Comic Books

ZATANNA #1

At last – the Mistress of Magic in her own ongoing series! Zatanna Zatara has long made her home in San Francisco, but right under her nose a sinister threat has developed – a crime boss who dominates the criminal underworld with the dark powers of the magical underworld! The terrifying Brother Night is making his play for San Fran, and the police force – including hunky detective Dale Colton – turn to Zee for help. But Brother Night is a whole new kind of criminal and if Zatanna thinks she can backwards-talk him down, then she’s in over her top-hatted head! Superstar writer Paul Dini (BATMAN: MAD LOVE) is paired with the gorgeous art of Stephane Roux (BIRDS OF PREY), making his anticipated DC debut on interior art! There’s only one thing to say – T’NOD SSIM TI!

Written by PAUL DINI
Art by STEPHANE ROUX and KARL STORY
Cover by STEPHANE ROUX
Variant cover by BRIAN BOLLAND

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 2.9%

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akamuu05/19/10NoRead Review
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Avg Rating: 4.0
 
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  1. Excited for this. This could be my replacement title for a dropped Booster Gold, pending next issue of B.G. (also a New Orleans rapper).

  2. I don’t know much about Zatanna but Paul Dini makes me want to know.

  3. Can’t wait for this!! Paul Dini always delivers…in my opinion. 🙂

  4. Oh hells yeah. A Dini written series featuring Zatanna is like a dream come true.

  5. Can not wait for this to come out. So excited to see what Dini has planned.

  6. This is going to rock. I’ve been waiting for her to get her own book, and Paul Dini? It’s gotta be good.

  7. Looking forward to this.  I tried to avoid reading the previews in the other DC titles so as to not spoil anything.

  8. Woohoo! Finally a cool DC superhero living in San Francisco!

  9. @ AmirCat…but you live here.  ðŸ˜‰   Seriously, I’ve just read the 7 Soldiers and I loved Zatanna there.  Can’t wait to see where she goes next. 

  10. !! ffo ekat ti

  11. Finally. the book thats been 2 years in the making. What if it sucks

  12. If it sucks, you drop it like you would any book, right?

  13. Two Dini books this week, not bad, not bad.

  14. @AmirCat: There’s actually a lot of San Francisco activity in the DCU. I made a list not too long ago and came up with several more things than I had originally thought.

    Zatanna, obviously.

    Titans Tower and the Teen Titans

    Power Company

    Jack Knight retired out here.

    Club Bewitched (in Zatanna: Everyday Magic, also written by Paul Dini)

    Cassandra Craft’s occult curio shoppe (7 Soldiers: Zatanna)

    S.T.A.R. Labs

    Donna Troy & Jade will be getting an apartment together in Justice League soon.

    The Sinister Citadel, former headquarters of the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

    Supergirl spent some time out here in the 70s.

  15. Unless you were trying to say that all those other DC superheroes aren’t cool. 😉

  16. @kenkneisel  – That’s right! I sometimes run into Jack Knight in the Richmond or Hayes valley on Wednesdays. :p

    I also forgot about two super heros who live in the San Francisco area @misterckent and @kenkneisel. 🙂

  17. Anyone interested in a team up?  Maybe a group patrol some night.  Beat up on some crime  in the Excelsior?

  18. I’ll give this a try.  I’ve always loved Zatanna.  I hope it turns out to be as good as Power Girl. 

  19. The covers for this series look really nice, hope the interior are that good

  20. I loved the art. Stephane Roux is phenomenal. That said… I had no interest in the story and was skipping large swathes of text just to look at Roux’s great pages. It’s a shame, too, as this is a book that should be a slam dunk. I can’t even point to something I can say is bad or wrong in the book, I just didn’t care. 3/5

  21. I almost gave this a five. The ending didn’t quite nail it for me.

    The art was awesome.

    The story was a cool supernatural investigation story. I like the character and thought it was a great first issue.

    My pick of the week at a 4/5.

  22. Not being a big DC guy, I had no idea who any of these characters were besides Zatanna. I really liked this, little mystery building up into something that could end up being bad for Zatanna. Great art and it’s $2.99. No complaints. Looking forward to the next issue.

  23. Amazing art.

  24. T’was an enjoyable read. Could have done without the bra shot at the end, and the panel of her getting ready to jump into the shower. But the hilarious magical creature cameos were the best part. My favorite is probably Merlin from the Excalibur movie.

  25. Yeah, I had no idea Zatanna made Power Girl look flat in comparison.

  26. Enjoyable, but I’m trying to trim my pull list down a little, and I’m not sure if this made the cut.  3/5

  27. @drakedangerz  – I loved the getting in the bathtub shot.  Zatanna likes being sexy, it’s part of her power and I say more power to you girl!  All cheescake isn’t bad, and if you don’t have a little cheesecake on this book, I don’t think you’re doing Zatanna properly.

    I thought the plot of the story was thin compared to the great 7 soldier stories…not enough "Hellblazer" if you know what I mean.  Still, I’m on board, but I hope it gets a little more creepy, weird, and nightmarish.  Gangsters, even demonic gangsters, aren’t really what she should be fighting, as much as curses, human fallability, the fact that under our thin facade of civility we’re all savage animals, etc.

  28. I’m being totally honest here, is being sexy really one of her powers? Where does it say that, because I must have missed it. I understand the costume, I don’t bitch about it like some bitch about Power Girl, I just could do without something so obviously cheesecakey. It won’t make me drop the title, just felt it warranted a comment.

  29. I appreciated watching Zatanna unwind after a long day of supernatural investigation and demonic policing.

    If the Sentry would have taken some time out to do such things, he wouldn’t have been the mess he became.

    I applaud Dini for showing us the behind the scenes moments with our favorite superheroines.

  30. Well, no question that Morrison thought it was part of her schtick in the Seven Soldiers book, I can’t cite chapter and verse but he/she talks about the very subject in the series (amidst a bunch of great costume changes btw)!

    As I remember, fan reaction was mixed, some thought it contrived but I thought it made great sense.

    Your example makes me smile, because I do find Power Girl over the top..!

    And actually ScorpionMasada, it was revealed at the Sentry’s funeral that he spent a lot of time shopping with Zatanna and they’ve been best friends for years, including sharing many a plutonic bubble bath.  That Sentry was one hell of a guy.

  31. It was the plutonic bubble bath that drove him over the edge.

  32. I kinda envisioned Zatanna more of a slender gal in my head. She’s pretty buxom in this. Not that I’m complaining. Pretty hot.

  33. I remember her being pretty voluptuous in the BTAS.

  34. This was a really nice treat, and another good title to add to a growing list of DC titles that can be read on their own, with nothing to do with a wider "status quo".  Love the Art Adams meets Chris Sprouse art too.

  35. I hear you there odare77…I definitely lean towards the books that aren’t giant intersections with secret invasions and final crises.  The only funny thing about that comment is that the Identity Crisis mind wipe was pretty much the deepest and most interesting thing that ever happened to Zatanna.  I do hope this series has some faint echoes of that now and again. 

  36. Again, I ENJOYED the tub illustration. I don’t understand what the big deal is if they show off her assets. She’s a woman, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying the artist depiction of her. I say bring on the cheesecake, if the underlying substance is good!

  37. I liked this book pretty well. The art was really good, not as good as Cliff Chiang did on The Brave and the Bold #33, but Z looked great. Roux draws a lovely Zatanna. I liked the bath scene (more please?)! 🙂  Some of the panels looked a little rushed, but overall I liked the art. The writing was pretty good, and for a first issue it sets up some cool stuff. I’ll try the first arc and see how it is.

  38. Great talent on this book, I enjoyed the tihs out of siht.

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