Just read the first TPB of Zatanna from DC Comics by Paul Dini, Stephanie Roux and Chad Hardin.  This is also OU DC (that’s Original Universe folks) not New 52.

Zatanna is probably one of my favourite characters from DC, ever since I was a wee lad.  Was it the fishnets?  Was it the magic?  I don’t know, probably a combination of both.  But magic is cool, and is king in my book.  So therefore, I was going to read this book whether it was good or bad.  I mean, magic, fishnets and Zatanna.  Couldn’t get any better right?

So this book was good.  Not great, but good.  I was not disappointed by reading it, but I wanted to take more away from it then I did. 

Perhaps it was because the non-action scenes were a little draggy for me.  I enjoyed the interactions between Zatanna and her friend Mikey, which were usually humourous and quite banter-y.  Cool and light-hearted giving the book a nice little flow.  But the conversations between the detective, Dale Colton, and Z were a little dry for my taste.  I think because I wanted more sexual tension between the two and there wasn’t.  Kind of like Castle.  Or old school Moonlighting.  If there was more, I think it would have played a bit stronger and made the downtime in the books a bit less stilted.

On the flipside, the action scenes were cool.  I mean, magic!  C’mon!  But really, she fights a nightmare demon, another demon who sacrificed a bunch of kids in the past and Mammon, the demon god of wealth.  Those scenes really moved the book along.  Particularly, I liked the playoff between Z and the demon god.  He is a perfect villain for Zatanna, unlike the nightmare demon who just seemed like a poor version of Marvel’s Nightmare.

Loved the covers by Brian Bolland too.  That guy can do no wrong.

Paul Dini knows how to write.  He writes very well, and I enjoy pretty much everything he does.  So why did I not enjoy this book as much?  Not sure.  I think it was because I expected more from it, than what I actually got.  It was not bad by any stretch of the imagination.  Quite the opposite.  But for me, it was just a little boring.  Good, but… calm. 

Now, I am still going to read volume 2.  Again, love the character and her powers.  Love the writer and the art was pretty solid.  So perhaps the book gets better.  I give a it 3 out of 5.