Zatanna’s story is a language (her spell is a word spoken backwards) and visual medium, a visual medium that leads to lettering, and the magic contained in the opposite words must have been astounded by the younger readers, combined with the prosperity of modern fonts and the colours of the word Baron. Playing with Word Balloons may now be an old hat for some readers, but it’s a convention that’s rarely used elsewhere in the comics.
Zatanna #5 adds a unique new trick to your lettering game. In the intro, the malicious Force rants in the baseless Zatanna, but the strategic character in the strategic caption box has been replaced by a star. Zatanna quietly steals the series, as she cuts and breaks it with spellcasting, and steals the spell in the form of singular vowels and consonants.
DC
It’s a clever trick, but that’s just one of the issues that makes the issue stand out. The entire series feels like a visual and conceptual attack on readers as writer/artist Jamal Campbell escalates the magical madness. There was a demonic battle, a sensory sword, a new villain, Clayface. Magical barriers and battles are rendered in bold panel crushing arrays. The very metatest of comic books is being challenged. The pages are left to the barely constrained Tabri. At one point in this issue, Zatanna stepped out of the comic book entirely and revealed a blue-blue illustration board that she avoided taking part.
DC
Because of clever and creative tricks, this book can be difficult to wrap around your head. With so many villains, spells, and metalie blended into these last five issues, it’s difficult to track the level of the story you currently live in. Is this a dream? vision? Flashback? The final issue features a summary of the Blue Devil, making it a nightmare with the devil of his own sleep before attacking Zatanna with two suspicious versions of friends. There is nothing of these things in this issue. We made a clean break and jumped into another handful of reality. When we return to the site of the conflict in the previous issue, we have already met Zatanna’s mother and employ a detour to hear the origins of Asgard’s cursed blade.
DC
For a confused man-sick Habubu, it is difficult to blame the book and its creator. Campbell gives Zatana everything. Outside of last year’s Brilliant, she is a character relegated to support and background B-Plots. Hell, her origin is a guest star who appeared in Seven Random Issues in the 1960s as a backup character. She had no ground of her own to stand for decades. Working with someone who is as committed as Campbell is a gift for her fans. Having a book that is as beautiful and playful as this is a landmark.
Playing with lettering and Zatanna’s spellcasting rules is just a small trick of a massive barrage of persuasive ideas. What’s a bit of confusion when the reward is so big?
“Zatanna” #5 continues the barrage of big ideas for the series
Zatanna #5
In a series that felt like the creator’s Big Bang idea, Zatanna #5 snakes his own way through various metatext levels before returning to the main story.
It’s full of lush art and big ideas.
Play with the rules of the world of Zatanna.
It takes a sweet time.
It feels aside for the bigger story.
