Zatanna is showing up for absolute power this summer

Zatanna will appear in Superman helping a powerless clark and traversing a magical dimension. And she might potentially be showing up in wonder woman along with the JLD! Both out in July.

Batman: The Animated Series - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Zantanna 

The daughter of the famous stage magician and escape artist Giovanni Zatara, Zatanna joined him on tour as his assistant and protégé.  It was during this time that Zatrara was alto providing training and guidance to a young man named ‘John Smith’ (who was actually Bruce Wayne during his training to become a crime fighter). Both in their late teens, the two were involved in a brief romance.  John would go on to learn from yet another master, while Zatanna doubled her efforts to learn from her father and ultimately surpass him as a magician.  

After her father's death, Zatanna quickly became a celebrated magician and performer in her own right.  Along with her mastery of stage magic, Zatanna had additionally learned true sorcery and could perform incredible magical feats.  She would only use her real magic for the big finales of her act, but would later utilize her abilities as a crimefighter.  

Later in life, Zatanna was able to surmise that John Smith had gone on to become The Batman (she was also likely able to deduce Batman’s alter ego as Bruce Wayne, matters that she has kept to herself).  Zatanna and Batman shared an adventure together where they took down the villainous Montague Kane.  Later Batman asked Zatanna to join the Justice League and she became a highly valued member of the team.  

Actress Julie Brown provided the voice for Zatanna with he heroine first appearing in the fiftieth episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, ‘Zatanna.’

Cartoon Romances + Riding Together

BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #164

I can remember this stretch of issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA trying my patience a little bit. As writer Gerry Conway continued to unravel the mystery of Zatanna’s mother and her upbringing, I increasingly was checked out on the series. A lot of this had to do, I expect, with my absolute inability to care about magical fantasy realms of any sort, so investing a whole lot of emotional energy…

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Home Video Releases for July 25, 2023

Good and Evil Billy redraw X-X

(If you guess Evil Billy's Kill Count you get a cookie.)

The first issue of Red Tornado premiered with a cover date of July, 1985. The Construct has taken control over robots, people and even the Justice League of America to play mind games with the Red Tornado and fill him full of self doubt. ("Storm Warning!", Red Storm 1#, DC Comic Event)

Gnort and South

Justice League International #15

Enjoyable.

Alien invasion shtick (with a capitalism spin).

The team fights on two fronts: space and Australia, so we get two groups (which works really well). The new members add something. And Gnort shows up and he's fun. And it ends on a solid cliffhanger.

7/10

July 22, 2023

Happy 68 Birthday to Willem Dafoe. 

i want to read so many different comics i haven't before but i am stuck in the endless loop of rereading LOSH and l.e.g.i.o.n

Hey all! I haven't posted here in so long that one of my most recent entries is announcing Process Party, the podcast I did with Mike Dawson for a few years (aaaand which has been more or less done/hibernating for a year or two now😂) so I thought I'd actually post about my current podcast, as I migrate hosts (and archive Process Party for the ages) in this holiday season.

The new one is called In This Issue… It's a podcast about what I'm calling "formative comics reading experiences," with a focus on the single issue format. Every episode I'm talking to a special guest from the world of comics, doing a close reading of a comic book (IE not a graphic novel! 22-64 pages is the range we're working with here) and have a lively chat about it. TBH I haven't actually posted a new ITI in a couple months either, but I just have to get the will to edit the ones I have banked. Look, the holidays are hard! Anyway, there's been 9 episodes so far and they're all great in their own special way! I'm excited to talk to more dorks about the comics that made them go "WHUH!?" in the coming year. Check the place where you normally find your podcasts for these and the next ones, whenever I get around to posting them!

A very happy belated birthday to Amy Adams!

I had the chance to chat with voice actor Julie Nathanson a couple years back about her time on The Zeta Project as Rosalie Rowan!

Held this one back for a while since COVID messed up our Zeta Month plans, but I'm so excited that it's out there now!!! She was such a delight and I can't believe I get to just chat with people who worked on my favorite shows. This will never stop being wild! #BringBackZeta

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

"Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox" was made ten years ago and is a prime example of how to do a multiverse story right.

Barry Allen stops Professor Zoom once again with the help of the Justice League. As Professor Zoom is being escorted to prison, he tells Barry that he's still not fast enough to save those who truly matter. This affects Barry as he goes to run his feelings off. The next morning, Barry is shocked to see that his late mother is alive and well. This confuses him at first, but then he's more confused to find out his powers are gone. Barry starts noticing big differences in his world and he has to figure out what's going on before the war between Amazonians and Atlantians destroys the world.

In the last ten years, multiverse stories have caught on like wildfire. Movies like "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" and "Everything Everywhere All At Once" have changed their respective genres in big ways. Movies like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "The Flash" have allowed old faces to return, much to the delight of many fans. It's crazy to think that "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox" did this before it was trendy. Even television shows are dipping their toes into the multiverse idea like "Loki" and "Fionna & Cake". The thing is, I think this 2013 movie got the multiverse idea right and only a handful of movies nowadays understand why. There are so many multiverse movies coming out that people are starting to get 'Multiverse Fatigue'. I think this problem is very similar to the Superhero Fatigue most people are experiencing. Sure, these genres are oversaturated, but I think the fatigue comes from the oversaturation of low-quality productions rather than the oversaturation itself. I guarantee that people wouldn't be complaining nearly as much if all of the multiverse movies coming out now had heart and were telling good stories. The reason why these new multiverse movies seem soulless is because alternate versions of characters are glorified cameos. The most soulless example is the distastefully reincarnated CGI abominations from 2023's "The Flash". Multiverse stories are at their strongest when alternate versions of characters serve as foils for our main characters. They have to serve a function in the story that's higher than just cashing in on nostalgia. I think "Spider-Man: No Way Home" struck a fantastic balance between the two. Of course, fans were hyped to see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield come back as Spider-Man. I was one of those many fans. But, they served as mentors for Tom Holland's Peter Parker because they had history. The same can be said about the alternate versions of the characters in "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox". Barry spends the whole movie thinking that bringing his mother back would fix everything and make the world a better place, but is proven wrong. We learn how grim things would've turned out if things had gone just a little differently. It highlights how lucky Barry's original universe was to have so many great heroes. These dark versions of the heroes we know and love highlight the truth that Barry's life is great already. They're not in the story because they were once famous in the role a decade or two ago. They're in the story because they matter. I'd love to see more multiverse stories because it's a topic that still fascinates me, but I'd like to see them done right, and a good way to ensure that is to learn the lessons from this brilliant movie.

★★★★★

Rewatched on July 15th, 2023

BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #162

It was at around this time that JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA had begun to feel tired to me. It had once been a favorite series, but in recent months, coupled with a growing interest in the Marvel style of storytelling, the venerable JLA had seemingly been slowing down, becoming a bit trite and simplistic and, well, dull. I had no way of knowing, of course, that we were in the final months of Julie…

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“Two Into One Won’t Go!”

“Two Into One Won’t Go!”

Crazy, fascist Cap from the 50s versus the true, original Cap from the 40s back in the 1970s (did you follow all that?) is probably the greatest Captain America storyline ever and one of the greatest comic storylines overall, ever. (more…)

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