When prepping this review for inclusion in my Halloween lineup, I had it in my head that Zatanna was a witch. But then I realized that witches and magicians are very different things, even though the lines between the two are pretty blurred. Even more interesting was the new tidbit I just learned; that Zatanna isn't necessarily even human, but rather a member of an ancient race called the Homo magi. Zatanna first appeared in the pages of Hawkman in 1964 and has been a regular (and often understated) character ever since. She also maintained a lot of her trademark costume details; the fishnets, jacket, and tophat to name a few. There was however a stretch of time in the early-to-mid eighties when she donned a blue and white getup with a lobster-looking thing perched on her head. It was a very weird look but I kind of loved it. The costume was brought back in the 2004 Identity Crisis miniseries which luckily spawned this cool action figure. Let's check her out below!
The figures in this series are based off the art of the late Michael Turner (who provided the covers for the comics). The sculpt by Big Chief represents Turner's art very well, but this exaggerated style of art doesn't always make for an anatomically-correct-looking action figure. I think Zatanna is probably the best of all the Turner-styled ladies made by DC Direct, but she's still a little on the awkwardly tall and lanky side.
This Costume of Zatanna's was only made in plastic two other times:
Zatanna Cold-Cast Porcelain Mini-Bust
Sculpted by Karen Palinko
DC Direct 2004
HeroClix Zatanna
DC HeroClix: Justice League #028
WizKids 2007
And here are an assortment of images of Zatanna in this costume from the comics.
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
ilove this outfit, but you re right. She is no Fathom. I dont get why they never did the George perez version. I like all my Zatannas but the best is DC Universe classics.
ReplyDeleteThe Fathom figures from Moore look great, but if you really compare them, they look less like Turner's art than the DC Direct figures. That said, I think I would prefer Moore's subtle allusion to Turner's art rather than the awkward proportions of DC Direct's literal translation. I was more than a little upset we didn't get any female characters in that History of the DCU series. Zatanna would have been a perfect fit.
DeleteI don't think anyone really prefers this look over her magician's getup; I attempted to customize this figure into the other look some time ago.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The only thing this costume has over her other looks is that it's a bit more "superhero" than her magician or ponytail phases. I'm still scratching my head over the New52 look. It's not bad per se, but it doesn't really fit her style.
DeleteThe New 52 look does look like an attempt to make her look edgier and more "street". It's okay I guess but absolutely can't compare with that classic stage magician getup.
DeleteGreat stuff. I can't believe I never found your blog before now. Definite adding you to my blogroll of cool.
ReplyDeleteThat's the kind of post I love to see! Glad you found me, I have a lot of fun doing this and I'm happy that others enjoy it, too :)
DeleteI just bought this but unfortunately both arms fell off.. the shoulder pegs were broken. Is there a way to fix it other than gluing her arms permanently.?
ReplyDelete