The Infected: King Shazam #1
DC Comics
Written by Sina Grace
Art by Joe Bennett
Inks by Belardino Brabo and Matt Santorelli
Colors by Hi-Fi
Letters by Rob Leigh
The Rundown: Billy is feeling the effects of the poison coursing through his body and his new mission will be to create a new family for the Infected Shazam.
Billy has decided that he doesn’t want to be part of the family anymore. When he transforms into Shazam, the infection coursing through him takes over and he decides to create a new family for himself. His recruiting mission will have him taking on a taking down gods across the universe.
Knowing that something is wrong with her brother, Mary transforms and goes after him. After tracking him down in the middle of another violent attack, the brother and sister fight for Billy’s soul.
The Story: The best thing this story has going for it is that Sina Grace keeps the personality of Shazam a child. There is a petulance to his menace in this issue that can only be attributed to immaturity. This Shazam is acting on pure impulse and doesn’t care who or what he destroys in the process. Grace does a great job of bringing that out in this story.
The Art: Joe Bennett does a masterful job of showcasing both the beautiful and horrific in this issue with great, heroic shots of characters like Mary mixed with the disturbing visuals of Billy in his dark form.