Shazam Reading Order

This reading order is designed to give a timeline of major storylines featuring Shazam (Billy Batson) throughout DC Comics. It does not encompass every one of his appearances, but is a timeline of the major ones and the stories that affect them.

The continuity details relating to each specific storyline are explained in the “Review” of each storyline. Every “Review” link will provide a detailed continuity breakdown of that story and will explain any reference the story makes to other aspects of the DC Universe. All of this can be found under the “Continuity” section of each link.

Jump to: New 52 – Rebirth – Universe

New 52

At the beginning of the New 52, the DC Universe was reset. In this new continuity, Shazam’s history seems to have been wiped clean entirely.

Near the beginning of this era, Shazam is reintroduced through the “Shazam” backup storyline from the Justice League series. This storyline goes over the latest version of his origin story. After this, Shazam takes on a moderate role in the Trinity War (Reading Order) event. This leads to an association with the Justice League (Reading Order) that continues on in several Justice League story arcs. All of this then leads to Shazam’s appearances across the Darkseid War (Reading Order) event.

See our “Shazam Timeline” for summaries of each story arc in this reading order.

Justice League issues are from the Vol. 2 series
Cyborg issues are from the Vol. 1 series
Justice League of America issues are from the Vol. 3 series

Notes

1. Only the Shazam! backup stories from these issues of Justice League are relevant to Billy Batson's timeline.
2. These two issues show what Shazam is doing in the aftermath of the Trinity War (Reading Order) event and during the events of Forever Evil (Reading Order). However, Shazam's role in them is minimal and they do not have much of an impact on his character overall, so they are not very essential.
3. Shazam and a few members of the Justice League (Reading Order) appear as secondary characters in these issues of Batman and Robin. However, these issues are primarily about Batman and Robin (Reading Order) and, thus, do not do much to advance Shazam's narrative.
4. Shazam appears in these three issues of the Cyborg series as a secondary character. His appearances are so minimal here that normally we would not include them on a timeline like this. However, since they help develop the friendship between Shazam and Cyborg, we have included them as a non-essential story on this list.

Rebirth

The transition from the New 52 to the Rebirth era does not create any specific continuity changes for Shazam.

In the Rebirth era, Shazam barely makes an appearance. He really only makes a quick cameo in the DC Universe: Rebirth special (Reading Order) and in a single issue of The Hellblazer. However, neither of these appearances are that important.

Notes

1. In DC Universe: Rebirth (Reading Order), Shazam only makes an extremely brief appearance. This amounts to little more than a cameo.
2. Shazam's appearance in The Hellblazer is very brief. It only serves to confirm Shazam still has some association with the Justice League (Reading Order) and that he remains wary of John Constantine (Reading Order).

Universe

The Universe era is essentially an extension of the Rebirth era, as it maintains the same continuity. However, since Shazam had very few appearances in the Rebirth era, his story here mostly picks up on plotlines from the New 52. Specifically, it continues the narrative from Geoff Johns' "Shazam!" storyline.

In this era, Shazam initially appears in the Shazam series. This series builds on the "Shazam!" storyline and teases more for the future. After this, Shazam takes on a prominent role in the "Infected" storyline from the Year of the Villain event. This starts in Batman/Superman, continues on through a few special issues, and comes to a climax in Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen.

After this, Shazam appears in the Future State (Reading Order) event. Though this event technically takes place in a possible future, it teases plotlines that will become important in the next era.

Shazam issues are from the Vol. 3 series
Batman/Superman issues are from the Vol. 2 series

Notes

1. This issue is mostly about Black Adam (Reading Order). However, it also features Shazam in a way that ties into Shazam's other appearances across the Year of the Villain event.
2. Technically, the Future State (Reading Order) event takes place in a possible future for the DC Universe. However, these glimpses of a possible future are designed to tease plotlines for the next era and directly relate to Shazam!: To Hell and Back.

All DC Comics Reading Orders