Zatanna Zatara: Mistress of Magic Appreciation 2021

[DrNewGod]

Tseb tarp fo Inid’s Annataz nur saw taht ti saw 001% Enitnatsnoc eerf.

Be honest. How many times longer than normal typing was it to pound that out? 🙂

[Albert1981]

Ok many people here think I want the opposite of a fun loving zatanna but that's not true. I just want Zatanna to be clever and use her brain more. I want a story where the final solution is more than just a spell. Paul's stories never made me feel like Zatanna worked hard for it.

Here's a short story by Ryan Cady from New Talent Showcase 2018. I think this should be a template for writing Zatanna stories.



One of the few stories where nothing is wrong with her powers and yet the story feels challenging. Her duty as an illusionist is to trick the audience/readers and that's what she does in this story. Also it has the best art in all of Zatanna's Solo stories.

Anyone who finds it hard to come up with stories for god like beings with reality bending powers should read this story.

Looks interesting! I like seeing Zatanna being an underdog and using her intelligence to overcome obstacles. And I also want her to be funny too.

But I wanna be fair to those who write about magic. It's NOT easy!:

https://theportalist.com/magic-system-realism

[Gaius]

Be honest. How many times longer than normal typing was it to pound that out? ��

Ho, ton taht drah.

[Edwin30]

Emerald Fennell Wants To Make Something ‘Really Quite Dark’ With DC's Zatanna – The British New Wave Issue

https://mobile.twitter.com/empiremag...73437119991813

I hope it's not a cheap scary movie filled with jump scares and eerie violin music.

[Frontier]

Emerald Fennell Wants To Make Something ‘Really Quite Dark’ With DC's Zatanna – The British New Wave Issue

https://mobile.twitter.com/empiremag...73437119991813

I hope it's not a cheap scary movie filled with jump scares and eerie violin music.

Why does it need to be dark?

[Albert1981]

Why does it need to be dark?

Because I think DC wants to make this flick a "horror" movie.

[Frontier]

Because I think DC wants to make this flick a "horror" movie.

Yeah, but...Zatanna .

[DrNewGod]

Yeah, but...Zatanna .

This is why DC needs a Feige. He, at least, has some grasp of the core of the characters his studio produces.

[Albert1981]

Yeah, but...Zatanna .

Yeah, it's a bit weird. But I understand why DC's doing it. I mean, Marvel Studios is literally stating that Doctor Strange 2 will be a horror movie as well. To me, it seems movie studios seem to think that magical stories equal horror stories. I think horror "sells" better than pure "fantasy". Box office ticket sales have proven that time and time again.

[Edwin30]

I'm fine with dark. Magic has consequeces when it's dark. It's perfect for characters with stupid powers like Zatanna. Tbh before JLD no one took her stories seriously.

Paul Dini tried to make her light hearted but no one bought it because of Identity crisis. There was a great contrast between what Paul wanted her to be and what other writers wanted.

IC was used as plot point by almost every writer. Writers of Flash (wally), green arrow, superman, catwoman and batman used her to make their own stories.

I would have liked Paul Dini to at least make me feel sympathy for zatanna. Maybe show her reason for doing so or show how hard it has been for her but nah.

Literally the first page of her 2010 series shows her tied up and about to be penetrated by a drill controlled by her stage hands dressed up as Joker and Dr Light. Dr. Light who raped Sue and Joker who recently killed her friend and almost killed her too.

Paul Dini didn't even know that Batman was angry at Zatanna the first time he got to write her in Tec.

Then when Joker shoves her into the water tank and taunts her by saying that some think she can't escape without magic, what does Paul make her do? Blood magic, enough to heal her but not escape. So Batman can once again save the damsel. This would've been a good time to show her escape artist skill but nah. Let's give Batman a reason to lock lips with her.

Then he has her fall in love with Batman knowing full well that she's the reason why Batman and Catwoman seperated in the first place.

In short, I don't like Paul's version because he always made her magic feel small and inconsequential. Magic didn't have a cost so everything was solved within seconds. Hell, paul wouldn't even allow her to feel sad for her father anymore because now she could just summon his spirit with a word.

[Edwin30]

Yeah, it's a bit weird. But I understand why DC's doing it. I mean, Marvel Studios is literally stating that Doctor Strange 2 will be a horror movie as well. To me, it seems movie studios seem to think that magical stories equal horror stories. I think horror "sells" better than pure "fantasy". Box office ticket sales have proven that time and time again.

Sam Rami's horror is more of a comedy than horror. I think he'll do the same as Evil dead for Doctor Strange.

[Mai Zen]

Emerald Fennell Wants To Make Something ‘Really Quite Dark’ With DC's Zatanna – The British New Wave Issue

https://mobile.twitter.com/empiremag...73437119991813

I hope it's not a cheap scary movie filled with jump scares and eerie violin music.

"huge, massive, crazy sequences and fights" Hopefully done well and could entice lot of people and new fans. Zatanna need a blasting start

[Albert1981]

Sam Rami's horror is more of a comedy than horror. I think he'll do the same as Evil dead for Doctor Strange.

Oh yeah, I'm fully expecting some of that old "punch me, I bleed" corny shit in the Multiverse of Madness. I just hope they don't overdo it too much. Superhero movies were campy as hell twenty years ago. I don't think fans will tolerate that kind of stuff now.

[Frontier]

I'm fine with dark. Magic has consequeces when it's dark. It's perfect for characters with stupid powers like Zatanna. Tbh before JLD no one took her stories seriously.

Paul Dini tried to make her light hearted but no one bought it because of Identity crisis. There was a great contrast between what Paul wanted her to be and what other writers wanted.

IC was used as plot point by almost every writer. Writers of Flash (wally), green arrow, superman, catwoman and batman used her to make their own stories.

I would have liked Paul Dini to at least make me feel sympathy for zatanna. Maybe show her reason for doing so or show how hard it has been for her but nah.

Literally the first page of her 2010 series shows her tied up and about to be penetrated by a drill controlled by her stage hands dressed up as Joker and Dr Light. Dr. Light who raped Sue and Joker who recently killed her friend and almost killed her too.

Paul Dini didn't even know that Batman was angry at Zatanna the first time he got to write her in Tec.

Then when Joker shoves her into the water tank and taunts her by saying that some think she can't escape without magic, what does Paul make her do? Blood magic, enough to heal her but not escape. So Batman can once again save the damsel. This would've been a good time to show her escape artist skill but nah. Let's give Batman a reason to lock lips with her.

Then he has her fall in love with Batman knowing full well that she's the reason why Batman and Catwoman seperated in the first place.

In short, I don't like Paul's version because he always made her magic feel small and inconsequential. Magic didn't have a cost so everything was solved within seconds. Hell, paul wouldn't even allow her to feel sad for her father anymore because now she could just summon his spirit with a word.

I think more people think of light than they think dark when it comes to Zatanna.

She's not John Constantine. Like, she can touch on dark stuff or supernatural horror but it's not the kind of character she is in my opinion. Magic can be fun and crazy as much as it can be powerful and overwhelming.

I know you don't like Paul Dini's Zee but I feel like from an overall character perspective his stories fit her character better.

But I guess DC keeps pushing the JLD angle with Zatanna so it's probably more gloom and unmemorable costumes...

Yeah, it's a bit weird. But I understand why DC's doing it. I mean, Marvel Studios is literally stating that Doctor Strange 2 will be a horror movie as well. To me, it seems movie studios seem to think that magical stories equal horror stories. I think horror "sells" better than pure "fantasy". Box office ticket sales have proven that time and time again.

Aquaman was an adventure fantasy and it did well.

[Albert1981]

I think more people think of light than they think dark when it comes to Zatanna.

She's not John Constantine. Like, she can touch on dark stuff or supernatural horror but it's not the kind of character she is in my opinion. Magic can be fun and crazy as much as it can be powerful and overwhelming.

I know you don't like Paul Dini's Zee but I feel like from an overall character perspective his stories fit her character better.

But I guess DC keeps pushing the JLD angle with Zatanna so it's probably more gloom and unmemorable costumes...

Aquaman was an adventure fantasy and it did well.

I don't really count Arthur as a "magical" character. More of a mythological one...I mean DC Comics didn't invent Atlantis. And his movie had some really cool fight choreography (the kind you don't usually see in fantasy movies at all). Mystical films to me involve incantations, artifacts, spells, wands, laser beams, reality warping and hand waving. I mean Aquaman did use the water to help him, so I guess that's considered magical.