In this review of Zatanna #2, Zatanna heads to Memphis, as Di Manes proves he’s not what he seems.
ZATANNA #2
Written by JAMAL CAMPBELL
Art and Main Cover: JAMAL CAMPBELL
Variant Covers: ADAM HUGHES, DAVID TALASKI, GUILLEM MARCH
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 5/27/26
This review contains spoilers
Zatanna #2 begins after a scene of Zatanna at the Sea of Dreams, helping the populace fight off a shadow tide problem. Readers are given an explanation about her view on learning spells. She compares it to dealing with locked doors, but also mentions that there’s a price attached.
At the DEO’s headquarters, Di Manes is walking along, and he’s grilled about just what happened back in Llatiren, and how getting involved with Zatanna could prove to be a problem for them. But he brushes that off, taking a file of some kind of information for later purposes.
Back with Zatanna, she’s preparing for a trip. She’s been called to Memphis, and is greeted by Papa Midnite. As it turns out, Elodie, a ghostly singer, wanted to see her. The two catch up a bit, before getting into the reason for this trip.
As it turns out, the spirit trapped in the box Z brought with her belongs to Aede, a muse who’d turned monstrous after a favorite singer of his died. Papa Midnite brings up Voodoo, and how things can go wrong with a spirit invading a host without going through the proper rituals first. Ultimately, they set a music-based trap to deal with Aede.
However, Occult Affairs has shown up, as well, guns loaded and ready. Aede’s released from the box, and things quickly go sideways, complete with De Manes deciding to take control of the spirit and Zatanna being badly hurt.
Well. Someone taking control of a spirit for Occult Affairs is certainly a choice. And what’s more, no good can come of that. Well…okay, from a narrative standpoint, it ramps up the tension pretty effectively, but in-universe, Aede’s gone awry after a favorite mortal performer of his, one he’d favored, had passed. And it’s pointed out that there’s nothing good about a possession that happens without the proper channels.
I somehow doubt that Di Manes went through the proper VooDoo channels for this, so I’m very eager to see how things play out from here.
Was very cool to see Zatanna doing her Prime Magus thing, though I could see some people taking a bit of exception to her telling them to use their magic responsibly. Some kind of push back to that feels like a natural thing, even when not directed at a human. But those scenes, if someone were to pick up this installment without knowing a damn thing about who Zatanna is and what she’s all about, would already help to establish that she’s powerful and knows what she’s doing.
The artwork in Zatanna #2 continues to be a complete knock-out, here. There’s a definite weight to how the figures are drawn. You can feel them in that space. At the same time, the expressiveness of the art itself is gorgeous. And there’s that nice red/blue contrast during the climax, as the spirit’s released and things go pear-shaped.
At one point, with Elodie, you can see where she was hit by one of the weapons. What sorts of anti-ghost weaponry do they have at Occult Affairs, I wonder… It makes sense that they would have that, of course. I mean, they deal with the occult, and they’re a heavily militarized group, so why wouldn’t they be able to hit a ghost? But it still looks painful.
The relationship between Elodie and Zatanna was fun to see, as well. They’re clearly old friends, and they’re so happy to see each other again. Also, the little bit of mutual roasting between Zatanna and Papa Midnite just added to the calm-before-the-storm feeling.
Final Thoughts
The magic continues in Zatanna #2, and that’s one hell of a cliffhanger. The artwork is the strongest point of all, but the story’s no slouch, either, and I’m riveted.
