Billy Batson is a good kid. He helps his friends, loves his family, and tries to do the right thing. But Billy is about to have a run-in with the most dangerous serial killer in existence, and the Batman Who Laughs wants Billy to be bad. Spinning out of the events of Batman/Superman and "Year of the Villain," it's the tale of a hero whose soul has been turned black, and who has something to prove to the old guard. Buckle in for Shazam's journey to punch a bunch of so-called "gods" in the face and show the establishment exactly what the future looks like...
Prelude:
Well, last week we had Year of the Villain: Black Adam, now we have The Infected: King Shazam. As the first origin for these twisted heroes, this issue has a lot to prove.
The Good:
I really liked seeing Billy go all out and manipulative. Puts into perspective how much he holds back.
I also liked the family focus in this issue.
Joe Bennett's art was amazing. I especially loved the page when Billy transformed into King Shazam.
The Bad:
A lot of this issue was King Shazam beating up opponents. I would rather they chose different avenues for the story instead of this.
Continuity between these Gods are off. Wrong Atlas for one, can't remember much about Wilson's Ares but I don't remember him and Olympus like this and I thought Rao was gone.
Conclusion:
A good enough issue with Billy's family and his power being the main focus with some wonderful art. However, I feel like this story could have been done better with a different premise and the continuity doesn't feel right.
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