Shazam!

Saw the Shazam! movie over the weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Funny, full of heart ( and charm ), and unexpectedly moving in places, it made me smile a lot.
Holy Moley, does this mean DC have finally got their act together, movie wise? I mean, I didn't much care for Aquaman, but Wonder Woman was great, and with Shazam! being much better than it has any right to be, maybe they're out of the doldrums at last. I hope so.

Meanwhile, there's the Bronze Age Captain Marvel run. I know it didn't sell very well, and doesn't get a lot of love, but I thought it was great. And let's face it, you got C.C.Beck, Bob Oskner and Kurt Schaffenberger, so it couldn't help but look wonderful.
Both Denny O'Neil and Elliot S. Maggin were on writing duties, ( initially, with E. Nelson Bridwell taking over later ) and although they apparently struggled with the format and the small page count for each story, I didn't notice any of that at the time. I thought it was a great comic, and still do.
Here's how the Big Red Cheese came back the first time round.

The Flash Who?

There's a theory that there are only 7 stories in the world, and that every tale told is a variation or combination of one of those seven. Y'know, boy meets girl, boy loses girl etc. etc.
Not sure if they have one for 'Superhero completely loses his memory' however.
Here's a tale where The Scarlet Speedster forgets who he really is, and even if writer Cary Bates doesn't quite make enough of the set-up, well, you do get that iconic cover, probably one of the best of the Bronze Age, certainly one of the best of this character.
Also, Barry gets to be appallingly sexist to wife Iris, and then blame it on his amnesia.
I didn't know what I was saying, honey! I didn't know it was you!

Teen Titans In Australia: To Kill A Saint

Another dispatch now from Nefarious Neil Hansen, and his vast collection of Australian reprints. It's my favourite period of The Titans, and Nick Cardy's golden era.
This is from the time that Bob Kanigher decided to depower and de-costume the team, giving them a benevolent, super rich mentor in the form of Mr. Jupiter, and a hot ESPer hippie babe to rival Wonder Chick in the form of Lilith.
Although I hated the concept, I loved the stories, and as I say, this was Cardy's greatest period for me.