I often forget that Zatara, one of the earliest magicians in the DC Universe, made his first appearance in Action Comics #1 in his own set of adventures alongside Superman’s. And that his daughter, Zatanna, turns 60 this year after decades of guest spots and appearances over any medium a comic character could show up in, is something that also always slips my mind. But this year we can celebrate her birthday with a new comic series from Mariko Tamaki, Javier Rodríguez, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaoun with Zatanna: Bring Down the House. 

There is no better place for a magician like Zatanna to show off her mastery of the magical arts than Las Vegas. In a small casino hotel. With free admission. I mean, at least it pays the bills. But after enough supeheroics to fill up a dozen other series, maybe it’s time for Zatanna to simply relax with a small-stakes sort of show for a while. It’s something that can at least provide a distraction from the dreams that keep visiting her every night of her first time using real magic as a child. Or the odd shadows she’s seen while on her morning run. Or the person who has been wearing a dozen different outfits to see her free show every day. But that’s all coincidental. None of it could possibly have anything to do with all of those kids that disappeared from her magic trick or her dad’s death. Or the giant demonic creature peaking out from behind the curtains on her stage.

As I mentioned last month with Tamaki’s characterization of Wonder Woman, as an author, she has this deftness to her character writing that feels definitive. Zatanna as a character is someone who has some consistent aspects in terms of appearance and ability, but her personality can go in a few different directions depending on the creators working with her. In this first issue, we’re getting more history and personality in a few panels that gives us a character that feels familiar to our past experiences—I still remember my first being the Justice League cartoon—while also giving us a more solid feel. This is a character with the outward confidence of a stage magician, but who listens to self-help podcasts while on a run. She’s rooted to her current job and show, but wants to run away from the past that she sees every night. We get more than just a magician, we get a person.

But then this is only our first issue. It is, however, an introduction to what Tamaki, Rodríguez, and Otsmane-Elhaou are looking to do for Zatanna as a character: give her a solid starting point. We can see just from this first issue that we’re going to explore her past, her present, and what could become of her from there. It’s also giving us something definitive others can look at and know how to work with her as a character. From this first page, we already feel a foundation being laid. 

Get excited. Deticxe teg. 

Drew Barth (Episode 331, 485, & 510) resides in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida.