SHAZAM is coming! Get your Secret Decoder!
Haven't been able to blog much lately; I’m currently traveling home from India, and updates on my trip there, as well as to the world’s largest comic book show – - The Festival International de la Bande Dessinee in Angouleme, France – - will go up some time next week.
Shazam: Monster Society of Evil #1 goes on sale WEDNESDAY! And I have a few SHAZAM! links for you:
AN INTERVIEW
A Comic Book Resources interview by Emmett Furey was fun to do and reveals some more about Mary: you can it find by clicking on comicbookresources.com
MONSTER SOCIETY SECRET DECODER
Be sure you visit DC Comic’s website to find the Monster Society Secret Decoder. You may have noticed a few lines of gibberish in a recent blog; it's Monster Code! On Friday, February 9th, I’ll hide a Monster Egg in my blog and you’ll need the decoder to find it… You will also need to know the code for a couple of lines inside the comic book covers. Click here to go to DC COMICS and the Secret Decoder!
MARVEL FAMILY WEBPAGE
I pulled this composite image of the decoder from the excellent Marvel Family website that Walt Grogan maintains. The site is full of updated Captain Marvel news and links to other Marvel sites – - of which there are many. Visit Walt’s page. You’ll feel right at home!
TIVZG! MLD GSZG BLF KLHG GSV ORMP R, ORPV Z NLILM, URMZOOB TVG RG!
Comment by Andrew J — February 5, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
I’m looking forward to picking up Captain Marvel, largely due to your involvement with this project, Jeff. Can’t wait to receive it. Where all did you go on your trip to India?
Comment by Krishna — February 5, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
Thanks foe the kudos, Jeff! I’ll be first in line on Wednesday to pick up SHAZAM: THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #1
Best,
Walt
Comment by Walt Grogan — February 5, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
FINALLY A NEW BLOG!
Comment by ANTHONY — February 5, 2007 @ 6:32 pm
“MMYESH!”
-IT’S NEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-
Comment by TYLER SWEENEY — February 5, 2007 @ 7:13 pm
So the whole decoder thingy. Is there like some kind of secret language in the comic or something?
Comment by Marcus Martinez — February 5, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
R XZM’G DZRG GROO DVWMVHWZB R’N HL EVIB EVIB VCXRGVW ULI GSRH XLNRX!
HSZAZN!
Comment by Liam — February 6, 2007 @ 12:31 am
DLD, ZYLFG GRNV BLF TLG ZILFMW GL GSRH.R SLKV BLF ZMW E SZW Z TIVZG GRNV. TLGGZ TVG Z XLKB LU GSV MVD YLLP, SLKV GL HVV BLF HLLM….G
Comment by hairguy — February 7, 2007 @ 10:30 am
GL HZEV BLF Z UVD YFXPH, GSV XLWV RH GSV ZOKSZYVG YZXPDZIWH.
Comment by YVGXS — February 7, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
Jeff- My kid (he’ll be 4 in six weeks) loved MSoE. I hadn’t closed the book from the first reading before he said “read it again!”. Now he loves a good funnybook as much as the next kid, but that’s the first time I’ve ever read one to him twice back to back. I think you’ve mined the magic in CM to great effect. We’re both looking forward to the next chapter. Thanks!
PS: My wife had to read it to him at bedtime, too.
Comment by Sandy Jarrell — February 7, 2007 @ 9:33 pm
The first issue of Shazam was interesting… the pace was SO much faster than Bone, even at 48 pages for the first issue. And yet there’s still time for leisurely following Billy from panel to panel, in his discovery of the subway, for instance. So it’s just a different kind of pacing, perhaps. The art is simpler and more cartoony than Bone, and the colouring is amazing – very vibrant and focused on primary colours, with some especially cool effects. I wish DC had just used some heavy staples instead of the perfect binding, but that’s more my personal quibble. The format, without ads, is quite nice. The first issue leaves me with a lot of questions, so I can’t wait for the second issue! And I have a feeling that it’ll grow on me a lot more as I settle into the scope, style and pacing of the story within the perspective of the entire 4-issue arc. Well done, Jeff! I’m already in love with the characters and the world you’ve created for them, and already I wish there was a lot more time than 48 pages offers to spend with the characters in this world.
Comment by Brandon — February 7, 2007 @ 9:53 pm
Hi Jeff, can’t wait to buy and read MSoE. Two questions, since you have Bone Fans all over the world, will MSoE be available to those Bone Fans? And finally…what type of ink, and brushes do you use for your inking chores?
Comment by Rob Crawford — February 7, 2007 @ 10:40 pm
Great, great work on Shazam! Mr. Smith. I wish many more of today’s comics had this much soul. Thank you!
Comment by Marc Bryant — February 8, 2007 @ 12:48 am
spartanrx
Posts: 110
Registered: 8/26/03
Open Letter to Jeff Smith re: MSOE
Posted: Feb 8, 2007 3:40 AM Reply
Dear Mr. Smith,
Only 2 words……….Thank You. I just picked up MSOE and must have read and reread it 5 to 6 times. I even read it to my 4 year old son at bedtime, skipping the abused Billy scene of course. The book is excellent. I loved the part were Billy and Captain Marvel were in front of the Wizard together. Two separate entities goes back to the old Fawcett days. I remember a story were Billy asked Cap to help him on an exam. Let me tell you I loved this book so much that I purchased 10 extra copies and will be giving it out to kids that come into my pharmacy. Captain Marvel is a great character and you have presented him in a light were young readers will want to see more of him and older readers remember the Captain Marvel of their youth. Please do not stop after this 4 issue arc and continue telling us your vision of Captain Marvel for at least another year or two. I realise that the book just came out but wish it had been released in as a hardcover book with all 4 issues together. Captain Marvel’s concern of Billy’s environment was a nice touch, as was Billy’s tears at finding out about Mary. I end of with the same two words I began…….Thank you!
Comment by George — February 8, 2007 @ 7:58 am
Loved issue #1. I do have a question, tho: I’ll encode it to save spoilers.
DSB WRW BLF XSLLHV GL KLIGIZB YROOB ZMW XN ZH HVKZIZGV KVIHLMZORGRVH?
Comment by Mario Di Giacomo — February 8, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
“ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ANTHER GRAPHIC NOVEL???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????”
Comment by TYLER SWEENEY — February 8, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
Finally a comic book I’m looking forward to picking up!
Comment by DJ Coffman — February 9, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
To Mario,
It seemed implied by the original Fawcett comics from the Golden Age. It is too soon for me to comment further, because this subject is explored in the next issue of MSoE.
Comment by Jeff Smith — February 11, 2007 @ 5:05 pm
LOL Tyler… I suppose (and hope) that when Shazam is finished, it’ll be released all together in a trade format, in other words, as a graphic novel. How’d that be for you?
Comment by Brandon — February 12, 2007 @ 1:54 am
Understood. Thanks for the answer.
Comment by Mario Di Giacomo — February 12, 2007 @ 11:05 am
I like Jeff to do with a more grown up Billy and Mary “The Return of The Scorpion”. The plot is on the net. I like to see it in book form at a reasonable price. I love Captain Marvel code. I figure it out when I was a kid. You could buy his books anymore but my cousins dad had old versions of the captain Marvel book and I broke the codes.
I could not brake superman codes because he changed it each time and had 9 of them I bought it long ago. I now have copies of both and they are my prize possession.
I also have the Captain Marvel move of the original scorpian. Tom Tyler played him. He also played the phantom and I both that one and the new one in my collection.
Comment by Joe Trevison — February 15, 2008 @ 8:56 pm