In this review of Zatanna #1, Zatanna attempts to return to the stage with her crew like old times. But, as always, things don’t work out as planned.
ZATANNA #1
Written by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Art and Main Cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Variant Covers: CHRIS BACHALO, SOZOMAIKA, SAOWEE, JAMAL CAMPBELL, DERRICK CHEW
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: February 19, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Zatanna #1 begins with a flashback of a young Zatanna, as her mother reads her a story. The story is one about a princess and her shadow. Her shadow can’t stop crying, so the princess’s family looks into some magical intervention, making the shadow her own person/a sister to the princess.
Cut to the present day, with a few more flashbacks: Zee’s parents dying, training in stage magic as a kid with her dad, meeting with the Justice League…before she snaps back to reality. She goes right from her melancholy reminiscence to ready to tackle rehearsals like a pro in a snap.
She meets with her stage crew, and they go through the routine. She’s determined to make this a show her father would be proud of, a true artistic showcase. Right down to the venue. The theater in question, it’s explained, has a long history of legendary performers.
One of the most prominent of these performers was a woman of Old Hollywood known as “Lady White”. As a few members of the crew discuss her history, Zee is assuring Adam (a younger member of the crew that feels like he doesn’t quite belong) that he definitely has a place there. During both of these conversations, her crew find themselves being pulled into Lady White’s portrait. Zee chases after them.
It turns out that they’ve been brought to the Astral Plane, and Zee wants to know why. She manages to track down most of her crew and send them home, with only Adam still in need of her help. She finds him, confronts Lady White as to why she’s doing this…and it’s revealed that Lady White has it in for Zee. She’s also gotten control of Adam, who stabs Zee with a magic blade before Lady White leaves with him.
Okay, so, right away, I think one of my favorite aspects of Zatanna #1 is the storytelling so far. Some elements have a certain symmetry to them. The fairy tale being told in the beginning has that very clear light/dark contrast. The main conflict introduced in this issue: Lady White (portrayed as pure white), and Zatanna herself (black hair, good amount of black in her outfit). If we take each one’s current alignment into account, it’s like Zatanna’s the princess character with Lady White being her shadow. In the story, the princess character is portrayed as blonde and wearing light colors, so it’s sort of a reversal (which fits perfectly, given how Zee’s non-stage magic works).
And then there’s the accident during rehearsals, where Adam misses the slot on Zee’s harness where the blade is supposed to go. No harm done at that point, really, and she tells him it’s no big deal (despite him feeling awful about it). The accident makes it look like she’s been run through by the blade. Now, looking at the last page of this issue, we see that she actually has been impaled by a magic sword.
The artwork in Zatanna #1 is awesome to look at. Of special note are the compositions of her flashbacks at the beginning. The composition flows beautifully, with no specific order in which she’s remembering them. A perfect illustration of racing pre-showtime thoughts. There’re also the posters for the different film genres each member of the crew gets thrown into by Lady White. Each of those is just so representative of its respective genre, from a 50s sci-fi B-movie to an old-school musical that would’ve been in vogue during Lady White’s heyday. There’s a great variety in facial expressions and character design, as well.
Also, the “To be continued” and the title for Zatanna #1 being backwards? A nice touch.
Now, the things I’m left wondering about: what Lady White’s exact beef with Zee is, and if this arc will end in some way similar to the story at the beginning of the issue, with Lady White having a bit of a turnaround and becoming more of a sister to Zee. Either way, here’s looking forward to the next issue.
Final Thoughts
The art and writing combine to craft what’s sure to be a fun, well-crafted story. 5/5 stars for this thrilling first installment in the new series.
