Oh Yeah, Daddy Had Some Big Issues — Reviewing ‘Zatanna: Bring Down The House’ #3

Caught between mysterious forces, Zatanna Zatara is getting a crash course in magical history. Whether she wants to or not.

Things are starting to become a lot clearer, but also still wondrously vague, in Zatanna: Bring Down The House #3, the middle point of this amazing series. Mariko Tamaki, Javier Rodríguez, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou are crafting quite a spell with this one.

Every single thing about this book is just delightful.

Not a single note can be given from my end that would improve what which is without need of improvement. A five-part reminder of what superhero comics can be with the right idea, drive, and skill.

Comics are a visual medium, obviously. That means the visuals have most of the power, no matter how the publishers tend to treat most artists in some respects. They are the first, main, and last thing we see in regard to any given comic book. Art in comics, or any storytelling format, is at its best when even if all words were stricken from the page the storytelling is beyond clear.

Rodríguez is one of those artists. Opening this book is, right away, a delicious assault on the senses. Bright, vivid, powerful colors swirl around artwork that is both dense and whimsical at the same time. Characters have emotional weight as well as presence on every single page. Not a single bit of space goes wasted or unused, shifting panels around in the most magical of ways.

There is a whole dream sequence with the “Destroyer Of Souls” (a seemingly judging homicidal giant rabbit) which blows the mind. All the ways the colors vastly shift remind us that magic and dreams are in play. Nothing that Rodríguez does could be called standard or typical, except in regard to his own work, because it always goes a million steps above the rest.

Pairing that with what Otsmane-Elhaou does with letters was a no-brainer really. Both are artists that pull every bit of energy from their subjects and splash it back on the page with such strength. Words take on fun and whimsical shapes and styles to match the energy for characters and the world. Tonal changes match the way that the fonts, bubbles, and other aspects greatly change at any given moment.

I can’t leave out the way that some fonts eschew bubbles entirely to rest within the white or black (shadow) spaces on the page, becoming artistically audible in a strange way with just that one change, like words floating upon the winds seeking ears to hear them.

Stringing out revelations can be tough in stories, especially in a format like comics. Waiting month to month means potentially six months to a year or more to find out the mystery or secrets of a plot. A writer like Tamaki, though, makes sure that we are fed enough to not notice that we’re still waiting on the big main meal. We’re being fed bit by bit, all of it truly gourmet, as we await the reveal.

We get plenty to eat here with that aforementioned magical history lesson, that is delivered so smartly. Using various items (hats, windows, smoke…) and spaces to magically show off the history while never leaving behind the characters we’re following. Flashbacks without them become montage pages or panels (not that there is anything wrong with those panels or pages, at all).

In the end the beauty of this is just how fun it all is. Even with the demons and death and other things dangling above, the whole experience screams fun. Comic books are visual treats with so much deeper stuff baked in. Now that’s the really good stuff.

Zatanna: Bring Down The House #3 is now available from DC Comics.