A while back, DC Comics announced, perhaps prematurely, that Paul Dini would be tackling an ongoing monthly series starring Zatanna. Of course, given Dini's love of the character and his ability to write other characters of the female variety with such skill, fans rejoiced. And then, in typical comic book fashion, the waiting for further information ensued.
Until today. DC announced via The Source blog that Zatanna, written by Paul Dini with art by the awesome Stephane Roux, will debut in May. Dini says that it was a challenge to create a world around a character that has so little background, but that it was all part of the fun. As for the book's placement within the overall DCU, "Though a lot about Zatanna’s world is new, it is still firmly rooted in the DC Universe. She’s still a JLA member, and that will play into her stories now and then. Also, I plan to explore her somewhat dicey relationship with her younger cousin, Zachary Zatara. I saw a good chance to inject some family discord there, so when I was developing the book, I ran some ideas by Geoff Johns. He created Zach, so I wanted to get his okay before I shook things up. Luckily Geoff was cool with what I wanted to do, so readers can expect to see Zach becoming a permanent part of Zee’s world."
On the art side of things, Roux said: “What can I say about being attached to the project? I’m a fan of the character AND a longer-time fan of the writer. Paul’s delivering very exciting scripts, pushing the character in directions that make it so much fun for me to draw. I’m dealing with various dimensions, litterally. You’ll be scared, you’ll be excited, you’ll enjoy the fights she’s going through. And because it’s Paul, because it’s Zatanna, I simply can’t afford to deliver average art. Not to mention Karl Story’s sure helping me make art look great. Hope the effort shows, hope you like it.”
Judging by the following pages of uncolored artwork, Roux has nothing to worry about.
