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Uniformly Captain Marvel: The Sash!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
In his first two years of existence, Captain Marvel's costume went through several minor adjustments. One of the most notable was the addition of a draped sash to his belt.
The sash first appeared on the cover of Whiz Comics #5 (Jun 1940) and made a total of 11 story appearances and also appeared twice in story mastheads without appearing in the story. The following is a list of sash appearances:
Whiz Comics #5 (June 1940)
"Captain Marvel Scores Again!"
Whiz Comics #6 (July 1940)
"Captain Marvel and the Circus of Death!"
Whiz Comics #7 (August 1940)
"Captain Marvel and the Squadron of Doom"
Note: The sash only appears in the masthead
Special Edition Comics #1 (1940)
"Dr. Allirog" Story by Bill Parker, Art by C.C. Beck
"Capt. Marvel and Sivana - The Weather Wizard" Story by Bill Parker, Art by C.C. Beck
Captain Marvel Adventures #1 (1941)
"Capt. Marvel Out West" Story by Joe Simon, Art by Jack Kirby
Note: Sash appears in the story masthead only
Whiz Comics #17 (May 16, 1941)
"Spy Smasher" Art by Charles Sultan
Whiz Comics #18 (June 13, 1941)
"Spy Smasher" Art by Charles Sultan
Captain Marvel Adventures #2 (Summer 1941)
"World of The Microscope" Art by George Tuska
"Invasion from Mars" Art by George Tuska
"The Pirates Treasure" Story by Rod Reed, Art by George Tuska
"The Arson Fiend" Story by Rod Reed, Art by George Tuska
Captain Marvel Adventures #3 (Fall 1941)
"The Terror of the Goptas" Art by George Tuska
  Although the use of the sash was brief and intermittent, it did make an impression on artist Alex Ross who made use of it in his first work for DC Comics, the 4-issue mini-series Kingdom Come. He also used it in his treasury-sized one-shot: Shazam! The Power of Hope, as well as in the also over-sized JLA: Liberty and Justice and his 12 issue series Justice.
It is perhaps due to Ross's insistent use of the sash that it's now pervasive in the DC Universe. At the end of the 12 issue maxi-series, Trials of Shazam!, it was seen on Freddy Freeman's (the new Shazam) uniform as well as on the white costume of Marvel, the ascended Captain Marvel. It is also on display in Mike Kunkel's Johnny DC series, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!, on both Captain Marvel's and Black Adam's uniform. Black Adam, in his first and only appearance in the Golden Age did not sport a sash.
The sash has also been a part of the Cap's uniform in many of the action figures released by DC Direct and Mattel including the latest release of the Shazam! figure in Mattel's DC Universe Infinite Heroes line. For a uniform enhancement whose life was very short in the early 1940s, it is now an accepted standard piece of Captain Marvel's costume. In fact, the very first DC Direct Captain Marvel action figure, which was clearly based on the story masthead image from Whiz Comics #2 (and which can also be seen on the cover of The Shazam Archives Vol. 1), sported the sash even though the sash wasn't used at that time.
 | Whiz Comics #2 (Feb 1940) Story Masthead
Captain Marvel's original uniform consisted of a red buttoned jacket flap with a lightning bolt insignia, golden arm bands, a short white cape trimmed in yellow with yellow florets, a yellow belt, red trousers, and short yellow pirate-style boots. |  | Whiz Comics #3 (Mar 1940) Story Masthead
Although the image of Captain Marvel changed in the story masthead in the second issue, there were no costume changes. The masthead included the addition of boy newscaster Billy Batson. |  | Whiz Comics #4 (Apr 1940) Story Masthead
The image of Captain Marvel reverted back to the one used in Whiz Comics #2 and the image of Billy Batson changed slightly to include a boxier microphone container. |  | Whiz Comics #5 (May 1940) Story Masthead
The Captain Marvel figure in the masthead is a reworked version of the one introduced in Whiz Comics #2 but displays no costme changes. |  | Whiz Comics #5 (Jun 1940) Story Masthead
Note the addition of the sash and the new image of Captain Marvel. |  | Whiz Comics #6 (Jul 1940) Story Masthead
Note that the masthead image of Captain Marvel does not include his draped sash, however the story art does make use of it. Also the image of Billy Batson in the masthead has changed — a large letter "B" now adorns his shirt. |  | Whiz Comics #7 (Aug 1940) Story Masthead
The sash returns in the masthead image of Captain Marvel but does not show up in the story. Another letter "B" has been added to a new image of Billy Batson in the masthead. |
Shazam! Fun Fact Text
UNIFORMLY CAPTAIN MARVEL
Captain Marvel's costume changed slightly with the release of Whiz Comics #5 in June 1940.
With that issue a draped sash was added to his belt!
This change was short-lived as Cap only sported the sash in two stories!
The sash must have left an impression on artist Alex Ross as he brought it back in his forst work for DC Comics, the 4-issue Kingdom Come!
The sash was added to Captain Marvel's unifom on the cover of Whiz Comics #5 (June 1940)
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