Zatanna #1 - DC Comics

ZATANNA No. 1, April 2025

Deceptively carefree and tongue-in-cheek for most of its narrative, Issue One of “Zatanna” certainly does seem to live up to its writer’s promise that the titular character will “need all her wits and every spell she can muster in order to make it out the other side in one piece.” In fact, for much of Jamal Campbell’s twenty-page plot, the Mistress of Magic appears to be digging incredibly deep into her backlog of tricks so as to save the performer’s quite considerably-size stage crew from a multitude of grisly demises; “The Astral Plane. Things can get wonky here. I’m sending you back to the theatre.”

However, the sheer of sense of frivolity permeating the storytelling also means that many a reader will probably struggle to feel any sense of danger for the likes of Andre, Arnie or even the particularly vulnerable Adam. This lack of concern really does detrimentally impact any notion of suspense with each of the comic’s various set-pieces, particularly as the Princess of Prestidigitation additionally appears to always be slightly ahead of Lady White’s overly-dramatic attempts to dispatch her friends – whether it be via a truly elaborate dance routine on a large film set or a giant great white shark coming to life from inside a movie poster.

Intriguing though, much of this lack of jeopardy could also be seen as a way for the author to completely hoodwink his audience into believing the Sorceress Supreme is more than a match for this limited series’ main antagonist. Such a conviction is debatably not misplaced either. However, it will leave many onlookers totally unprepared for an astonishing display of treachery, which leaves a brutally transfixed Zatanna lying helplessly upon the ground and understandably gasping for every breath.

Perhaps it is therefore Campbell’s proficiency with his pencilling as opposed to the pen, which is this book’s biggest asset, thanks largely to the freelance illustrator’s signature style of “clean linework, natural colours, and subtle shading.” This publication’s layouts genuinely are a feast for the eyes, most notably when the adventure whisks its readers away to the realm of magic, and resultantly in some ways it is actually a disappointment that Jamal's carousel of single-panel rescues wasn’t expanded upon in order to allow the artist to show off even more of his flair for sketching an action-packed set-piece.

Writer and Artist: Jamal Campbell, and Letterer: Ariana Maher