Name: Zatanna Zatara
Occupation: Magician and superhero
Origin: Zatanna went on a quest to find her parents, John Zatara (A Golden Age superhero) and Sindella (one of the fabled Homo Magi). Her quest put her into contact with Hawkman, the Atom, the Elongated Man, and, ultimately, most of the Justice League of America. She was able to find both her folks, but they didn't have a long family reunion.
Fun Fact: Zatanna's magic works by having her say the words in a spell backwards.
Zatanna Zatarra is the culmination of two legacies of magic. One one side, she is the daughter of John Zatara, a master stage magician and reputed descendant of Leonardo da Vinci who used backwards spells to perform actual acts of magic. Zatara used his magic to fight crime in the 1940s and served as a member of the wartime All-Star Squadron. On her mother's side, she is Homo Magi, a branch of humanity with inate sorcerous skills. In her long career as a crimefighter Zatanna has served as a member of the Justice League of America and the "Sentinels of Magic," while maintaining a career as a succesful stage magician. Zatanna is the daughter of John Zatara, her father, one of a handful of mystery men who was a hero during the second World War, and Sindella, her mother, of the Homo Magi. Zatanna inherited a mastery over magic. Zatanna became a stage magician and occasionally used sorcery during her acts. Zatanna joined the Justice League recently. She focuses her abilities by casting her magic spells backwards even though it isn't necessary to do so. She also once had a relationship with Batman, that is apparently only a friendship now. Although Zatanna hasn't been seen a lot in recent years, once comic fans heard Paul Dini expressed an interest in the character, they've been waiting with bated breath to see if anything ever came to be. The long wait is over as Dini, artist Rick Mays, and DC are finally able to bring this mistress of magic to the forefront again.
THE PULSE: Who is Zatanna?
Paul Dini: Zatanna is one of the most powerful magic users in the DC/Vertigo universe. She's right up there with Dr. Fate, Tim Hunter and Faust in terms of mystic ability. Anything she can visualize she can make happen, largely through mental focus and will power. She does chant spells and mystic commands backwards as a way of invoking significant magical effects, but she's so adept at sorcery that she can often do smaller things, such making objects move around by themselves with just a look or a gesture. I wanted her own world to be filled with magic, some which is explained in detail, some of which is never mentioned. That's the nature of a magician anyway, they never explain all their tricks.
THE PULSE: What are her best qualities?
PD: We think of Zatanna as a generally benevolent person in an otherwise dark world. She lives equally in the worlds of show business, sorcery and celebrity, and through a combination of a strong belief in herself, a mastery of her power and being a genuinely nice person, she gets through okay. That's not to say she doesn't have her dark or down moments, rather she never allows herself to give into them for too long. Whereas other magic users with shorter tempers wouldn't hesitate to use their powers to settle every argument, Zatanna usually tries to reason things out first before she reaches for her wand. Still, she does display a mischievous sense of humor from time to time, especially when handing out some karma to a deserving jerk.
THE PULSE: What do you like the most about this character? Why did you want to do a story with her?
PD: Zatanna may be able to create miracles on stage or go toe to toe with an evil demon, but magic doesn't necessarily solve every problem, especially when it comes to juggling a hectic performing schedule or dealing with old boyfriends. In that regard she's not so different from the rest of us in that the same problems that are a part of our everyday lives are her problems, too. She's somewhat of a workaholic and as a result is often lonely. Dating is hard, even for stunning female magicians. She has to run a career, a staff of employees and her homelife by herself and that sometimes gets to her. She also has to deal with insecurities, hateful rivals, and the fact that Tony Bennett makes a lot more than she does when they both play Tahoe. Okay, relatively few people have to deal with that last one.
THE PULSE: What is Zatanna: Everyday Magic about?
PD: Jealous witches, shadow demons, slob ex-boyfriends, judgmental rabbits, one-night stands, white gloves, black fishnets, Thelonious Monk, a tank full of very sad-looking toads, curses, envy, forgiveness, sex, and a chatty audience volunteer who blows up real good.
THE PULSE: Who, besides Zatanna, are the other characters in this story?
PD: We wanted to give nods to Zatanna's past in this story as a way of bringing people who know nothing about her up to speed, but also to touch on some of the rich mythology that longtime fans would appreciate. I give a brief look at her past, explaining her relationship with her father Zatara and the tragic effect his death had on Zatanna. I also revisit Zatanna's relationship with John Constantine, who plays a major role in this story. In stories written by Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman it was established that Zatanna and Constantine were lovers in the past and the relationship didn't end particularly well. This story builds on that as John has another bout of woman trouble and needs Zatanna to help him out of it. Needless to say she's less than thrilled to return home after a long stint on the road to find Constantine drunk, naked and passed out on her bed. He's also under a curse, which doesn't lighten the mood any. "Everyday Magic" also introduces a new character named Nimue to Zatanna's world. She's a rather pretentious goth girl/wanna-be sorceress, but she is motivated by a jealous hatred of Zatanna, and that makes her dangerous. While Nimue's powers are not much of a threat to Zatanna, the destruction she can cause among Zee's friends and ordinary mortals is considerable. Nimue has no qualms at all about trafficking with dark forces in order to destroy Zatanna. There's no price she won't pay to make that happen.
THE PULSE: What aspects of Zatanna will this special spotlight?
PD: We don't deal with the elements of Zatanna's life that readers might know from JLA or the other DCU books. At one point there's a visual nod toward that, but it isn't what the story is about. I'm more concerned with her life as a celebrity and performer, as well as her homelife and her relationships with men, both past and present. And her role as a great sorceress, of course.
THE PULSE: What do you enjoy the most about working on Zatanna: Everyday Magic?
PD: Were very excited to see it all take shape, growing from this strange little story I pitched to Shelly Bond and Karen Berger a year ago, to seeing Brian Bolland's gorgeous cover and just last week getting my first peek at Rick Mays pencils. I hope readers will like the story and I know they are going to love the artwork!