Zatanna #3
“Songs in the Key of Gods”
Writer/Artist/Colorist: Jamal Campbell
This book is wild.
I won’t pretend to understand all the magic-speak in each issue, especially all the Voodoo material this time around. But that doesn’t stop me from having a great time—there’s just so much to see and to take in.
Parts of a Whole
Zatanna Zatara is a mess. She’s been shot by a magic bullet, practically lost an arm, the Muse Spirit she was trying to help is gone, and her memory of events is fuzzy. Thanks to a Creole ritual, she is brought before the Loa, who grants her aid—for a price to be paid later. Feeling somewhat restored, her next stop is the Land of the Dead.
Meanwhile, the DEO group led by Agent Di Manes is harvesting material from Aede, the Muse Spirit, as well as people she infected. Zatanna appears to stop them, and soon learns there is more to the enigmatic Di Manes than there appears to be. What follows is a fierce magical battle to see who wins the right to decide Aede 's fate…
Forms of Magic
Parts of this issue were a little tough to follow, but there was so much cool stuff to look at that I almost didn’t care. There are a lot of characters floating in and out, and magical concepts flying around at a rapid pace. Zatanna herself remains a strong character who has to constantly fight to prove her worthiness for the title of Prime Magus.
The biggest surprise for me this issue was Agent Di Manes. He proved that he is more than just a cool and unique visual. He’s calculating, ruthless, and incredibly powerful, too. He was willing to sacrifice all those people to Aede just to see what the spirit could do. And he gave Zatanna one heck of a workout in their battle. His Song of Silence is no joke.
The pacing of this title has been interesting. The stories move at a decent clip, but there are plenty of interludes about the rules of magic or the makeup of the realms. It should be annoying, but it’s not. It actually works rather well. Because the pacing of the story is so fast overall, these little breaks allow for a breather before the overall story arc progresses.
Zatanna herself remains a compelling lead. She is trying to be more mature and commanding, but you can’t take the show out of a showman, so she still comes at things a little flashier than you’d expect. The fact that she converted her family theater into her home among the realms is a perfect example of her more showy nature.
The resolution of the Aede story was very well done and actually incredibly touching. It’s weird to say that I genuinely felt bad for a spirit that had lost its human, but that’s exactly what happened here. There’s been very little that has happened in this series so far that I haven’t felt something for, so kudos to the writing for making me care.
Through it all, we get hints of a larger plot: something dark is going on around the realms, but Zatanna isn’t sure who is behind it. Thanks to the Loa, she has a place to look, so I imagine we’ll see more movement on this storyline now that Aede has been dealt with.
Guide to the Realms
Just as the Prime Magus is a singular force for magic, so too is Jamal Campbell a singular creative force on this title.
Campbell’s writing is confident and assured—even when I didn’t understand the magical concepts being tossed out there, I could still follow what was happening. He has a solid handle on Zatanna’s character, and Agent Di Manes is a mysterious and intriguing foe.
The art and colors are where Campbell really shines, though. Even the quieter moments in this title are still a visual spectacle. And the big moments, like the huge magical duel between Zatanna and Di Manes? I honestly lack the words to properly describe that. Between the characters in action, and multiple spell effects of completely different styles and coloring, it’s one of the craziest things I’ve seen on a page in some time. There are very few books out there right now that come remotely close to this title visually, and this issue raises the bar even further.
For a Muse
Zatanna #3 is a well-paced, visually astounding issue where some of the concepts may be hard to grasp, but there’s so much creativity being put on the page that you’ll be engrossed anyway. The antagonist is truly fascinating and makes a great foil for a likable lead, and the world continues to expand with each new issue. This title truly is something special.