Captain Marvel, aka Shazam, first appeared in 1939 in Whiz Comics #2 (fun fact: there is no #1) from Fawcett Comics, a year after Superman exploded onto the scene.
He was popular, and in fact was the most popular superhero of the 1940s, outselling Superman, and was the first superhero to be adapted to film, in the 1941 Republic Pictures serial Adventures of Captain Marvel.
And that’s just the beginning of the crazy comic book history of Shazam, leading up to the March 17 release of DC’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Read full article