Trials of Shazam #5

Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Howar Porter
This issue picks up where #4 left off, with Freddy and the god Achilles facing off a bunch of pink pig-warriors. Achilles tells Freddy to hold the line while he trys to kill a hate-empath ( a beast whos power grows on hate, did I mention they are in the middle east?). Ultimately Achilles fails and Freddy must defeat the beast himself. Compared to other issues this one felt like straight up action, less about the mythology of Shazam and more about the tasks. Since this issue is finishing off a task that was started last issue, it doesn't advance the plot much but it is worth getting for the art alone.
Howard Porter is doing some amazing work here, and each panel is gorgeous to look at. Some people may not like the color outlines of each character, but I do and it makes each character pop off the page, it's similar to the black outline you get while inking, just in pinks and oranges and yellows, depending on the color pallete of the page. I liked this issue, but I think the delay between the last issue and this one took some of the enjoyment out of it for me. C






