In this review of Zatanna #4, our favorite magician gets a much-needed injection of hope.
ZATANNA #4
Written by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Art and Main Cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Variant Covers: BEN OLIVER, MIGUEL MERCADO, JULIET NNEKA
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: May 21, 2024
Zatanna #4 kicks off with another story, this one all about a battle between Etrigan and the Azure Demon, which ends with Etrigan’s victory and the Azure Demon’s flaying, with his skin being used as bait for a trap.
Next thing we see: the aftermath of Zatanna’s battle with Clayface. She’s horrified about how far she went in this fight, and he’s remorseful about his role (he didn’t kill Adam, but does admit to impersonating him because he was promised a reunion with his family). She finds a seemingly-blank card (more on that later), before getting herself and Clayface back to reality. Only to find that there’s now nobody there.
Back at the Crimson Palace, Lady White and Brother Night discuss their next steps. She’s confident that the sword is infallible, but he’s not entirely sure. As long as Zatanna never figures out its true name or nature, it’s going to be a problem. Dan/Blue Devil is there with them now, skin still very much attached (despite Brother Night and Lady White’s best efforts).
At Shadowcrest, Zatanna’s back to trying to extract the offending blade, still being berated by the voices telling her that she only brings death. But she won’t have to deal with this ordeal alone. Nope, the rest of her stage crew shows up to check on her, and they’ve brought food.
She fills them in on the situation, and they give her a morale boost, pointing out that the impossible means basically jack squat to her. What really gets her attention, though, is when she’s told that she can “make nightmares into miracles”.
And so, she makes contact with Fuseli, Demon of Nightmares, to call in a favor (which he says he’s already repaid). After a bit of back and forth, he informs her that the sword itself isn’t even really there, with all of the magic being contained within the top of a lighthouse. It’s also revealed that he can read the seemingly-blank card from earlier: it’s an invitation to the Crimson Palace.
Zatanna #4 ends as Zatanna shows up at the Crimson Palace, not planning to leave there without Adam’s body and Blue Devil. She gets them, alright…in the form of Adam’s body being used to attack her and Lady White taking control of Blue Devil/Azure Demon/Nebiros.
As she deals with them, she’s bombarded with more of these messages about how she only brings ruin to everything, when another voice joins in. It asks if she really believes all that. She realizes that, no, she doesn’t, pulling the sword out of herself and wielding it, ready to fight.
So, Zatanna #4 is a very nice progression in the story. The situation had been getting darker and darker for our heroine, but this issue starts to turn things around. First in a sweet, heartwarming way, with her crew showing up to support her (and having a drink to Adam’s memory) when she’s at her lowest point. And then in the most triumphant way imaginable, when she shows up for a fight, her confidence back. It leaves one pumped for the ensuing battle.
The art in Zatanna #4 is awesome. There’s one moment, just before her meeting with the Demon of Nightmares, that got me curious about the meanings of certain tarot cards. The posing as she’s in bed is the same as that of The Hanged Man card. There is just no way that’s accidental. The card itself generally involves waiting a moment to take the next step, because just pushing through as one is now won’t help. Instead, to give into which way the universe wants to push them.
And what Zatanna needs to do at this point in the story is refocus a bit. What she’d been trying wasn’t quite working. The meeting with her crew and then the one with Fuseli helps her with that refocus. When she learns that the sword is more of a misdirection—something she would definitely understand as a stage magician—it gets her to look at her situation in a whole different way, ultimately helping her push through the negative voices and visions.
The contrast between Lady White and the Crimson Palace in Zatanna #4 is also very eye-catching. Character-wise, in her case, I’m curious to see how things go. On the one hand, we’ve seen her do some pretty horrible things throughout this run. But on the other, it seems like Brother Night’s a little more dominant in their relationship. At the very least, he has a controlling streak. When she tries to explain that she needs time to digest before getting back to trying to remove Blue Devil’s hide, he pressures her to get back to it. She seems almost cowed by this.
This makes me wonder if The Lady White will hit a point where she decides “enough is enough”, and momentarily teams up with Zatanna to beat him (which would be a nice callback to the story in the beginning of the first issue, with the princess and her shadow becoming sisters…she and Zatanna have that light/dark contrast between them, and all). Not that this would necessarily mean Lady White turning entirely heroic, either. Just enough to get out from Brother Night’s thumb.
Final Thoughts
With some gorgeous artwork and a nice emotional rally point, Zatanna #4 preps us for a climax.
