Zatanna Zatara: Mistress of Magic Appreciation 2021

[Gaius]

Curls work for Zee!



I spent so much time trying to figure out who drew her from her face I didn't notice the plunging cleavage until later. Not sure what that says about me.

I didn't realize either until a little while after I posted it.

JLGL for both of them just for reference.

[John Venus]

Hmm then she'll be another one in the team to wear formal clothes after Constantine, Detective chimp and Phantom Stranger.😁

Well, there was a time DC called their magic team the Trenchcoat Brigade and published a mini with that very name. Formal and snappy attire is part of being in the magical world.

How do you guys think the best way of Zatanna growing her power? I once thinking in her youth, she only can manipulate 4 elements (basically make her a proto avatar like some moment at Satelite era Justice League ) and can't yet direct magic to the living being like her cousin Zatara. There are some magic resistance living being has like AT field on Evangelion. She must knock them off to wear down their willpower and the magic resistance. She doesn't need to speak to use magic especially basic one like pew pew magic or fireballs, as backward magic just helping her to more focusing the spells. As she growth she can blitz through the people magic resistance with ease.

Oh also hopefully any writers let her using magical equipments and weapons, especially her stage magic props like her fight in JLA, especially in her youth when she still developing her magic powers. Let her use deceptive and misdirections to fool her enemies. Have her hiding some lock picks in her boots or high heels , or enchant her fingernails to cut ropes and aid her already great escapism skill

I've always thought of the 4 elements as being part of the basic as well. Levitation and small scale telekensis should be another basic thing as well. The next step would be illusion casting, transmutation and teleportation. Basic stuff, but not every body can do it and how well and how effectively you can do them depends on the wielder. A novice like Zachary might be have trouble moving large objects with his magic but Zatanna would have an easier time doing it.

To add to what Edwin said:

-Magic always has unintended consequences. So hey, you just cast a locator spell to find your friend, good job but you also made yourself more susceptible to werewolf attacks. Only a true mystic would have known to guard against that while casting their spell.
-No time traveling or reality warping. Not even the Spectre should be able to do it. If he does there should be hefty consequences. If he turns someone to a candle that's extreme high level transmutation. He is altering matter, not reality warping.
-No talking with the dead. You can only communicate with the dead only if they had died recently, remnants of the soul were present in the area, it has to be a magic related death and the place has to be a magical hotspot and even then you can only communicate with them briefly.
-Teleportation only happens between magical hotspots, otherwise magicians like Zee and Etrigan have to set up seals in various locations and they have to use their own magical energy to teleport between them.
-Homo Magi are like magic batteries, they each only have a finite amount of energy that depletes the more they use. They can increase their reserviours through years of practice. So someone like Zee, Etrigan and Dr Fate have large reserviours with the latter two boosting their power through bonding with a demon and a magical item respectively. All the seals and magical objects which keeps demons bound and trapped in dimensions are like magic batteries, once they run out, the monsters run free, thus necessitating the existence of JLD to protect the world from these monsters.
-The more complex something is the more difficult it is to change it into something else. So when Zee turns someone into a dove or a rabbit, its really just a high level illusion which mimics appearance and mass of what they were transformed into and they will revert back after a set period of time. If they really were turned into a rabbit, then that's either crazy high level transmutation or dark magic ****. Turning a flagpole into a titanium sword, that's easy whereas the human body is a complex make up of chemical reactions and combinations that turning them into something else entirely without killing the person would be insanely difficult and require a **** ton on magical energy. I imagine the Spectre just purposely makes this stuff go awry just to torture his victims even further.
-Everyone's magic is different, it's personalized. The Zatara's have their backward speech, Etrigan has his rhyming, most magicians (like Dr Occult, Faust) use hand signs, the more practiced they are the less they require them, so Zatanna can move objects with her mind without needing to say anything, Jason Blood can breathe fire by just thinking but it's easier to say spells or use incantations. To them it's the difference between tightening a screw with their hands as opposed to just using a screw driver.

[DrNewGod]

Talking with the dead could be a lot of fun if it's done right. Start with the idea that all of our thoughts create an impression on the universe regardless of time and space. The dead may be gone, but talented adepts who knew them can access that impression left on the cosmos. The fun part is leaving the audience wondering whether they've summoned the departed soul, or merely triggered an echo, shaping itself around what the living remembers, and perhaps wants to hear.

But, I digress from the point of this thread.

[Edwin30]

Ram V posted on Twitter-

"This Tuesday! March 9th, I’m taking over
@DCComics’s Reddit account, so get ready to AMA only at http://reddit.com/r/dccomics @ 10:00 AM PST"

Twitter-
https://mobile.twitter.com/therightr...64820715438081

Get your Zatanna, JLD, Catwoman and Swamp thing questions ready.

Edit-
Ram V is live on Reddit right now to answer your questions. Link below.

DC comics reddit -
https://www.reddit.com/comments/m1aqug

[John Venus]

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[Gaius]

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If they ever make Zatanna solo animated content, they should use those first two images as a basis.

[John Venus]

Ram V posted on Twitter-

"This Tuesday! March 9th, I’m taking over
@DCComics’s Reddit account, so get ready to AMA only at http://reddit.com/r/dccomics @ 10:00 AM PST"

Twitter-
https://mobile.twitter.com/therightr...64820715438081

Get your Zatanna, JLD, Catwoman and Swamp thing questions ready.

Edit-
Ram V is live on Reddit right now to answer your questions. Link below.

DC comics reddit -
https://www.reddit.com/comments/m1aqug

Nothing much but here is a few things that stood out to me in the Reddit AMA:

Are there any aspects of Swamp Thing's character and history that you're keen to explore?

I want to delve into what The Green really is. I know we try to define it by making constructs around it - The Parliaments, An Avatar - but what is The Green? As a concept, an idea - what does it mean? Why does it need an Avatar? These are my preoccupations with Swamp Thing lore.

What influences you besides comic books - any particular pieces of literature?

I've mentioned influences in a previous answer. So we'll stick to Swampy influences with this one - for The Swamp Thing - I'm pulling things from Stanislaw Lem, Jeff Vandermeer, Ligotti, Brian Evenson (horror fans rejoice!)

recently people have been complaining on how DC is treating "god like" characters i.e. Spectre, Phantom Stranger , Dr fate.... They all feel like either useless characters or DC deliberately writing them off, is this case or is the current writing hoping to achieve something writing them like that?

I don't know that I think of any character as God-like, to be honest. I imagine with these characters the stakes of the story are always very high and so the stories and their actions all feel god-like. I have my own ideas of how to approach and write these things and I can't really comment on what other writers think of them because that would require me having god-like powers. I have written Dr. Fate though and I didn't have any troubles writing him as a man in possession of great knowledge and great responsibilities. I imagine we'll continue to see that character being pushed and pulled in different directions with Khalid Nassour as I continue to involve him in JLD shenanigans. Read on and find out... (dun, dUN, DUN!)

I love your work on Justice League Dark! I heard that it'll only be a backup story of the JL book going forward. Has there been any decision yet how JLD will be collected in paperback? Or on a more broader basis: generally, are you as writer even consulted/involved in such decisions?

Thanks! I've enjoyed writing JLD and writing these 10 pagers has been an absolute blast. Cannot wait for people to see what we're doing with them. You've not read a JLD like this, I promise. I am not sure where the conversation with collecting the stories is at this point. I've been too busy to seriously follow up on that end. I imagine - that'll be a conversation to have once I've written something that begs to be collected

[Captain Nostalgia]

As sad as it is to see one of my characters get transformed into a pin up poster phenomenon for....comic book fans.

I must confess that some of the art out there of Zatanna is staggering.

[starduck]

For Zee's powers I'd like her to use her hat and other magical stage props, like explosive cards, living handkerchief ropes, etc. I'd also like her magic to focus on more magician type spells like teleporting, illusions, conjuring, transforming things. Even if she uses a fireball I'd like it to explode into a rabbit shape or something.

[John Venus]

I'm down with more personalized magic.

If they ever make Zatanna solo animated content, they should use those first two images as a basis.

Which reminds me, there were two cartoon shorts called 'Zat Anna' as part of the 'Cartoon Monsoon'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qeWZ3mydm0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZf0xGwq3QI

This was way back and I guess if the suits liked it, they would have picked it up.

What's interesting is that they inexplicably give her a brother in this, Zatara looks like Tim Curry and her enemy in this is Klarion. I wonder if this had any influence on her YJ iteration.

As sad as it is to see one of my characters get transformed into a pin up poster phenomenon for....comic book fans.

I must confess that some of the art out there of Zatanna is staggering.

I don't mind the pin up style art or the occasional cheese cake shot so long as it doesn't over power the rest of the character. Its only an issue if folks can't think of anything beyond 'hot chick in fishnets'.

[Gaius]

I'm down with more personalized magic.



Which reminds me, there were two cartoon shorts called 'Zat Anna' as part of the 'Cartoon Monsoon'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qeWZ3mydm0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZf0xGwq3QI

This was way back and I guess if the suits liked it, they would have picked it up.

What's interesting is that they inexplicably give her a brother in this, Zatara looks like Tim Curry and her enemy in this is Klarion. I wonder if this had any influence on her YJ iteration.
.

Hmm, yeah those definitely have the feel of an early 2000s CN show.

[signalman112]

Zatanna by the awesome Gray Morrow.

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[Edwin30]

Wonder woman (1987) issue #175 had Zatanna claim that her backward speech is merely a concentration exercise.

[Frontier]

Zatanna by the awesome Gray Morrow.

ZatannaGrey.jpg

Very retro! I like it .

[sifighter]

Huh, I guess there is hope for the Zatanna movie, look next to the supergirl logo.