SHAZAM! Man I can’t even begin to tell you how long I’ve been wanting to write that cry in some fashion. So exactly how do you follow up Pax Americana or some might call the best single issue of 2014? The answer is you don’t, so enter the polar opposite of Pax Americana with Thunder World. For many people Shazam is the poster boy for everything fun about superhero comics, which begs the question. Does Thunder World live up to the legacy that is Captain Marvel? Let’s see what magic Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart cook up.

While yes Multiversity has been a book that is clearly over the top (just look at the concept) but it’s fair to say that way Morrison has handled each issue of Multiversity with a bit of heaviness. Thunder World has none of that heaviness as it feels like a comic from the 1950’s but with a small dash of modern comic storytelling. In a time where most superhero comics have or had tried to replicate the feeling of Watchmen, and in doing so we have lost that child like wonder.

Even  Dr. Sivana’s children serve the purpose on what modern culture has done to kids in our day and age. Lucky Morrison weaves the morale lessons into an engaging story so it doesn’t feel heavy handed. In short this issue is brimming with fun and is a breath of fresh air from all the death and oppressive nature that some supehero comics can fall under. The scale is huge but it isn’t daunting, it’s approachable it’s a showcase on how much fun a superhero comic can be.

The other half to this equation is Cameron Stewart himself and if there was any artist who was born to draw Captain Marvel it is Stewart. In one single glorious panel he captures why so many people love Captain Marvel. His style evokes artist of the silver age but again with modern techniques. Even with the action sequences Stewart reminds us that we are indeed watching a spectacle when seeing these titans clash. While I don’t mention colorist often Nathan Fairburn’s color choices were beautiful. The colors popped off the page and it’s great to see bright super hero costumes.

If you as a reader have been dissatisfied with Morrison’s writing style then I encourage you to pick this issue up simply because it doesn’t feel like Morrison wrote the issue, yet it does. It’s a great issue for the holiday season for the kid in all of us, plus you get some sweet Cameron Stewart art so everybody wins.

The Multiversity New Thunder World Adventurers earns a 5/5

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