Spotlight#143: Zatanna and The Ripper

Like, gang, have you ever wanted to solve a mystery? If so, you may enjoy Zatanna and the Ripper by Syro and Sarah Blakely. So let's start with the first of three DC-centered spotlights.

Summary

Turning 21 often means growing towards a whole host of new responsibilities. For Zatanna Zatara, though, the upstart daughter of Giovanni Zatara, it seemed to cause a whole heap of trouble. Hell, she didn't even get the chance to blow out her birthday candles as an evil sorceress greeted the two magicians.

Before the final blow was struck, Zatara cast a final spell which sent Zatanna hurtling from the 21st century into backwater Whitechapel, London, in 1888. An era where the oh-so-famous ripper ran rampant. Now hundreds of miles and years away from home, Zatanna must make new friends in an olden era and uncover evils that lie beyond time and space.

Characters

Zatanna: Our Mistress of magic, Zatanna, has been able to cast spells by saying words backward. While her power surpasses even her father's talent, Zatanna's lack of confidence, self-doubt, and fiery temper limit her greatly. Despite this, Zatanna's role as an assistant comes second to her heroic heart as she courageously, quickly, and compassionately lays the heart of a hero who will take center stage to show civilians a good show.

Zatara: Zatanna's loving father, Giovanni, is a selfless mentor to those under his care. Like a true magician, Zatara always has an ace up his sleeve, employing trick of the trade to protect his child and befuddle his foes.

John Constantine: A long-time friend of both the Zatara's, John has many personal demons. Torn away from his home in the same mysterious fashion, John seeks to fight alongside "Z's" side with hellish tactics, gritty wit, and messy gumption. He may be a sly dick in the worst times, but John always has his heart in the right place.

Roz: A resident night walker, Roz serves as Zatanna's greatest friend in the rows of the Victorian era. Whether amidst the paranormal or just plain normal, she's always willing to throw down with a sharp barb or handy slipper.

Summary

Looking back on my Wayne Family Adventures, I'm both am and not surprised the DC/Webtoon stories popped off as hard as they did. Many comic tubers I knew were singing the series' praises when it was first released, and as far as I know, it's retained positive feedback. Plus, the medium of webtoons gives massive potential to tell new stories based on lesser-known background DC characters. Still insane how 2022 gave us three new series to spotlight.

A possibility that I believe Zatanna capitalizes on the most. In contrast, I admit I'm not the most familiar with the character (primarily knowing her from the DCAU, YJ, and Paul Dini's search history). Still, she's always been a prevalent powerhouse despite having only one solo run. In addition, her father played a massive role in teaching Batsy escapology and has routinely participated in numerous Justice League teams.

Bringing the focus back to the webtoon through a big focus on this incarnation, we're greeted with interesting themes and worldbuilding. Zatanna's voice has power through her sorcery but can fail without strong conviction and careful wording. Meaning through her terrible situation, she has to mature and move into the spotlight considerably.

Speaking of said magic, it looks transformative here, along with the art. Whitechapel carries itself with faded colors and darker shading to etch a rather eerie atmosphere. Crowds of people are also constantly adding their own stylish dialogue in the background, with debauchery or shame.

All of which put in massive work to make the magic look stunning as Zatanna's blue-centric spells or simple onomatopoeias are worked diegetically into the magic, which I think combines the comic and webcomic format perfectly. There's always a unique flair from simple transmutations or full-on Gandalf-style smackdowns. But, of course, if you aren't into all that, there is always the mystery.

While not all the pieces haven't been set yet, Zatanna manages to craft a pretty exciting mystery that still takes advantage of the more expansive DC universe, answering one question but leaving you with several more in its place. I hope the final reveals are worth all the hype.

Epilogue

All in all, Zatanna was a great way to start the DC Webtoon spotlights. It's easily the most creative out of the bunch. The pacing of it can be slow at times, but I feel with most chapters, this gets fixed in time. Either way, it will add more color to this fantastic character. Nonetheless, unfortunately, we will have the leave the spotlight early and focus it on another guest for now.