Whiz Comics

Comic book anthology series

Whiz Comics

Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940), the first appearance of Captain Marvel, cover art by C. C. Beck.

Publication information
Publisher| Fawcett Comics
Schedule| Monthly
Format| Anthology
Genre| Superhero
Publication date| Feb. 1940 – June 1953
No. of issues| 155
Main character(s)| Captain Marvel

Whiz Comics is an anthology comic book series that was published by former American comic book publishing company, Fawcett Publications between February 1940 until June 1953.[1] It is widely known for being the comic run in which hugely popular superhero character Captain Marvel (Shazam) made his debut.

## Publication history

[edit]

In 1939, Fawcett Publications was trying to capitalize on the ongoing superhero boom spearheaded by characters like Superman and Batman. It was then that writer Bill Parker came up with the idea for a team of superheroes, each possessing the power of a different mythical character. The idea was eventually modified into a single character with all these powers, and thus Captain Marvel, known later as Shazam, was born.[2] The first issue published of Whiz Comics was issue #2, published with a cover-date of Feb. 1940. Fawcett created two black-and-white ashcan #1 issues to solicit advertisers and to secure the copyrights to the material. The two copies were identical but carried different titles: Flash Comics and Thrill Comics; the Captain Marvel character was called "Captain Thunder" in a near-identical story. When Fawcett went to press with the magazine, the first issue was retitled as Whiz Comics, a name inspired by the company's bawdy humor magazine, Captain Billy's Whiz Bang.[3] Further complicating matters, when they got to issue #3, Fawcett, through either mistake or intent, used the number twice. Whiz Comics 3(A) was released 12 Jan 1940 and Whiz Comics 3(B) was released 23 Feb 1940.[4][5] Thus, if viewed from the perspective of the second #3 (and, therefore, all the issues that followed it), Whiz #2 unofficially became Whiz #1.

The cover art for the first issue showed Captain Marvel throwing a vehicle at a wall, and was inspired by the cover of Action Comics #1, which shows Superman lifting a car. The first issue was written by Bill Parker, who also wrote several other issues before Whiz became popular and other writers were hired.

Throughout its run, Captain Marvel continued to be the star attraction of Whiz Comics, with his sales surpassing that of DC stalwarts like Batman (Detective Comics and Batman) and Superman (Action Comics and Superman). With half a dozen spin-offs and the honor of being the first superhero to appear on film, Captain Marvel and Whiz Comics were outselling Superman by a huge margin.[6] In 1941, DC sued Fawcett Publications, alleging that Captain Marvel was so similar to Superman as to violate DC's intellectual property rights.[7][8] The lawsuit took 12 years to resolve, with Fawcett having to pay $400,000 in damages and cease publication of all Captain Marvel-related material. This ended the 13-year run of Whiz Comics.[8]

The name 'Captain Marvel' was shortly trademarked by then up and coming company Marvel Comics, and in 1972 DC bought all the creative rights of Fawcett publication's superheroes. Fawcett's and DC's Captain Marvel has since been renamed "Shazam" to avoid trademark infringement.

Many Whiz Comics issues are now in the public domain and can be freely accessed through the internet.[9]

## Recurring features

[edit]

Whiz contained the following features depicting adventures of various superhero characters:

* Captain Marvel
* Ibis the Invincible
* Spy Smasher
* Golden Arrow
* Dan Dare
* Lance O'Casey
* Scoop Smith

## See also

[edit]

* Captain Marvel Adventures

## References

[edit]

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Benton, Mike (1992). Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. p. 191\. ISBN 0-87833-808-X. Retrieved April 1, 2020.[dead link]
2. ^ Fuller, Devin (April 5, 2019). "Shazam Is Back. Wait, Who Is He Again?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
3. ^ Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (Gemstone Publishing, 2007), pp 592–593.
4. ^ "Whiz Comics #3A (#2) Reviews".
5. ^ "Whiz Comics #3B (#3) Reviews".
6. ^ "Shazam is Actually the First Movie Superhero". CBR. March 23, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
7. ^ "The History of SHAZAM and SUPERMAN's 80-Year-Old Feud". Nerdist. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
8. ^ a b Lee, Nathaniel. "How a $4 million lawsuit created 'Shazam!' and 'Captain Marvel' as we know them today". Business Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
9. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.

### Sources consulted

[edit]

* Whiz Comics at the Grand Comics Database
* Whiz Comics at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

* v
* t
* e

Captain Marvel / Shazam

* C. C. Beck
* Bill Parker

Creators and
key personnel|

* France Herron
* Mac Raboy
* Otto Binder
* Marc Swayze
* Pete Costanza
* Kurt Schaffenberger
* Dennis O'Neil
* E. Nelson Bridwell
* Don Newton
* Roy Thomas
* Jerry Ordway
* Alex Ross
* Jeff Smith
* Judd Winick
* Geoff Johns

Marvel/Shazam
Family|

* Captain Marvel / Shazam (Billy Batson)
* Mary Marvel (Mary Batson/Bromfield)
* Captain Marvel Jr. / Shazam Jr. (Freddy Freeman)
* Lieutenant Marvels
* Tawky Tawny
* Wizard Shazam
* Steamboat
* Hoppy the Marvel Bunny
* Uncle Marvel (Uncle Dudley)
* Black Alice
* Kid Eternity
* Black Adam
* Isis
* Osiris

Enemies|

* Black Adam
* Blaze and Satanus
* Captain Nazi
* Doctor Sivana
* Ibac
* King Kull
* Mister Atom
* Mister Mind
* Monster Society of Evil
* Oggar
* Sabbac
* Seven Deadly Enemies of Man
* Superboy-Prime

Publications
and publishers|

| Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Publications|

* Captain Marvel Adventures
* Hoppy the Marvel Bunny
* Master Comics
* Whiz Comics
* Wow Comics

|

DC Comics|

* Shazam!: The New Beginning
* The Power of Shazam!
* Shazam! Power of Hope
* Superman/Shazam: First Thunder
* 52
* The Trials of Shazam!
* The New 52
* DC Rebirth
* Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!

Affiliated teams|

* Justice League
* Justice Society of America
* Secret Society of Super Villains
* Squadron of Justice

Locations|

* Rock of Eternity

In other media|

* Adventures of Captain Marvel
* Batman: The Brave and the Bold
* Justice League Action
* Legends of the Superheroes
* The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!
* Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

| The Shazam!/Isis Hour|

* Shazam! (TV series)
* The Secrets of Isis

|

DC Universe Animated
Original Movies|

* Justice League: The New Frontier
* Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
* Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
* Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam
* Injustice

DC Animated
Movie Universe|

* Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
* War
* Throne of Atlantis
* Apokolips War

Lego DC|

* Lego DC Batman: Family Matters
* Lego DC Shazam! Magic and Monsters

DC Extended Universe|

* Shazam!
* soundtrack
* Black Adam
* soundtrack
* Fury of the Gods
* soundtrack

Miscellaneous|

* National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.
* Bananaman
* Miracleman/Marvelman
* Man of Miracles

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Otto Binder

Archie / MLJ|

* Hangman Comics
* Black Hood Comics

DC Comics|

* Beppo
* Bizarro
* Black Zero
* Brainiac
* Cosmic Boy
* Garth Ranzz
* Insect Queen
* Jax-Ur
* Krypto
* Legion of Super-Heroes (1958)
* Lucy Lane
* Merry Pemberton
* Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil
* Phantom Zone
* Sabbac
* Saturn Girl
* Space Cabbie
* Space Canine Patrol Agents
* Supergirl
* Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen
* Thom Kallor
* Titano
* Zor-El

Fawcett Comics|

* Black Adam
* Captain Marvel Adventures
* Captain Marvel Jr.
* Captain Midnight
* Ibac
* King Kull
* Marvel Family
* Mary Marvel
* Mister Atom
* Oggar
* Tawky Tawny
* Uncle Marvel
* Whiz Comics
* Wow Comics

Gold Key Comics|

* Mighty Samson

Harvey Comics|

* Bee-Man

Lev Gleason|

* Silver Streak

Lightning Comics|

* Fatman the Human Flying Saucer

Marvel / Timely|

* All Winners Comics
* Captain Wonder
* Miss America
* Patsy Walker
* Young Allies

Quality Comics|

* Kid Eternity

Short stories and novels|

* Adam Link - Robot
* I, Robot
* Lords of Creation
* Puzzle of the Space Pyramids

Related articles|

* Eando Binder
* Jack Binder

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template