COMIC: Top of the Stack - Zatanna #4 (Review)

Written by Paul Dini
Art by Chad Hardin & Wayne Faucher
Cover by Stephane Roux

Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99

Despite the numerous amount of comic books that come out every week, the number of books that focus on a female lead character are very few. To have a successful title starring a heroine is a tough climb with many obstacles like figuring out the target audience for the book and if that audience exists to support it. DC has made a consistent effort to push female led books and right now might by the golden era for such content with titles like Birds of Prey, Power Girl, Supergirl, Batgirl, and now Zatanna available in comic shops every month.

In a week that saw two particular comic books rise to the top of the stack, I thought Zatanna #4 deserved recognition for the sheer quality that has consistently been a part of the book since it's debut. Writer Paul Dini is no stranger to DC and has written some great stories in Detective Comics in years past and currently is the scribe to Batman: Streets of Gotham and two ancillary Batbooks: Gotham City Sirens and Zatanna. His affinity for Zatanna shows in the issues as he creates a world of characters around her that bring credibility to the character as a hero and a magician.

The issues so far have been about establishing exactly who and what Zatanna battles against and why they would be targeting her - because of who she is and what she can do. A theme that has been common in other issues she has been in prior to the start of this series is the connection to her father and how that brings a mess of trouble her way more often than not. This issue we get a reminder of the bigger DCU she is in as she takes on the Royal Flush Gang while she is in Vegas.

The fantastic cover is drawn by series artist Stephane Roux who has done a magnificent job on the title with his style that looks beautiful but also flows so well in action moments. This issue was not drawn by him however, and it was not until I was looking at the credits for this review that I noticed it. That was how good of a job Hardin and Faucher did of following Roux's style to keep the look of the book consistent.

The knock on Dini at times has been that he spreads himself too thin to support the books he writes as we have seen with fill-in issues in both Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens. But this Zatanna book has been a long time coming and seems to have his full focus as each issue has been captivating and entertaining. If it stays his focus this could become a must read title for everyone looking for a female centered series - a trend DC is developing in droves with their female-led books.

Check out Geek Plate's Tumblr for today's picspam starring Zatanna.

COMIC: Top of the Stack - Legion of Super-Heroes #3 (Review)

Written by Paul Levitz
Art by Yildiray Cina & Wayne Faucher
Cover by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher

Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99

If there is one thing that the past few months have shown, it is that Paul Levitz, former DC President and Publisher and now writer of Adventure Comics and Legion of Super-Heroes, was born to write the Legion. Amongst a crowd of books that performed much better than last week's selections, his Legion of Super-Heroes title rose to the top of the stack with a perfect mix of action, mystery and emotion to keep the reader enthralled.

This issue continued several storylines like Earth-Man's adventure with the Green Lantern ring, Saturn girl's continuing search for her kids having her cross paths with Lightning Lad & Lass, and the end to Saturn Queen's brief reign of terror against the Legionnaires. Earth-Man's story was the proper choice to get most of the focus in this 40 page issue with the other two getting just enough time to get the impact of the results.

The art continued to stay steady throughout the issue, and some of the moments featuring one of my favorite legionnaires, Sensor Girl, looked even better. And something that is always nice to see, the cover actually covered a moment in the issue! During Earth-Man's Green Lantern rescue mission, he gets put in the position that requires Sun Boy's reluctant help.

While Earth-Man seems like an agitating character, I had liked the turn of events of a Green Lantern ring selecting him. However, with his removal and abandoning of the ring at the end of this issue, I worry that my interest in the character will wane without that new dimension to him. I'm by far not an expert or even that knowledgeable of the Legion but I know that I enjoy how Levitz handles them and look forward to the next issue.

Check out Geek Plate's Tumblr for today's picspam on the Legion theme.