Zatanna Special

Zatanna is always awesome. My first exposure to her was in the Batman Animated series. This was “before the internet” times of the 1990’s. Yes, I know it was around, but let’s face it. The internet did not take off until the 2000’s. But I digress. Zatanna was always one of the most fun characters to ever live. Not only because she uses her powers as her day job, but because she just takes everything with a grain of salt. She knows that everything is not always like it seems. I always loved her and thought of her highly. (Overlooking that whole mind wipe thing of course)

So it was one day I was at my comic store and I found this huge 64 page giant comic about Zatanna. I saw it and I just had to know what made an issue this big. What story could be told in this 3 times bigger comic? Well I am here to share that story with you. So here is the Zatanna Special. 

 

This cover is very much wow and awesome. Wowesome. Yeah, that word works. It shows Zatanna in both of her costumes, her newer one on a horse riding into battle with who knows what. But the one thing I really love about this cover is the proportions. Zatanna looks like a human female. That might not sound like a bit deal, but remember that a lot of times, comic artists really mess up on how the human body works, even more so around this time frame. I really have to give my thanks to the guy in charge of the cover.

So our comic begins with Zatanna getting ready for a live show when she sees her dead mother in her make-up mirror. A bit shaken, Zatanna brushes it off as she has a show that she has to do. 

Like most people, I love Zatanna’s classic costume. It is just one of those looks that never needed to be updated. Of course that will change in this issue but whatever. So while Zatanna is mystifying the audience, her manager Jeff tries to light a cigarette. But when he strikes the flame, it becomes a woman shape. He just brushes this off and says he needs to stop smoking. Um, dude, what just happened isn’t normal. On the stage, Zatanna brings up a member of the audience for a trick that involves a rolled up newspaper. But before she is able to do the trick, a magic snake that she did not summon jumps out and attacks. Zatanna, speaking backwards, sends the snake into the earth. The audience, thinking this was all part of the show, cheers her.

After the show, Zatanna and Jeff are in a car talking about what just happened and Jeff asks if he should be worried that he is now seeing women in his lit matches. Zatanna notices that the figure in the match is her mother, the same dead person she saw in her mirror before the show. Before Zatanna can do anything more, a fire pillar comes busting out of the sewers, causing her to crash. The fire pillar takes on human form, but is quickly beaten by Zatanna using her magic to get a hydrant to work for her.

With this monster gone, Zatanna and Jeff check into their hotel and Jeff demands to know what is going on. Zatanna does not tell him which causes Jeff to get angrier and soon enough, Jeff leaves. Zatanna cries to herself until there is a knock on her hotel door.

Yep, the only reason Jeff came back was because he forgot his pants. Oh well, we needed some way to keep him in this story. The next day or maybe later that night (really hard to tell with this comic how time works since everything is dark blue) Zatanna drives Jeff over to her father’s estate for protection. Seeing how her Father was a great magic user himself, I can see how this would be a good idea.

Zatanna then gives Jeff her family’s history. She tells us that her mother was Homo Magi and her father was of a lesser known strain of the same race. Homo Magi are the same as humans only they have a very deep connection to the mystic energies. Before she can tell Jeff more about how her mother was forced back into hiding by her Homo Magi tribe, lightning strikes right next to them.

The two go back to the house and Zatanna introduces us to Kasim, who is an Indian man butler who wears a turban. Yeah, that is not a stereotype or anything. While Jeff talks to Kasim about how he never believed in magic until he saw Zatanna do it for real, Jeff lights another cigarette. But this time it is the smoke that takes on human shape. Jeff tells Zatanna about this and Zatanna says that the only way to stop this is to answer her mother’s call. To do that, Zatanna needs to go to the secret city where the Homo Magi are. Jeff asks if she needs to, or if she wants to. Well if you don’t care about fire monsters, lightning strikes, and smoke girls, then I guess we can over look all that now can’t we, Jeff.

Zatanna decides to go and dons her Homo Magi robes, which look stupid. All that magic and power and yet they have no fashion sense. So Zatanna and Jeff get on a pair of magic horses and they ride to the land of magic. This sounds like a little girls fairy tale right now, doesn’t it? So while they ride, Zatanna says that she wants to get her life in order and that is why she decided to answer her mother’s call. Again, if she did not answer it there would have been monsters and magic screwing her normal life. So as they ride through magic fire, the two of them are quickly eaten by a magic snake in space. 

The term non sequitur comes to mind right now.

Zatanna lights a match (which does not look like her mom for once. I guess she doesn’t get magic call service inside a giant space snake) and using her magic makes the whole inside of the snake light up. As Zatanna and Jeff talk about who would not want them to come to the Homo Magi city, the snakes magic stomach acid starts to try and dissolve them. How do our heroes try to escape the Snake’s body? By taking the ‘back’ exit of course. Yes, they are running the longer path through the snake.

As they go deeper into the Snake, Zatanna’s powers grow. Not going to think about that much myself. So strong in fact that Zatanna is able to get the two of them out of the snake. As soon as they exit the snake, a mysterious figure taunts Zatanna from her hidden room. Anyway, our heroes ride and get the secret city. So what was the point of that snake bit again?

The second Zatanna and Jeff get to the secret city, High Lord says she must save the people with the McGuffin in her head. Yeah, Zatanna was born with a jewel in her skull. She is told to go to the temple of hope and case the spell of cures. Real inventive names you got there Homo Magi. So Zatanna and Jeff run to the temple where Zatanna puts on the crown and becomes one with all Homo Magi.

31 pages in and this feel very rushed story wise. So Zatanna cures all the people, looks like she died when she didn’t, and lives. The people rejoice and High Lord tells Zatanna that she is meant to stay and be the great Homo Magi to protect them all. Yeah, and Zatanna thinks that she has no say in this. Like with all magic users in comics, I have to ask: WHAT DO YOU WANT?! All this time, Zatanna has been ‘oh I must go’ and ‘I have no options’. Girl, shut up and do something YOU WANT!

High Lord tells our duo to go see the Guardian of the Shrine of Ages. Seriously, magic users are so annoying with all these dumb quests and all the hoops everyone has to jump through to get anything done.

Well this was the first half of the Zatanna Special. Why am I stopping here? Well it was a good stopping point and I kinda ran out of time if I want to keep with my update plan (Easter set me back sadly). But come back next week when I look at the second half of this so far weird comic.

All images (c) DC