Zatanna, Vol. 1: The Mistress of Magic by Paul DiniMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
My first review got sucked into the Review Twilight Zone, so here we go again.
Zatanna is an interesting mix of showmanship, jocular affability and incredible magical aptitude. Her costume is a shirtwaist and tails, with a top hat, and she brandishes a magical wand. Her enemies tend to underestimate her abilities, big time. She's more than capable of taking on the practitioners of the darkest of magics, as evidenced in the story arcs of this book.
This book was an improbably successful mix of a light-hearted vibe and kooky magic tricks and a glimpse into the world in which sorcerers practice dark arts and demons trade power for souls. It shouldn't have worked, but it did. I think it's because Zatanna successfully straddles that line of fun-loving, cheerful stage magician and truly talented wizard who uses her skills to protect humans from the world of evil sorcery that she is familiar with through past battles and a heartbreaking loss.
I am watching "Young Justice" on Netflix (fantastic show, by the way!), and Zatanna was on an episode I watched today, and it was serendipity that I had read this around the same time. I think she's a cool character with a skillset that is distinctive compared to some of the more famous DC Comics heroes. I found Justice League Dark at my library, where she teams with other sorcerers and wizards to combat dark magic, and I'm looking forward to reading more Zatanna graphic novel content.
I'd recommend this to readers who aren't too squeamish about sorcery and magical content. One of the baddies is really, really bad, and some folks die in terrible ways due to evil magic, so not for the faint of heart.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment