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Character
Captain Marvel (Shazam) first appeared in Whiz Comics #2, cover-dated February 1940, from Fawcett Publications, created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck. Numbered #2 on the cover; there is no regular Whiz Comics #1.
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First appearance, key issues and what drives the prices.
Characters
The original Captain Marvel — Billy Batson, who says “Shazam!” — first appeared in Whiz Comics #2, cover-dated February 1940, created by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck for Fawcett Publications. The issue is numbered #2 on the cover because Fawcett had prepared unpublished ashcan editions as #1; there is no regular Whiz Comics #1. During the 1940s Captain Marvel outsold Superman.
Updated Sep 14, 2026
History
Fawcett Publications, the Minneapolis magazine house behind Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, entered comics in 1940 with Whiz Comics #2 and Captain Marvel, who became the best-selling superhero of the 1940s. Fawcett's line — Whiz Comics, Captain Marvel Adventures, Master Comics, Wow Comics — was ended by a copyright suit from DC that Fawcett settled in 1953. DC later licensed and then acquired the characters, publishing them as Shazam.
Updated Sep 14, 2026