This issue is the beginning of a new storyline for Zatanna so if you were thinking of giving this series a try this is as good an issue as any to start with. Before I go any farther, let me complement writer Paul Dini for keeping his storyline only as long as it needs to be. Most other comic book writers today seem to be slaves to the six part storyline and for no other reason then the fact that once finished the storyline can be turned into a trade paperback. Many writers today don’t seem to give any thought to how long the storyline really needs to be and as a result some storylines unfold at a painfully slow pace all so they will reach that magical six issue length. On the other end of the spectrum some storylines are forced to make huge leaps all so they can fit into a six issue frame.
SPOILER WARNING In this issue Zatanna confesses to an irrational fear of puppets. Her doctor suggests this fear maybe rooted in some childhood trauma. That takes Zatanna back to her only childhood memory of puppets, an incomplete memory about a crime, at a Vaudeville revival show that did involve the same puppets she has just recently seen again. Her doctor suggests Zatanna explore this memory and try to fill in the missing pieces. I have to mention two great little humorous bits that happen at the doctor’s office. One involves Zatanna relating the story of her guest appearance on a children’s TV show involving puppets. Her fear of the cute little puppets is so great that she tosses her cookies then and there. The other humorous bit involves her running into Detective Chimp when she is leaving the doctor’s office. Zatanna turns to the demon Fuseli to help her fill in the missing parts of her memory. I know Zatanna thinks she has Fuseli’s number but I guarantee that the deal she makes with Fuseli will come back to haunt her. What Zatanna discovers changes her view of her father and shows the root cause of her fear of puppets. The information may have come too late to save her life from an old threat. END SPOILER WARNING
Overall, I enjoyed this issue and think it is worth reading. One last point, while Cliff Chiang’s artwork is solid and I have no real complaints about it I would still like to see Stephane Roux do all the pencils on this title.
Keith Forney