Sunday, April 27, 2014

ARC Review - Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell


 

Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell
by Paul Dini
Illustrator: Joe Quinones 
Publisher: DC Comics
Pub. Date: May 27, 2014
Retail: $22.99
ISBN: 9781401210540
Pages: 144

Review:

The DC Comics Universe is full of a variety of male superheroes, but there are also many female superhero characters as well, including Superwoman, Batgirl, Supergirl, etc.. And of course, many of you have probably heard of the character Black Canary that has been appearing on the CW's Arrow this season. In the series, Black Canary's real identity is Sara Lance, while in the comic book it was her sister, Dinah Laurel Lance; though I do have a feeling that Dinah will become Black Canary 2.0 in near future.

The character was first introduced in 1947 and she is normally paired up with the Green Arrow; as you can imagine the character has had many different makeovers over the years, with the most recent occurring in the New 52 reboot. Another character that got a makeover was Zatanna, who first appeared in the DC Comic Universe in 1964. Both of these ionic characters are teaming up for the upcoming graphic novel, titled Black Canary and Zatanna: Boodspell.

Besides from watching Black Canary on Arrow, I'm not to familiar with the character; and I've never even heard of Zatanna before reading the digital graphic novel this morning, which I received from NetGalley. Unlike a few recent DC Comics graphic releases, this isn't a combination of past issues, but instead it is a one-shot, 144 pages issue; giving the readers a glance into the origin of how these two female characters first met.

While most of the New 52 (at the least the few I have read) have a darker tone, Bloodspell is more lighthearted with a little humor. To me, the plot is really thin and is dragged out for nearly 150 pages, when it could have been finished in under 66 pages. The interactions between the two main characters is this only interesting part of the graphic novel. Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell is an odd one-shot graphic novel, with matching illustrations that would have been more suitable for a comic adaption of Disney's Phineas and Ferb.


*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.


About the Author:

Writer Paul Dini has earned five Emmy Awards for his work on Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. His live action work includes story editing for Lost. In comics, his BATMAN ADVENTURES: MAD LOVE, with artist Bruce Timm, won numerous awards. In 2006, he was head writer for DC's COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE CRISIS and took over Batman's adventures in DETECTIVE COMICS. He was also the writer of BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM, GOTHAM CITY SIRENS and the ZATANNA comic book series. 


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