Mary Marvel was introduced into Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family franchise a year after a young male counterpart, Captain Marvel Jr., made his debut. Artist Marc Swayze based Mary Marvel's design and personality upon American actress Judy Garland.[4] Mary was introduced in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 as Mary Bromfield, a girl who discovers she is the long lost sister of Captain Marvel's alter ego Billy Batson.[5]
In Superhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton writes:
Rod Reed, the executive editor of Fawcett comics at the time that Mary Marvel was created, recalled that, originally, the letter "S" in Shazam was to have stood for Sappho. Rather than give his young heroine the questionable powers of a Greek poet from the isle of Lesbos, Reed suggested that Selene, goddess of the moon, might be a more wholesome choice.[6]
I never got to read any classic Marvel Family stories growing up. I am sure I would have enjoyed them. The action would have appealed to me, and the whimsy would have made me laugh.
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