And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…please put your hands together for Zatanna Zatara! The greatest entertainer in the crappiest hotel and casino of Las Vegas! Not that the ritzier spots on the Strip haven’t come calling, of course. But since a devastating instance of magic gone wrong that forever changed the course of her childhood, Zatanna would much rather live out her days as a top-hat-and-fishnets-wearing sleight-of-hand stage act than bother with real magic. These days, she doesn’t think much of the past at all. That is, until an interdimensional vortex cracks open during Zatanna’s act, and a terrifying demon crawls out to kill her. If she hopes to survive the horrors that follow it, she’ll need to take herself and her power seriously for the first time in a long time–and fast. Because when it comes to your past, you can run…but you can’t hide forever! Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1 is a fantastic start that delivers a lot of tricks and a little bit of magic for a debut issue.

Written by Mariko Tamaki, Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1 puts the spotlight on the beloved character in a DC Black Label series that’s intriguing.

Zatanna is a magician who doesn’t do magic. Instead, she works at a Las Vegas casino entertaining with tricks for those who buy a waterpark ticket. While offered a lucrative gig by another casino, she’s focused on her life and rather grumpy. Something from her past is bothering her and through flashbacks we get a sense of the trauma that sticks with her today.

Tamaki delivers a focused issue that has Zatanna being stalked in multiple ways, metaphorically and literally, as she struggles with her life. She’s clearly uneasy seeking out answers from others, a listless individual who feels a weight on her shoulders that’s holding her down and back. There’s a lot to relate to with that by readers. Tamaki mines the experience that we’re all haunted by our past, decisions, and mistakes, and we all struggle in some way to move forward. The amount may vary from person to person. It creates a debut that’s relatable and sucks readers in.

The art by Javier Rodriguez is solid. With color by Rodriguez and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, the comic’s visuals are sexy but not distracting. Zatanna was always a titillating character and Rodriguez acknowledges that with the art with teases. The visuals also play off of Zatanna’s issues as well. Visual queues ups the paranoia and unease that Zatanna oozes. It captures a character that’s unsettled.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1 is a fantastic debut that does a massive amount of justice to a character who has a solid fandom. It’s a great start that brings excitement and a lot of depth and humanity to the character and sets up what should be another interesting release from DC’s Black Label.

Story: Mariko Tamaki Art: Javier Rodriguez
Color: Javier Rodriguez Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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