I'd never seen the first cover. I imagine using a photo on a comic cover was a radical idea for 1949.
Maybe the new kids are the offspring of the original kids? :-)
The 2nd cover is from
Shazam! #2. The lettercol in
Shazam! #5 reveals:
Loved that original cover. Who were the kids on the cover--relatives or children of someone at DC?
The cover kids photoed by our own Jack Adler were his grandson and two neighbor children.