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Zatanna #0-2
Zatanna
The enchanting Zatanna Zatara has the hottest stage act in Las Vegas. And unlike the parlor tricks peddled by other would-be Houdinis around town, Zatanna’s magic is no illusion. It’s real. The dazzling Mistress of Magic can warp reality with just a few backwards words.
But the supernatural is powerful…and in the wrong hands, it’s deadly. So when mystical menaces start causing trouble, Zee steps in to stop them—from the evil sorcerer Brother Night to possessed puppets to nightmare demons. But things get complicated fast when the foe is the ghost of someone she loves!
Emmy award-winning writer Paul Dini's complete collection of ZATANNA stories are here in one graphic novel! The acclaimed creator of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES has long had a history with the premier magician of the DC Universe, penning best-selling stories for the past two decades featuring Zatanna Zatara. Illustrated by some of the greatest artists in the industry, including Joe Quinones, Stephane Roux and more.
ZATANNA BY PAUL DINI is a must-own for any superhero fan!
Collects ZATANNA #1-16, ZATANNA: EVERYDAY MAGIC.
But the supernatural is powerful…and in the wrong hands, it’s deadly. So when mystical menaces start causing trouble, Zee steps in to stop them—from the evil sorcerer Brother Night to possessed puppets to nightmare demons. But things get complicated fast when the foe is the ghost of someone she loves!
Emmy award-winning writer Paul Dini's complete collection of ZATANNA stories are here in one graphic novel! The acclaimed creator of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES has long had a history with the premier magician of the DC Universe, penning best-selling stories for the past two decades featuring Zatanna Zatara. Illustrated by some of the greatest artists in the industry, including Joe Quinones, Stephane Roux and more.
ZATANNA BY PAUL DINI is a must-own for any superhero fan!
Collects ZATANNA #1-16, ZATANNA: EVERYDAY MAGIC.
440 pages, Paperback
First published March 7, 2017
About the author
Paul Dini
686 books681 followersPaul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Duck Dodgers. He also developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog and contributed scripts to Animaniacs (he created Minerva Mink), Freakazoid, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. After leaving Warner Bros. In early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the popular ABC adventure series Lost.
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
January 27, 2018
Zatanna!
yB lauP iniD...yltsom.
Sorry! You know it's impossible to write about Zatanna without something being backward. But it's out of my system now.
Probably...
This is the only solo Zatanna comic I've ever read, but it's not for lack of wanting to catch up on this character. Usually, she's featured as part of a larger group or even somewhat rarely as the other half of a two-person team-up. But her own title?
Not so much.
So, this was quite a treat!
As you can see from the images, there were several artists who worked on this one - some were more to my taste than others, but none were bad enough to ruin the stories for me.
Whoever drew the art for the image below was my least favorite. I know I recognize the style, but I just don't want to go back an look it up because...well, I'm lazy. However, the story was one of my favorites because it not only featured John Constantine but also gave newbies a peek at the hows and whys Zatanna is such a powerful magic user in the DC universe.
At first, and I'm not entirely sure why, I thought this was a collection of random Zatanna issues, but that's not the case. This has one long, somewhat intertwined story arc that features Brother Night as the main bad guy - though he's certainly not the only one! But within that are multiple smaller stories that give readers a better look at who Zatanna is as a person, what she's capable of magically, and what her place in the DC universe looks like.
If you're of the opinion that this character is all big boobs, backward spell-speaking, and fishnet tights? This collection might just change your mind. It's not the absolute best thing I've ever read, but it's a great place to start if you want to get to know Zatanna.
ylhgiH dednemmoceR!
yB lauP iniD...yltsom.
Sorry! You know it's impossible to write about Zatanna without something being backward. But it's out of my system now.
Probably...
This is the only solo Zatanna comic I've ever read, but it's not for lack of wanting to catch up on this character. Usually, she's featured as part of a larger group or even somewhat rarely as the other half of a two-person team-up. But her own title?
Not so much.
So, this was quite a treat!
As you can see from the images, there were several artists who worked on this one - some were more to my taste than others, but none were bad enough to ruin the stories for me.
Whoever drew the art for the image below was my least favorite. I know I recognize the style, but I just don't want to go back an look it up because...well, I'm lazy. However, the story was one of my favorites because it not only featured John Constantine but also gave newbies a peek at the hows and whys Zatanna is such a powerful magic user in the DC universe.
At first, and I'm not entirely sure why, I thought this was a collection of random Zatanna issues, but that's not the case. This has one long, somewhat intertwined story arc that features Brother Night as the main bad guy - though he's certainly not the only one! But within that are multiple smaller stories that give readers a better look at who Zatanna is as a person, what she's capable of magically, and what her place in the DC universe looks like.
If you're of the opinion that this character is all big boobs, backward spell-speaking, and fishnet tights? This collection might just change your mind. It's not the absolute best thing I've ever read, but it's a great place to start if you want to get to know Zatanna.
ylhgiH dednemmoceR!
June 8, 2020
So I figured I was likely to enjoy it... but didn’t know that I’d like it THIS much.
What’s it about?
This follows various adventures of Zatanna, a bad-ass magician/superhero dealing with the DC universe’s supernatural stuff!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The plot is a lot of fun. It’s basically what I want from a superhero comic plus some fun supernatural elements, it is wonderful!
The artwork is wonderful throughout. It changes around various artists throughout the book but all of them are very good and bring this story to life!
Zatanna is an awesome protagonist. I’ve read some stuff with her before and liked it but after reading this I think it’s safe to say she’s officially one of my favorite DC superheroes now. Interesting, bad-ass and astonishingly beautiful on both the outside and inside. Sometimes snarky but rarely goes too far with her power even when angry (save for maybe one scene or two). She’s exactly what a superhero should be.
This book is very intense and exciting! The action is nearly nonstop!
The comic relief is frequent and well done.
This book is sometimes suspenseful.
This has a horror element. It’s kinda light horror so there’s some gory moments, some creepy parts, a lot of cool monsters and the supernatural elements that are present throughout but I don’t think it would scare off fans of horror. I think that’s a cool approach because while I would like to see a darker, creepier, more disturbing take on the character at some point it’s cool how it works for both horror fans and superhero fans who aren’t as into horror. As a huge fan of both I loved it!
So for a while there were some issues with how magic works in this book but then they were adjusted and explained, I like how Dini sorta fixed a plot problem there. It’s also interesting how at first it seemed like plot convenience but Dini at times turned it around to end up making things more difficult, that was fun!
There’s some brief pro-feminism moments. I like how they weren’t preachy and they didn’t bash men but it still made the messages about respecting women and it’s okay to be attracted to a woman, just don’t be a fucking creep very clear.
The ending was a good way to wrap this series up.
Overall:
Zatanna is a wonderful character! I hope DC gives her a new series because damn it, I NEED MORE! Dini does a fantastic job giving us a fun, exciting adventure with action, humor, some horror and a bit of suspense. This book also upgraded this character in my mind from kinda interesting to one of my favorites! I loved it, y’all and definitely recommend it.
DAER SIHT CIMOC!
5/5
What’s it about?
This follows various adventures of Zatanna, a bad-ass magician/superhero dealing with the DC universe’s supernatural stuff!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The plot is a lot of fun. It’s basically what I want from a superhero comic plus some fun supernatural elements, it is wonderful!
The artwork is wonderful throughout. It changes around various artists throughout the book but all of them are very good and bring this story to life!
Zatanna is an awesome protagonist. I’ve read some stuff with her before and liked it but after reading this I think it’s safe to say she’s officially one of my favorite DC superheroes now. Interesting, bad-ass and astonishingly beautiful on both the outside and inside. Sometimes snarky but rarely goes too far with her power even when angry (save for maybe one scene or two). She’s exactly what a superhero should be.
This book is very intense and exciting! The action is nearly nonstop!
The comic relief is frequent and well done.
This book is sometimes suspenseful.
This has a horror element. It’s kinda light horror so there’s some gory moments, some creepy parts, a lot of cool monsters and the supernatural elements that are present throughout but I don’t think it would scare off fans of horror. I think that’s a cool approach because while I would like to see a darker, creepier, more disturbing take on the character at some point it’s cool how it works for both horror fans and superhero fans who aren’t as into horror. As a huge fan of both I loved it!
So for a while there were some issues with how magic works in this book but then they were adjusted and explained, I like how Dini sorta fixed a plot problem there. It’s also interesting how at first it seemed like plot convenience but Dini at times turned it around to end up making things more difficult, that was fun!
There’s some brief pro-feminism moments. I like how they weren’t preachy and they didn’t bash men but it still made the messages about respecting women and it’s okay to be attracted to a woman, just don’t be a fucking creep very clear.
The ending was a good way to wrap this series up.
Overall:
Zatanna is a wonderful character! I hope DC gives her a new series because damn it, I NEED MORE! Dini does a fantastic job giving us a fun, exciting adventure with action, humor, some horror and a bit of suspense. This book also upgraded this character in my mind from kinda interesting to one of my favorites! I loved it, y’all and definitely recommend it.
DAER SIHT CIMOC!
5/5
February 21, 2018
This review isn't going to be fair to Zatanna, and I don't mean for that. But the main thing I got out of this omnibus is that Zatanna is terrible at relationships, and has the magical defenses of a drunk squirrel.
I don't understand how she is still alive if she manages to fail like she does in this volume. But then she's also super powerful and could just murder anyone she wanted to.. until she can't? It's not real clear what her power limits are, which is fine, all told. That's pretty standard superhero stuff, I guess.
In the vein of still not being fair to this book, I'm not sure what the author's goal was with this solo work. It's a weird mix of superhero and slice of life. Slice of life can be fine, especially for a solo book, but all I got from it was that she needs to screen her boyfriend of the day better, punch Constantine in the face a few times, and go to counseling with her brother. It's fine as filler, but who wants filler?
I couldn't help but think that they wouldn't have been as quick with the slice of life relationship filler on a Wolverine solo book. Am I getting to read all of her relationship drama because she's a woman and the author doesn't want to have her just being a heroine? When I think of relationships comics put the men into, most of the time their SO dies to fuel a revenge plot, or is kidnapped as plot, or whatever. Is that accurate? Nope, but we're not being fair; I told you. But here we get that she's had a zillion dbags as dates, and a couple who try to kill her, and get way too close. I just don't get 'strong character' out of most of it. I get 'incredibly powerful character who is a complete mess much of the time and not actually in control of her life.'
Which can be very well done. But I kept coming back to my reservations about how Zatanna was being portrayed. Which isn't fair, because I absolutely don't think they were trying to put out there what I was reading into it. At all. It takes good writing to make slice of life work well in what is ostensibly a superhero book. I just don't think this writing was up to the task.
Let me give you an actual example of something I think they screwed up completely, in an effort to bring some actual detail into this mostly unfair review. When you're doing a solo book, you need someone for the character to play off of. A friend, enemy, lover, whatever. In this book, they try more than once to bring in that someone from outside for a moment. A one-night stand, her brother, some random rich jerk, etc. But that's all nonsense. Zatanna has an entire stage show she performs every week. Meaning she has an entire stage crew that she is friends with. They're basically family, but the book almost never uses them to play off of and doesn't do nearly enough to use them to establish her character. The only real taste of it we get is when Brother Night kidnaps her crew and she goes to rescue them. For a brief moment, you get the sense that he has taken her family from her and that he could not have made a more dire mistake. But do we explore that? No. We get whiny jealous brother and her dating some random dudes whose names I can't even be bothered to remember because who cares. Those don't tell me about her character. How she deals with her crew does. More crew, less idiots trying to get in her fishnets.
I don't understand how she is still alive if she manages to fail like she does in this volume. But then she's also super powerful and could just murder anyone she wanted to.. until she can't? It's not real clear what her power limits are, which is fine, all told. That's pretty standard superhero stuff, I guess.
In the vein of still not being fair to this book, I'm not sure what the author's goal was with this solo work. It's a weird mix of superhero and slice of life. Slice of life can be fine, especially for a solo book, but all I got from it was that she needs to screen her boyfriend of the day better, punch Constantine in the face a few times, and go to counseling with her brother. It's fine as filler, but who wants filler?
I couldn't help but think that they wouldn't have been as quick with the slice of life relationship filler on a Wolverine solo book. Am I getting to read all of her relationship drama because she's a woman and the author doesn't want to have her just being a heroine? When I think of relationships comics put the men into, most of the time their SO dies to fuel a revenge plot, or is kidnapped as plot, or whatever. Is that accurate? Nope, but we're not being fair; I told you. But here we get that she's had a zillion dbags as dates, and a couple who try to kill her, and get way too close. I just don't get 'strong character' out of most of it. I get 'incredibly powerful character who is a complete mess much of the time and not actually in control of her life.'
Which can be very well done. But I kept coming back to my reservations about how Zatanna was being portrayed. Which isn't fair, because I absolutely don't think they were trying to put out there what I was reading into it. At all. It takes good writing to make slice of life work well in what is ostensibly a superhero book. I just don't think this writing was up to the task.
Let me give you an actual example of something I think they screwed up completely, in an effort to bring some actual detail into this mostly unfair review. When you're doing a solo book, you need someone for the character to play off of. A friend, enemy, lover, whatever. In this book, they try more than once to bring in that someone from outside for a moment. A one-night stand, her brother, some random rich jerk, etc. But that's all nonsense. Zatanna has an entire stage show she performs every week. Meaning she has an entire stage crew that she is friends with. They're basically family, but the book almost never uses them to play off of and doesn't do nearly enough to use them to establish her character. The only real taste of it we get is when Brother Night kidnaps her crew and she goes to rescue them. For a brief moment, you get the sense that he has taken her family from her and that he could not have made a more dire mistake. But do we explore that? No. We get whiny jealous brother and her dating some random dudes whose names I can't even be bothered to remember because who cares. Those don't tell me about her character. How she deals with her crew does. More crew, less idiots trying to get in her fishnets.
May 23, 2024
This was a really fun read, haven’t read much of Zatanna or the mystic side of DC but I enjoyed this story a lot. This essentially showed us Zatanna going across the country doing shows and what encounters she has along the way. Gave me a good idea of what her character is like through these stories and I definitely want to read more of her adventures!
January 4, 2018
This collection is a mixed bag. Some of the stories are good, and some or not. Most of these stories are written by Paul Dini, but not all of them are, and the worst ones tend to be those by other authors. First, the positives, There's one story with art by Cliff Chiang about a creepy marionette that is really good. It delves into Zatanna's past, her relationship with her father, and her trusting nature. I thought the art on this story was the best as it gave the story a sense of gravity. The other artists in this collection tend to draw cheesecake art, which I wasn't a fan of because I thought that in objectifying Zatanna, she became a less interesting character.
The absolute worst story was about a wannabe rapper who has a sword that can rewind time. Trust me, when you get to this story, skip it. It was seriously one of the worst comic stories I have ever read.
I guess the bottom line is that we need a regular Zatanna book with Cliff Chiang involved.
The absolute worst story was about a wannabe rapper who has a sword that can rewind time. Trust me, when you get to this story, skip it. It was seriously one of the worst comic stories I have ever read.
I guess the bottom line is that we need a regular Zatanna book with Cliff Chiang involved.
August 28, 2024
Zatanna is an interesting character whose powers allow for literally anything to happen, and that's exactly what this collection embraces. There is absolutely no way to predict what weird shenanigans will occur, and it is the element of surprise and magical wonder that captures interest. It's wild, it's wacky, but best of all, it's fun.
actual rating 3.5 stars
actual rating 3.5 stars
June 17, 2022
I’m on a DC reading kick of late, and it’s brought me to this collection of issues from Paul Dini’s all-to-short title featuring the powerful magician Zatanna Zatara. His love for the character is well known throughout the comic-book world, and it’s well on display in these issues, which chronicle her battles against a variety of magical villains. Yet as enjoyable as the multi-issue stories were, the ones I liked the most were the two single-issue tales by Adam Beechen and Matthew Sturges, the latter of which was my favorite of the bunch. Both were a little lighter than Dini, but I especially enjoyed the stand-alone stories as a throwback to the days when plots didn’t play out over multiple issues. Still, there wasn’t a bad tale in the bunch, and the abrupt ending to the series (with an unresolved storyline involving the main Big Bad) is an especial tragedy given the obvious love the writers and artists have for this under-utilized character.
September 27, 2018
Meh. It was ok. I was expecting more though if I’m being honest. 4 stars. For effort.
August 22, 2024
The lives of Zatanna
This is a great fun look at all the lives or roles Zatanna plays in the DC universe. Performing onstage to sell out audiences, protecting the innocent, saving the world, saving dimensions, and when she has time relationships and sleep.
Zatanna is a legond not only on stage but in the magical community. Light wizards praise her dark forces, fear her, and those who cross her will learn not to make that mistake again.
The book has a number of different teams working on different stories or arcs, I think this works particularly well, showing different aspects of Zatanna's lives. Some more adult themes and language in the earlier chapters (which I am fine with). This is a great book for anyone looking to know Zatanna. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.
This is a great fun look at all the lives or roles Zatanna plays in the DC universe. Performing onstage to sell out audiences, protecting the innocent, saving the world, saving dimensions, and when she has time relationships and sleep.
Zatanna is a legond not only on stage but in the magical community. Light wizards praise her dark forces, fear her, and those who cross her will learn not to make that mistake again.
The book has a number of different teams working on different stories or arcs, I think this works particularly well, showing different aspects of Zatanna's lives. Some more adult themes and language in the earlier chapters (which I am fine with). This is a great book for anyone looking to know Zatanna. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.
May 17, 2022
As a huge Zatanna fan I really wanted to like this... and I did! That said, I did expect I'd enjoy this a lot more.
There's no mistaking that Zatanna is a easy and fun read. It's not entirely written by Paul Dini, so don't be fooled by the front cover. This actually has a collection of writers and artists that contribute to this book and all of them do a great job of creating and keeping the atmosphere worthy of Zatanna.
That said, despite its fun villains and characterization the book does feel unfinished - not surprising seeing as it landed right in the middle of DC's New 52 reboot at the time. Nonetheless, it's a real shame this wasn't allowed to play out in its entirety due to how good it actually is.
The art here is great (I particularly liked the Cliff Chiang issues!) and is varied to the point that there's probably something here for everyone without it breaking the feel of continuity.
Overall, I loved this, but there's no escaping how disheartening it is that it feels unresolved within the series. With the addition of maybe one or two more issues this could have scored a lot higher for myself. However, it's worth your time if you're a fan of magic and want to start reading some Zatanna!
_______________
My Score: 6/10
My Goodreads: ⭐⭐⭐
_______________
There's no mistaking that Zatanna is a easy and fun read. It's not entirely written by Paul Dini, so don't be fooled by the front cover. This actually has a collection of writers and artists that contribute to this book and all of them do a great job of creating and keeping the atmosphere worthy of Zatanna.
That said, despite its fun villains and characterization the book does feel unfinished - not surprising seeing as it landed right in the middle of DC's New 52 reboot at the time. Nonetheless, it's a real shame this wasn't allowed to play out in its entirety due to how good it actually is.
The art here is great (I particularly liked the Cliff Chiang issues!) and is varied to the point that there's probably something here for everyone without it breaking the feel of continuity.
Overall, I loved this, but there's no escaping how disheartening it is that it feels unresolved within the series. With the addition of maybe one or two more issues this could have scored a lot higher for myself. However, it's worth your time if you're a fan of magic and want to start reading some Zatanna!
_______________
My Score: 6/10
My Goodreads: ⭐⭐⭐
_______________
March 5, 2023
Contains many adventures of DC's "sorceress supreme".
Paul Dini is widely known for writing Batman, and he is pretty good at it too. Tackling the magical, musical world was a bold move, but the end result isn't as charming as the magic in the book itself.
It shows us Zatanna's daily routine as a superhero/magician, her world of mysticism, but forgets to show her character growth. There's no development, no stakes, no tension. This halts the reader from really connecting with the character.
Zatanna is an above average read, with some delights in between its pages, but never really puts on a show that will leave us astounded and clapping.
Paul Dini is widely known for writing Batman, and he is pretty good at it too. Tackling the magical, musical world was a bold move, but the end result isn't as charming as the magic in the book itself.
It shows us Zatanna's daily routine as a superhero/magician, her world of mysticism, but forgets to show her character growth. There's no development, no stakes, no tension. This halts the reader from really connecting with the character.
Zatanna is an above average read, with some delights in between its pages, but never really puts on a show that will leave us astounded and clapping.
March 24, 2022
I was always intrigued by this character for years. A magician who moonlights as a superhero and who's powers requires her to be able to say things backwards coherently. My friend got me this for my birthday and I really adored it! But there was one major gripe I had with it. It ends in the middle of a major plot revelation. Paul Dini was in the middle of an arc concerning a villain named Brother Night that was genuinely capturing my interest. But then the series continues with a few one-off stories, which were fun but we never see the culmination of this one story. Which is a bummer since I've loved Dini since I can remember (he wrote the Batman animated series for chrissakes). What happened was that the new 52 took over and made every dc story that came before it become obsolete. I don't think I've ever encountered that before, but I'm sure it's happened to many fans in the past. That's the thing that sucks about superhero comics. If it's not Batman or Spider-Man then your character may not get a completed story. I had a blast reading this, it felt like wholesome fantasy horror fun and some of the stories genuinely freaked me out and had me adoring the characters. Though the artists are switched up on us constantly (huge pet peeve of mine) I felt each artist did a great job of giving their unique take on both Zatanna and magical powers. Fun series! Disappointing ending.
September 16, 2024
I wish this series continued on. There’s a few loose threads that are still open that will probably never get proper closure. Just makes me happy that Bring Down the House is being published nowadays so there’s still some Zatanna love.
June 8, 2020
Review coming soon
April 10, 2021
Zatanna is my girl and I am only mad that this is not longer.
August 22, 2024
This one had been on my list for a while, and I was SO HAPPY to finally get my hands on a copy. Unfortunately, I was left pretty disappointed.
I didn't know much about the character of Zatanna going in, and after slogging through the 16 collected issues in this book... I still don't know much about Zatanna. She does magic by speaking backwards (that got old REALLY fast) and her dad is dead. That's literally it. I never really learned any of the "rules" of her magical abilities, and I never got a real grasp on her personality (other than she's apparently the type of person who forces her tomboy/masc friend wearing a tux into an evening gown).
The artwork was hit or miss for me; the opening issue by Rick Mays was straight-up UGLY, but some of the other ones looked great. However... I get that she's a comic book character, and yes, she's busty and wears fishnets, so "cheesecake" poses are expected. But give me a BREAK with the over-the-top ridiculous boob and crotch shots. That's not how human anatomy works.
I didn't know much about the character of Zatanna going in, and after slogging through the 16 collected issues in this book... I still don't know much about Zatanna. She does magic by speaking backwards (that got old REALLY fast) and her dad is dead. That's literally it. I never really learned any of the "rules" of her magical abilities, and I never got a real grasp on her personality (other than she's apparently the type of person who forces her tomboy/masc friend wearing a tux into an evening gown).
The artwork was hit or miss for me; the opening issue by Rick Mays was straight-up UGLY, but some of the other ones looked great. However... I get that she's a comic book character, and yes, she's busty and wears fishnets, so "cheesecake" poses are expected. But give me a BREAK with the over-the-top ridiculous boob and crotch shots. That's not how human anatomy works.
July 11, 2019
I really love Zatanna but this series is just average. Not bad, but not great either.
It would've been great if there weren't about 10 different artists on this run because it made the art feel very inconsistent. And most of the art styles were nothing to write home about. I wish all of the issues were done by Cliff Chiang, his art was interesting and nice too look at and also didn't objectify the main character.
The same goes for the writers, I didn't get the reason behind the random one-off issues that were written by people other than Paul Dini. Normally I love one-offs so that wasn't the problem. It's just that none of them were that good. Some were bad or meaningless (the one with the villain who could turn back time for like 30 seconds, the one with the braces, the one where she goes clubbing with her dumbass cousin).
Even the issues written by Paul Dini weren't all that great. I think Zatanna has a lot more depth and complexity to her than this series allows the reader to see. It felt very repetitive: Zatanna has a show, she's tired, she likes a guy who turns out to be evil or who's unavailable so she complains about her love life and lack of thereof, her annoying cousin turns up and does something stupid and then all of this happens again. Bonus points when someone or Zee herself mentions her father. It felt surface level, which is strange because Paul Dini seems to care about Zatanna a lot and I hope this isn't the limit to what he can give a female character in her own solo title.
I liked Zatanna's crew but they were underdeveloped. Mickey is a cool character but again, her relationship with Zatanna is not given enough attention. And I hated that Zee was mean to her a couple of times, especially when she tells Mickey to be more feminine and she changes her tuxedo outfit to a dress with magic. WTF? I don't see Zatanna as someone so backwards and disrespectful to her friend/coworker. Then there was that comment when Mickey was in a revealing outfit to trick a villain and then Zatanna asks her if she's taken up pole dancing. Because we totally need more thinly veiled slut shaming in comics (and what if she did?). I don't expect outstanding feminist work from Paul Dini but come on. This was far from the only questionable thing that happened, and this series ran from 2010 to 2011, so it's not even that old.
I liked the puppet storyline because it had some good character stuff and because I could relate to Zatanna's fear of puppets. (I don't have a phobia but they're creepy and I hate them). Plus this is the one with the stunning Cliff Chiang artwork.
It was great to too see Shadowcrest and I wish it was featured more. Overall, I would have liked to see more of Zatanna, the magician and less of Zatanna, the stage magician. In fairness, there's nothing wrong woth focusing on the latter but it wasn't done too well in my opinion. Most obviously her magic: the limits of her power and what she can do are not defined and change to fit the plot constantly. (Apparently she can...time travel...or something?). Despite her almost limitless power, she also falls for the tricks of villains easily and gets overpowered or captured quickly. Then she escapes and defeats them at the last moment. I guess having something up her sleeve is fitting for a magician but I don't get the impression the writers put a lot if thought into the resolution of the conflicts.
I could have done without the constant mentions of men and dating both by Zatanna and her friends. Women don't think about men all the time and even if they do it a lot, they do other things as well, like have meaningful non-romantic relationships with other people which this series sorely lacks. I get the feeling they were going for something with the detective but that plot with Brother Night he's involved in is left unfinished. (Probably because of the New 52 launch which saw the end of this series).
Zatanna is definitely overdue for another series and please, please, please let women write her.
It would've been great if there weren't about 10 different artists on this run because it made the art feel very inconsistent. And most of the art styles were nothing to write home about. I wish all of the issues were done by Cliff Chiang, his art was interesting and nice too look at and also didn't objectify the main character.
The same goes for the writers, I didn't get the reason behind the random one-off issues that were written by people other than Paul Dini. Normally I love one-offs so that wasn't the problem. It's just that none of them were that good. Some were bad or meaningless (the one with the villain who could turn back time for like 30 seconds, the one with the braces, the one where she goes clubbing with her dumbass cousin).
Even the issues written by Paul Dini weren't all that great. I think Zatanna has a lot more depth and complexity to her than this series allows the reader to see. It felt very repetitive: Zatanna has a show, she's tired, she likes a guy who turns out to be evil or who's unavailable so she complains about her love life and lack of thereof, her annoying cousin turns up and does something stupid and then all of this happens again. Bonus points when someone or Zee herself mentions her father. It felt surface level, which is strange because Paul Dini seems to care about Zatanna a lot and I hope this isn't the limit to what he can give a female character in her own solo title.
I liked Zatanna's crew but they were underdeveloped. Mickey is a cool character but again, her relationship with Zatanna is not given enough attention. And I hated that Zee was mean to her a couple of times, especially when she tells Mickey to be more feminine and she changes her tuxedo outfit to a dress with magic. WTF? I don't see Zatanna as someone so backwards and disrespectful to her friend/coworker. Then there was that comment when Mickey was in a revealing outfit to trick a villain and then Zatanna asks her if she's taken up pole dancing. Because we totally need more thinly veiled slut shaming in comics (and what if she did?). I don't expect outstanding feminist work from Paul Dini but come on. This was far from the only questionable thing that happened, and this series ran from 2010 to 2011, so it's not even that old.
I liked the puppet storyline because it had some good character stuff and because I could relate to Zatanna's fear of puppets. (I don't have a phobia but they're creepy and I hate them). Plus this is the one with the stunning Cliff Chiang artwork.
It was great to too see Shadowcrest and I wish it was featured more. Overall, I would have liked to see more of Zatanna, the magician and less of Zatanna, the stage magician. In fairness, there's nothing wrong woth focusing on the latter but it wasn't done too well in my opinion. Most obviously her magic: the limits of her power and what she can do are not defined and change to fit the plot constantly. (Apparently she can...time travel...or something?). Despite her almost limitless power, she also falls for the tricks of villains easily and gets overpowered or captured quickly. Then she escapes and defeats them at the last moment. I guess having something up her sleeve is fitting for a magician but I don't get the impression the writers put a lot if thought into the resolution of the conflicts.
I could have done without the constant mentions of men and dating both by Zatanna and her friends. Women don't think about men all the time and even if they do it a lot, they do other things as well, like have meaningful non-romantic relationships with other people which this series sorely lacks. I get the feeling they were going for something with the detective but that plot with Brother Night he's involved in is left unfinished. (Probably because of the New 52 launch which saw the end of this series).
Zatanna is definitely overdue for another series and please, please, please let women write her.
September 26, 2024
this was my first time reading zatanna and i’m definitely a fan! i love her character design and her powers are so freaking cool!!
i do, however, wish she was a bit evil or something. bit boring at times
very cool fight scenes which ended very quickly because zatanna is too powerful
the best issue was BY FAR the palindrome one—such a fun and creative idea!
i do, however, wish she was a bit evil or something. bit boring at times
very cool fight scenes which ended very quickly because zatanna is too powerful
the best issue was BY FAR the palindrome one—such a fun and creative idea!
December 18, 2017
I have a soft spot for Zatanna. She is one of my favourite characters and unfortunately not often featured.
The omnibus gives the reader a chance to take a peak into Zatanna's everyday life. How she lives, her connections with her closest friends and just a touch of back story.
It is clear that Paul Dini is passionate about this character. He brings spirit, fun, and of course, magic to his writing, creating a fun and entertaining read.
The omnibus gives the reader a chance to take a peak into Zatanna's everyday life. How she lives, her connections with her closest friends and just a touch of back story.
It is clear that Paul Dini is passionate about this character. He brings spirit, fun, and of course, magic to his writing, creating a fun and entertaining read.
June 5, 2017
A great collection of Zatanna stories by the fabulous Paul Dini. It's nice to read something that let's Zatanna shine on her own instead of in a team or just a helper in an issue. She's such a great character! The art is beautiful. I would love to see the final resolution with Brother Night and Detective Colton.
June 26, 2018
I evol em emos annataZ.
January 3, 2018
I have always liked the character of Zatanna, DC Comics backwards-speaking magician. I first encountered the character back in the late 1980s/early 1990s in the pages of Justice League International (later Justice League America). Zatanna was one of many prominent female heroes in the Justice League, and she was considered powerful because her spells (spoken backwards) could change reality itself. Later Zatanna was a regular in New 52's Justice League Dark and a frequent guest in Constantine. She's a good friend of Batman, and has made appearances in Batman (Rebirth). In animation, the character has appeared in Justice League Unlimited and as a regular in Young Justice. Zatanna is always written to fit the particular book or series she's in but the basics are the same: magician's costume, career as a professional stage magician, member of the Justice League (or in New 52 - JL Dark), and she's a genetic mage who performs magic by reciting spells backwards.
This novel, Zatanna collects the stories by Paul Dini. It's an excellent graphic novel and an enjoyable read. The stories both refer to Zatanna's career, and her more magical adventures. The stories never get too dark, and many are somewhat whimsical.
This novel starts with Zatanna's friend, John Constantine. John stops in at Club Bewitched in San Francisco on Halloween. He soon learns Zatanna is out of town, touring as a professional stage musician. John meets Nimue, at the Club. Zatanna, meanwhile, finishes up her stage show in Lake Tahoe, meets a nice fan there, and soon heads home. All she wants is a hot bath and to sleep - but she finds John in her bed. Zatanna tries to throw him out, but he's been cursed by Nimue. Zatanna tries to remove the curse but that backfires. She goes to Nimue's home and battles her, obtaining a magical item to trade back to the demon Nimue contacted and to have the curse lifted from John. Zatanna at first thinks it will be pretty straightforward, so she leaves John to it. She realises, however, that Nimue isn't the sorceress's real name, and rushes to rescue John. Zatanna succeeds and Nimue is cursed, though she vows revenge. This story also includes both glimpses of Zatanna's life as a professional stage magician (and an highly successful one) and a rabbit explaining her background.
Another story has Zatanna, professional stage magician, performing a stage show for children in the hospital at Halloween. When the children are attacked with fear toxin by the Scarecrow, she attacks back.
When a group of mobsters are murdered horribly (after being turned into monsters), Zatanna is called in by San Francisco police officer Det. Dale Colton, and discovers Brother Night is behind everything. Brother Night would return in the last story in the collection.
Another frequently returning enemy for Zatanna is a demon that enters dreams and causes nightmares (the Lord of Nightmares, a small green imp). It takes some time, but Zatanna is able to free herself from the Nightmare World and defeats the demon.
Overall, this is a very thick book, and every story in it is wonderful - either spooky, or a good supernatural crime story, or simply fun. I didn't want this book to end it was so good, though there isn't a lot of continuity between the various short stories within.
Highly recommended.
This novel, Zatanna collects the stories by Paul Dini. It's an excellent graphic novel and an enjoyable read. The stories both refer to Zatanna's career, and her more magical adventures. The stories never get too dark, and many are somewhat whimsical.
This novel starts with Zatanna's friend, John Constantine. John stops in at Club Bewitched in San Francisco on Halloween. He soon learns Zatanna is out of town, touring as a professional stage musician. John meets Nimue, at the Club. Zatanna, meanwhile, finishes up her stage show in Lake Tahoe, meets a nice fan there, and soon heads home. All she wants is a hot bath and to sleep - but she finds John in her bed. Zatanna tries to throw him out, but he's been cursed by Nimue. Zatanna tries to remove the curse but that backfires. She goes to Nimue's home and battles her, obtaining a magical item to trade back to the demon Nimue contacted and to have the curse lifted from John. Zatanna at first thinks it will be pretty straightforward, so she leaves John to it. She realises, however, that Nimue isn't the sorceress's real name, and rushes to rescue John. Zatanna succeeds and Nimue is cursed, though she vows revenge. This story also includes both glimpses of Zatanna's life as a professional stage magician (and an highly successful one) and a rabbit explaining her background.
Another story has Zatanna, professional stage magician, performing a stage show for children in the hospital at Halloween. When the children are attacked with fear toxin by the Scarecrow, she attacks back.
When a group of mobsters are murdered horribly (after being turned into monsters), Zatanna is called in by San Francisco police officer Det. Dale Colton, and discovers Brother Night is behind everything. Brother Night would return in the last story in the collection.
Another frequently returning enemy for Zatanna is a demon that enters dreams and causes nightmares (the Lord of Nightmares, a small green imp). It takes some time, but Zatanna is able to free herself from the Nightmare World and defeats the demon.
Overall, this is a very thick book, and every story in it is wonderful - either spooky, or a good supernatural crime story, or simply fun. I didn't want this book to end it was so good, though there isn't a lot of continuity between the various short stories within.
Highly recommended.
September 3, 2024
I love Zatanna as a character, and I find that she adds a lot to various DC stories, but this collection of her Paul Dini run (among some other authors) doesn't showcase her as well as it should.
This would massively benefit from an overarching plotline, such as the Brother Night story, which unfortunately never gets a full resolution. Instead we have somewhat of an arc and then a bunch of mishmashed one- or two-shots. And it also doesn't help that the artists change every couple issues, which just makes things even less cohesive.
I don't think the writing is ever bad, but there's no reason for this to be a collection other than they were mostly written at the same time. Some issues are far better than others. Not mad I re-read this run, but would hesitate to re-read it's entirety in the future
This would massively benefit from an overarching plotline, such as the Brother Night story, which unfortunately never gets a full resolution. Instead we have somewhat of an arc and then a bunch of mishmashed one- or two-shots. And it also doesn't help that the artists change every couple issues, which just makes things even less cohesive.
I don't think the writing is ever bad, but there's no reason for this to be a collection other than they were mostly written at the same time. Some issues are far better than others. Not mad I re-read this run, but would hesitate to re-read it's entirety in the future
September 8, 2018
Nuf daer! This is a collection of the all too brief time that a frequent guest star to assorted DC comics titles got her own title. Zatanna is a real sorceress who works as a Vegas stage magician. She casts her spells by speaking them in English, but backwards. There are some great stories here, especially those penned by Paul Dini, creator of Batman the Animated Series and co-creator of Harley Quinn. The art quality varies quite a bit as different artists moved in and out of the series. Sadly, the big story arc that progresses through the series was not resolved, but I liked getting to know Zatanna better. Especially touching were stories that touched on her relationship with her father, John Zatara, who debuted all the way back in Action Comics 1 alongside Superman.
June 1, 2024
rounded up to a 4 -- at times the art got on my nerves but I love Paul Dini and appreciated, having recently read The Books of Magic, spotting Tim Hunter in the first story and references to Batman throughout.
November 1, 2018
Admittedly, I blazed through this. It is definitely not appropriate for youngsters with the more mature content inside, but it is entertaining.
August 14, 2022
I think Zatanna’s my favorite superhero.
June 24, 2024
An enjoyable, if relatively inconsequential, collection - with the majority of the stories here being single issue ones (or two issues at most) there doesn’t really feel that much cohesive narrative or build towards anything.
The artwork, while more to my taste in some places than others, is impressive throughout though and it’s great to see Zatanna in a starring role…I think I’d have liked to see a bit more of a character arc though tbh.
The artwork, while more to my taste in some places than others, is impressive throughout though and it’s great to see Zatanna in a starring role…I think I’d have liked to see a bit more of a character arc though tbh.
July 2, 2024
Some fun moments but overall nothing special.
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