Curiously Familiar #10: Captain Marvel and Marvelman

If you haven't been reading "Curiously Familiar" then you've arrived just in time for the finale! This is a series of posts where I examine various comic book characters who were published by at least two different companies, but wore a different name at each one. This is not the same as characters who were created in homage - in this instances, the two characters were actually intended to be the same entities. Let's go out with some style!

Young reporter Billy Batson learns that by saying the word "Shazam" he can transform into Captain Marvel, a super-powerful figure who fights for justice alongside his Marvel Family.

Young reporter Micky Moran learns that by saying the word "Kimota" he can transform into Marvelman, a super-powerful figure who fights for justice alongside his Marvelman Family.

The Story Behind the Story: When Fawcett decided to get out of the serial comic book business it left one of their UK packagers in a bit of sticky wicket, wot? Captain Marvel had been immensely popular around the world, including the environs of the insatiable Brits; the solution was to simply dye the hero's hair, give him a new costume and otherwise keep calm and carry on internet memes. Marvelman did eventually fold up, only to fall into the lap of one Alan Moore in 1982; Moore used the character as a starting point for a deconstruction of the super hero genre and saw his work repurposed in the USA under the title Miracleman, owing to the tender sensibilities of Marvel Comics.

Thankfully, that was the last time there were any complications in the publishing history of Fawcett's Captain Marvel franchise.

Thank you for following "Curiously Familiar!" There were many other characters whom I might have featured, but these were the ten I found most interesting.