The Adventures of Captain Marvel!

 

When I started posting sketches for my Flash Gordon picture, John Kotronis commented that it "Would be cool to see the original Captain Marvel (Shazam) done in this style". I immediately agreed. I don't really know if he meant the classic movie serial (which is the FIRST time a comic book superhero was depicted on screen) or not, but I went with it.

The Scorpion!! I naturally re-watched the serial while working on this as it's readily available to stream. It had been some time since I had so I had forgotten who The Scorpion really was which made it really fun!

Billy Batson! I didn't really even try to capture the likeness of Frank Coghlan Jr as Billy for this. Nor did I draw the famous C.C. Beck version either. I didn't think about this before but now that I am typing this, it sounds like I was being really lazy!! Interesting fact about Mr. Coghlan, he was a successful child actor and played much younger than he was due his youthful appearance. Shortly after filming Captain Marvel he enlisted in the Navy, became a decorated aviator and spent the next 23 years in the service. He also had an unexpected cameo in an episode of the 1970's Shazam tv series.

Captain Marvel!! Yes, I said Captain Marvel because that is his name, and I don't care what you may say.

If you have never watched this, I highly recommend it. I also am showing the full pencil sketch I did for this one. I don't always take it this far, but you may remember that a hurricane came thru Central Florida recently and while my wife and I were trapped inside, I just kept going. I didn't want to show it as it was practically a finished picture!