Title: Zatanna and the House of Secrets: A Graphic Novel
Publisher: DC Comics
Author: Matthew Cody
Artist: Yoshi Yoshitani
Letterer: Ariana Maher

Thirteen year-old Zatanna lives a quiet-ish life. It gets a bit dull at times, and she misses her mother every day, but she loves her father, the stage magician Zatara; and she loves hanging out with her friends, Benji and Margo; and taking care of Pocus, her father’s rabbit. But then Margo decides she’s too cool for Zatanna, and Benji gets all awkward and stuttery, and Zatanna suddenly finds herself facing down a gang of school bullies all by herself — until she accidentally casts a spell and things get really weird. Because, yes, it turns out that magic is real. And her father Zatara is not a (fake) stage magician at all, he’s a (real) magician. And their house is the legendary House of Secrets, filled with all kinds of impossible and amazing things, and there are lots of nasty supernatural beings who will do anything to acquire the House’s secrets. Can Zatanna save the House? Can she rescue her father? Can she trust anyone in this strange new world … even herself?

Zatanna is one of my favorite comic book characters. She’s hard to resist. Gorgeous, powerful, independent-minded, and (of course) a witch. While her origins and the exact nature of her powers have varied over the years, depending on the editors and writers at DC Comics, her place in the elite tier of DC’s occult super heroes has never changed. The company recently expanded into children’s graphic novels, with a focus on all-ages adventures featuring their bigger characters as children. Happily, this includes Zatanna. And her debut all-ages adventure is an absolute delight.

First, the story by Cody. This is a classic coming-of-age fable, with lots of magic, found friendships, and narrow escapes. Zatanna has to come to accept and see the world as it really is, not the mundane illusion she has been living in. She must learn to embrace her own power, discern friend from foe, and prove to herself and her enemies just how clever and quick-thinking she is. The stakes are high, but, this being a children’s graphic novel, readers can embrace the thrill and danger while knowing full well that there will be a satisfying happy ending.

Yoshitani’s artwork, meanwhile, is utterly adorable. It perfectly compliments Cody’s story. It is sort of manga-ish, sort of chunky, sort of Saturday-morning-cartoony. It is bright and bold and energetic. And I love how Yoshitani draws Zatanna’s backwards spells: in big, bold, fat, fancy script, nearly filling the panel to show the power of her words. As Zatanna grow more confident in her power, these phrases become more precise; less desperate and impulsive, and more deliberate, with cleaner lines and more solid coloring.

And, of course, there is Pocus the rabbit. Who is not a rabbit at all. Because in a house of secrets, nothing is what it seems.

Zatanna and the House of Secrets is a terrific graphic novel, filled with adventure, magic, and the power of self-discovery. Highly recommended to fans of the character herself, as well as fans of City of Dragons by Jaimal Yogis, Enola Holmes by Serena Blasco, The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner, The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag, and The Tea Dragon Society graphic novels by K. O’Neill.