The DC Universe’s resident magician is set to take the stage once again. DC has announced Zatanna: Bring Down The House, a new series under the publisher’s adult-themed Black Label imprint. Written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Javier Rodríguez, the series finds Zee confronting the sins of her past in Sin City.
Here’s how DC describes Zatanna: Bring Down The House:
Zatanna Zatara is the greatest entertainer in the worst hotel and casino off the Las Vegas strip. The ritzier hotels would love to have her as a headliner, but since a devastating instance of magic gone wrong changed the course of her childhood, Zatanna would much rather rock her trademark top hat and fishnets as a sleight-of-hand stage act than bother with real magic.
But Zatanna will have to take herself and her magical abilities seriously when an interdimensional vortex cracks open the very stage she performs on, releasing a terrifying demon bent on killing her. And if Zatanna hopes to escape with her life, she’ll have to face the even more terrifying consequences of her past.
The first issue of the series, the length of which is as-yet-unknown, features a main cover by Rodríguez, plus variant covers by Jorge Jiménez, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, Artgerm, and Mikel Janín.
Zatanna: Bring Down The House is the first collaboration between Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodríguez. Tamaki has helmed runs for DC on Detective Comics and Wonder Woman, as well as written the fan-favorite Crush and Lobo series. The new series marks the first full-length DC project as artist for Rodríguez, who previously drew a three-part Superman story with writer Christopher Cantwell for Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as issues of Tales of the Titans and The Dreaming: Waking Hours.
In a statement announcing the series, both Tamaki and Rodríguez expressed their enthusiasm at teaming for Zatanna’s latest adventure:
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with this team, and having the opportunity to tell a story that spotlights Zatanna,” said Tamaki. “We’re very excited for people to see this weird little story we’ve whipped up for their reading pleasure.”
“I encourage readers to join us on this journey in search of magic,” said artist Rodríguez. “There is nothing more fun than working on a character like Zatanna who, issue after issue, invites you to explore every nook and cranny of the language of comics.”
A Zatanna book by Mariko Tamaki would be enough to sell a lot of people on this book, and pretty much anything Javier Rodríguez draws is going to be visually spectacular. Put the two together and this has the makings of an instant classic. Check out more interior pages by Rodríguez, as well as the variant covers for the first issue by Jiménez, Martinez Bueno, and Janín, below. Zatanna: Bring Down The House #1 is set to arrive in stores and digitally on Tuesday, June 25th.
