My history with Zatanna is pretty funny. As I grew up, I was introduced to her in Batman: The Animated Series and then years later in Young Justice. A few years later, I had started reading comics, but I hadn’t seen her in anything (since, at the time, all I did read was almost exclusively Batman and Spider-Man). Once I started to expand my horizons, she appeared as a cameo here and there.
It wasn’t until about two years ago that I actually got into her stories. I had been doing a Batman binge, where I read almost everything from around the 70s/80s to the present, which included Morrison and Porter’s JLA. From there, I decided I would add Morrison’s Seven Soldiers to my reading as it piqued my interest. This readthrough included Seven Soldiers: Zatanna, written by Morrison with art by Ryan Sook, and I was immediately sold on the character. She was cool, but she was also struggling as a person while she trained this kid, and that combination enamored me.
From there, I kept on reading. Identity Crisis came in at some point – and the less said about that, the better. But it didn’t change my perception of the character because, frankly, I didn’t care for it, and everyone has bad stories. She showed up again in Paul Dini’s Detective Comics, where I fell in love with her even more, and then I eventually ended up reading her solo by Paul Dini (and a variety of artists), which I also really loved.
Between then, some Justice League Dark and some guest appearances notwithstanding, Zatanna was basically nowhere, and that sucked! She had easily become a favorite, and I wanted to read more of her; I wanted more stories of her.
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Mariko Tamaki authored Detective Comics after Peter J Tomasi’s run, building on the status quo set by James Tynion IV’s Batman run, by having Bruce live in the city and not be as rich. It was a fresh take on the character, and I was in love with most everything in that book, so hearing that she would be writing this immediately had me sold, but there was more to the picture, obviously.
Javier Rodriguez should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been following Marvel for a while – having drawn (and colored) Daredevil during Mark Waid’s run, Al Ewing’s authored Defenders and Defenders Beyond, Spider-Woman, and Mark Waid’s authored History of the Marvel Universe! That’s not all though, because on the DC end, he drew Tales of the Titans: Starfire and Order of the Black Lamp – a Superman story written by Christopher Cantwell. These books are all-timers in part due to how good of an artist he is.
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s name should also come as no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention to the credits pages (and also to comics YouTube: go check out Strip Panel Naked). He’s an amazing letterer who continues to elevate every book he’s a part of. If you’ve been reading G Willow Wilson and Mariko Tamaki’s fantastic Poison Ivy book, or even Si Spurrier’s Flash, those letters are by him!
A creative team of this caliber coming together for a Zatanna book is an absolute dream, these are some of the best in comics coming together for a character that has had nothing for a while, and that left me incredibly excited.
Did that pay off?
Absolutely.
Zatanna: Bring Down the House’s very first page gives you the mission statement of the comic. Zatanna’s a magician, but something has gone wrong. But, of course, that’s just talking on a plot level. The artistry and lettering involved are also doing so much. The CMYK right on the first panel (cyan, magenta, and yellow cups, plus black (referred to as ‘Key’ in CMYK), is everywhere in the lettering), along with the paneling itself is such a nice touch. Rodriguez uses neat effects to point out where the ball is supposed to be, on top of the little tap motion. Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering not only works in tandem with the art to really guide your eye around, but it also uses effects like underlines on top of bold, as well as letters that break beyond the speech bubble to really emphasize words.
And that’s just a taste of what’s in store.
Every single page in this comic book is an absolute masterclass in an understanding of striking sequential art. Rodriguez draws and colors the book and makes every single page, along with every panel that’s a part of it, phenomenal. He’s not an artist interested in “realism”, but rather in making every page look the way it should tonally – almost along the lines of a Chris Samnee comic book, and it absolutely works to the favor of the issue. The way he structures every page is also a delight, making sure that, at a glance, you’re aware of what’s to come, but as you read panel to panel, you figure out what’s happened.
A good example of this is a page about a third through the issue, where she signs a card, but later has a sad moment of reflection. When you glance at the page for the very first time, you immediately wonder what makes her go from the (fake) smile to the moment of reflection, until you peruse panel to panel.
It’s also here where Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering shines. Like the opening page, it’s never working against the artistic storytelling, but always with it. The way he shows off whispers especially stood out to me more than anything, it’s so cool.
Tamaki’s also doing a great job with the story, to tie it all back together. It’s a Black Label book, meaning it’s out of continuity, and she’s using that in full effect to tell a story where she’s getting into the business of mag- sorry, tricks. It’s paced incredibly well too, telling us who she is and what she’s doing at this point in the story, as well as setting up the general conflict all by the end.
None of that “if you’re a fan of x or y” business in this one, if you’re a fan of comic books as a medium of storytelling, drop what you’re doing and go pick up a copy right now. You won’t regret it.
