In this review of Zatanna #2, the title’s horror elements come out to play, Zatanna gains some help for her current predicament, and a few questions are raised.
ZATANNA #2
Written by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Art and Main Cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Variant Covers: DAVID NAKAYAMA, TERRY DODSON, JAMAL CAMPBELL
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: March 19, 2025
Zatanna #2 starts off with another flashback of a young Zatanna being read a story. This one’s about a magician falling through the astral plane, being saved by a beautiful woman. Before she disappears, she gives him a piece of advice: “Next time you find yourself lost, just wish for Oblivion, and Oblivion shall find you.”. It goes back to Zatanna herself at the present moment. She’s dredged out of the ocean during a storm, a hand reaching for her…
Cut to the Oblivion Bar, where Dan, Nimue, and Bobo are discussing how dead business has been as of late…And then the utterly-drenched Zatanna is hurled into the bar, their night officially becoming much more eventful. The three quickly go to help her out, and she informs them of the situation. The sword is no longer visible, but she can still feel its presence there. The group begins to figure out a plan…and then that hand from earlier returns, her eyes glazing over.
That’s when she finds herself surrounded by undead and decaying versions of people she knows, including Adam, and she’s basically being accused of being a harbinger of death. She comes screaming back to reality, and then the others try to ask her what’s wrong, she attempts to teleport home and dodge the question. They, of course, will not be deterred. She crashes down into Shadowcrest, realizing that the sword has been messing with her magic, and tries unsuccessfully to remove it.
We get a brief scene of Lady White and Adam at the Crimson Palace Nightclub, where they meet with Brother Night. Apparently, Adam and Brother Night have made some sort of deal that entailed the betrayal.
Back with Zatanna, she’s trying to see if Adam’s home, soon being met by Dan and his insistence on helping (since she’s been there for him at his lowest, and all). They get into Adam’s apartment, and it’s covered in decaying flesh. They fight their way through the flesh to see about finding Adam, the fight intercut with scenes of Nimue doing a card reading.
When they finish battling through the gore, they find Adam tied to a chair and apparently dead for a while. To investigate, she hops back into the astral plane (restraining Dan beforehand). Zatanna #2 ends with Zee bumping into Bruce Wayne.
First of all, the artwork for Zatanna #2 is very well-suited for the story itself. The bedtime story segments are done in a style that definitely fits for a kids’ book: bright and stylized with a particular degree of charm. Reality has a more, well, realistic style to it, the coloring a bit darker in some areas, particularly whenever Zatanna’s dealing with the effects of the sword (but nicely vibrant at the bar, despite it being in a slow period). The astral plane (mainly where Zatanna goes at the end): monochrome with the exception of herself (though her outfit changes to fit the vintage vibes of the scene. It all blends well together.
A standout visual aspect for me had to be the scene at Adam’s apartment, complete with the cuts to Nimue’s card reading. The composition for that whole scene, from the posing, to the panel layout, to the coloring, was just plain gorgeous to behold.
I did notice that the first panel’s image between Zatanna #2 and the first issue was the same, with different text between the two. It’s not a strike against it, though. Rather, it’s a sign that what’s about to follow is going to tie into the overall narrative at some point. This time around, that connection payoff was fairly immediate. Within a few pages, the Rule of Oblivion from the story came into play in the story itself.
Speaking of the story in Zatanna #2 itself, as a horror fan, I definitely appreciated the brief scene of Zatanna with the zombie versions of people she knows and cares about, blaming her, the magic sword not only visible, but as a light source in that situation… It scratches that little Nightmare Fuel itch for me.
Now, the question of Adam…I’m wondering what kind of deal he’d made with Brother Night that would be worth stabbing a good friend. Was he influenced in some way to take the deal? If Brother Night and/or Lady White had enough of a problem with Zee, then preying on a young man by dangling his fondest wish in front of him and then applying that added influence the second he showed hesitation wouldn’t be too out of the question. For that matter, curious about the power balance between Lady White and Brother Night: kind of an equal partnership, is she more in charge, or the other way around…
I do wonder if Brother Night had actually faked Adam’s murder, or if it’s a case of the kid’s soul and body not being connected at all. Or if it is, in fact, an impostor that’d taken a deal with Brother Night for reasons to be revealed further along in the story. Either way, looking forward to seeing what issue 3 brings.
Zatanna #2 is a gripping narrative, with some slightly disturbing visuals and an ever-deepening mystery.
