DC gets back in the original graphic novel game with BLACK CANARY AND ZATANNA: BLOODSPELL.....
This is a fairly lightweight story that revolves around a botched Vegas heist that spawns a case of magical revenge from beyond the grave. The plot is disposable, and exists mainly as a framework for writer Paul Dini to hang some wonderful character bits on. The relationship between Black Canary and Zatanna is priceless, and Dini milks it for all it's worth by showing us that relationship at various stages, including how they met, Zatanna's first day as a part of The Justice League, and a mission to Apokolips as part of the fondly-remembered JLI.
The story is wonderfully rendered by artist Joe Quinones, whose art is reminiscent of Amanda Conner. There's enough cheesecake on display to make any basement-dwelling fanboy happy, as well.
I was also pleased to see that BLACK CANARY AND ZATANNA: BLOODSPELL is clearly a pre-"New 52" adventure, as evidenced by Black Canary's scenes with crabby old Oliver Queen, a.k.a. Green Arrow.
The main story runs for roughly 100 pages, which leaves fully 1/3rd of the book devoted to Paul Dini's original pitch, the full script, and a huge selection of sketches and original art. I'm not much for full scripts, but I'm sure someone will enjoy the opportunity to compare and contrast it with the finished version. I also thought that it was very cool to discover that Paul Dini is basically married to a real-life Zatanna. Lucky dog...
DC Comics provided a review copy.
No comments:
Post a Comment