In this review of Zatanna #1, Zatanna has taken on the title of Prime Magus. But in addition to her new title comes an audience she never asked for.
ZATANNA #1
Written by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Art and Main Cover: JAMAL CAMPBELL
Variant Covers: ADAM HUGHES, KYUYONG EOM, JULIAN TOTINO TEDESCO, JORGE CORONA
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 4/29/26
This review contains spoilers
Zatanna #1 opens on a scene that establishes Zatanna’s appreciation for magic, and establishes the concept of a Prime Magus.
From there, Zatanna’s walking through a building littered with the corpses of quasi-military agents. But then she finds what she’s looking for: a girl whose body has been hijacked by a Plague Spirit.
She gets her outside, and has Allura watch over her while she enters the girl’s/Plague Spirit’s mindscape. As she explores it (and finds it to be a more pleasant area than anticipated), she finds her target, Va’irra, trapped. As she attempts to free the girl, the Plague Spirit attacks.
As she fights, we see a few figures watching her, including a sniper. But during the fight, she manages to do some damage, and pulls it into her hat with her after it attacks again.
But overall, she’s able to free Va’irra from the Plague Spirit and return her to her parents. And it’s then that the group watching her finds out that she’s onto them. She then goes to confront them about why they’re following her.
As it turns out, they’re from the Department of Extranormal Operations. And the DEO now has a Chief of Occult Affairs. This COA, Agent Di Manes, has been tracking threats much like the Plague Spirit, and knows of Zatanna’s position as Prime Magus and tells her that he looks forward to working with her.
In a closing monologue, Zatanna reiterates her appreciation for magic. She says that, yes, Di Manes is right in that magic is changing. And she’s ready to tour the Realms of Magic to ensure that those changes are more toward the positive. On that final page, we get glimpses of what she’ll get to contend with on her tour.
So, the moment I realized that Jamal Campbell was doing another Zatanna title, having greatly enjoyed last year’s miniseries, I was excited to read this one. And I have to say, that eagerness has an excellent payoff.
First and foremost, let’s go into the artwork of Zatanna #1. The art was undoubtedly my favorite aspect of the miniseries, and that’s already carrying over to the newer ongoing one. The compositions here are strong, pulling the reader through the story. It’s hard to pinpoint a favorite moment in this one, but a few that do stand out to me are the first few pages, before it starts getting into the real meat of the story. From that ornate border around page one, to the spread that follows and shows a bit of Zatanna’s rise to the rank of Prime Magus, the whole scene’s masterfully presented.
Another highlight of Zatanna #1: her fight with the Plague Spirit. With magic as someone’s primary weapon, that can lead to some pretty damn visually-stunning attacks, and that’s what we get in that scene. Bonus points for weaponizing a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors in there, as well. Since Zatanna herself is a stage magician in addition to the real magic she can pull off in combat, her fights need to be as visual as possible. It fits the character, and it works well for the comic itself.
As for the story, we’ve got an intriguing set-up here in the first issue. Going around to various locations to set right what’s been going wrong is a classic premise, to say the least. And with Z’s position as Prime Magus, it feels like the most responsible thing to do. But the fact that this tour would go through the Realms of Magic promises that things are probably going to get a bit bonkers, and I’m absolutely here for it.
Also quite curious to see how any sort of alliance with the DEO is going to work out, since they may have similar goals: dealing with threats, they’re also quite different in their approaches. The DEO’s more grounded, and probably more the type to shoot first, whereas Zatanna’s more magic-based.
Final Thoughts
There’s a certain magic to be found in Zatanna #1, and I definitely look forward to seeing how the tour of the Realms of Magic plays out. It’s a strong beginning to the new title, not to mention the fact that it’s just outright gorgeous to look at.
