from Wednesday where discussed the contents of the Superman From the 30's to the 70's Hardcover.

Just like the Superman post, for argument's sake, I am just going to be using the Cover Dates for breaking the stories down by decade. For example, Captain Marvel's first appearance in Whiz Comics #2 was cover dated February 1940, but its actual on sale date was the first week of December 1939 (as always, thank you to Mike's Amazing World of Comics for on sale dates & info).

The 1940's

1.) "Captain Marvel" from Whiz Comics #2. Also reprinted in Famous First Edition F-4 Treasury Comic, Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes TPB, Shazam Arvhives Vol. 1 HC, Millennium Edition: Whiz Comics #2, Shazam the Greatest Stories Ever Told TPB.

2.) "Origin of Sivana" from Whiz Comics #15. Also reprinted in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-39, Shazam Archives Vol. 1 HC.

3.) "The Origin of Captain Marvel Jr." from Whiz Comics #25. Also reprinted in Shazam Archives Vol. 4.

4.) "Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel" from Captain Marvel Adventures #18. Also reprinted in Shazam! #8 (1973), Shazam and the Shazam Family Annual #1 (2002), and the Shazam Family Archives Vol. 1 HC.

5.) "The Pearl of Peril" from Captain Marvel Adventures #22. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else.

 

6.) "Baffin Land" from Captain Marvel, Jr. #12. Also reprinted in Shazam and the Shazam Family Annual #1 from 2002.


7.) "Captain Marvel, Jr. Meets Himself in the Future" from Captain Marvel, Jr. #17. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else.

8.) "Oklahoma City" from Captain Marvel Adventures #34. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

9.) "The End of Mr. Mind" from Captain Marvel Adventures #46. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

10.) "The Mighty Marvels Join Forces" from The Marvel Family #1. Also reprinted in Shazam #8 (1973), Adventure Comics #497, and Shazam and the Shazam Family Annual #1 (2002).

11.) "Uncle Marvel's Wedding" from Captain Marvel Adventures #59. Also reprinted in Shazam! #12 (1973)

12.) "Aunty Anti Marvel" from The Marvel Family #2.  Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else.

13.) "The Riddles of Death" from Mary Marvel #8. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

14.) "The Horrid Hermit" from Mary Marvel #8.  Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

15.) "The Sivana Family Strikes" from The Marvel Family #10. Also reprinted in Shazam #12 (1973) and Shazam and the Shazam Family Annual #1 (2002).

16.) "The Talking Tiger" from Captain Marvel Adventures #79. Also reprinted in Shazam! #8 (1973) and Adventure Comics #499.

 

17.) "The Return of Mr. Tawny" from Captain Marvel Adventures #82. Reprinted in Shazam! #8 (1973).

18.) "The Flying Shoes" from Mary Marvel #25.Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

19.) "Captain Marvel battles the Plot Against the Universe" from Captain Marvel Adventures #100. Also reprinted in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-35 Treasury Comic.

20.) "The Voodoo Clock" from Captain Marvel, Jr. #78. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else.  

The 1950's

21.) "The Return of the Ancient Villain" from Captain Marvel Adventures #125. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

22.) "Double Doom" from Captain Marvel Adventures #130. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

23.) "The Fourth Dimensional Elephant" from Captain Marvel, Jr. #119. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else. 

24.) "The Marvel Family Fights the Feathered Fury" from The Marvel Family #86. Unfortunately this story has yet to ever be reprinted anywhere else.

The 1970's

25.) "The World's Wickedest Plan" from Shazam! #1. Also reprinted in Showcase Presents Shazam Vol. 1 TPB and Shazam the Greatest Stories Ever Told TPB.

26.) "The Mystery of the Missing Newstand" from Shazam! #9. Also reprinted in Showcase Presents Shazam Vol. 1 TPB and Adventure Comics #496.

27.) "The Bicentennial Villain" from Shazam! #25. Also reprinted in Showcase Presents Shazam Vol. 1 TPB.

28.) "Case of the Kidnapped Congress" from Shazam! #26. Also reprinted in Showcase Presents Shazam Vol. 1 TPB.

29.) "Secret of the Smiling Swordsman" from Shazam! #19. Also reprinted in Showcase Presents Shazam Vol. 1 TPB

Obviously there are a lot of stories in this collection that aren't reprinted anywhere else, making it more difficult to follow along with the Captain Marvel stories that will be covered in the podcast if you don't have the Shazam!: From the 40's to the 70's collection, than if you were missing the Superman collection. However, all of these Captain Marvel stories from the Golden Age are now in the public domain, and thus can be accessed online for free, just follow the below link to read these stories:

Digital Comic Museum

I imagine DC doesn't feel like there's money in collecting and reprinting these stories in completion due to their availability online for free, and that's just too bad. Hopefully by the time we get the Shazam! movie rumored for 2019, DC will get around to putting out a Golden Age omnibus volume or two collecting Captain Marvel's appearances in chronological order, similar to what they have started doing with Superman and Batman.