Zatanna and the house of secrets A graphic novel

Zatanna is an ordinary girl living an ordinary life full of friendship issues and middle-school angst. She lives in an ordinary house with her ordinary widowed magician father and his ordinary rabbit in a hat. Then one day she comes home to find a witch in the front hallway of her now "awake" house, where her father's rabbit begins talking to her. Her father has disappeared, and she must team up with the witch's child to save her family and her home. This fun origin story for a member of DC Comics' Justice League is as much an introduction to the House of Secrets as it is to the character of Zatanna herself. The dialogue is snappy, and the plot moves quickly--as does the exposition---keeping readers from being bogged down by backstories that originated in the 1960s. The bold artwork consistently features an appropriately witchy color palette of purples and oranges, and the minimal backgrounds make the expressive figures pop. Another solid entry in DC's line of stand-alone graphic novels for middle-grade readers.

Halloween is going poorly for Zatanna, a middle schooler who lives in an odd-looking house with her small-time stage magician father, Zatara, and his rabbit, Pocus. Changing friendships and social pressures create awkward challenges, and then, after school, an intruder unleashes a deluge of revelations. Her house, it turns out, is really an ancient repository of secrets and power; Pocus is her father's talking familiar; and Zatara is the latest in a lineage of the house's caretakers. Capable of potent magic, she and her father are under siege by a formidable witch, and in order to save them, Zatanna must harness her powers and solve the house's mysteries. Cody (the Supers of Nobles Green trilogy) blazes through twists and turns at a headlong pace, occasionally rushing past opportunities for character development. The artwork from Yoshitani, however, is magical. Memorable characters and gently sinister creatures (kappa-esque goblins, a fantastical paper sphinx) inhabit a world that merges architectural forms from a range of places and times with repeating motifs (keyholes, stairs), all rendered in a consistent, distinctive style that displays aesthetic influences from video games and contemporary animation. More from the inclusive supporting cast would have been welcome, but the groundwork is well-laid here for future adventures. Ages 8--12. (Feb.)

The magical DC hero makes her middle-grade graphic-novel debut.Zatanna and her magician father, a widower, live quiet lives. The white preteen balances friendships and homework like any other typical middle schooler while missing her departed mother. But one night Zatanna sneaks out to a dance and returns to find a pair of blue-skinned strangers standing in her own home, a home that has transformed into the House of Secrets. After one of the home invaders identifies herself as the Witch Queen and disappears with Zatanna's father, Zatanna searches for him and discovers the true nature of her family's past. Mystery and magic fill the graphic novel's frames as Zatanna's large, expressive eyes soak in the bizarre and fantastic flourishes. Readers with minimal knowledge of Zatanna's role in DC Comics lore will have no trouble here: The story is easily appreciated by newbies and familiars alike. The bold, unoutlined artwork uses a purple, orange, and blue palette that helps the pictures stand apart from the four-color comic palette used by similar middle-grade DC Comics titles. The plot moves forward at an almost alarming speed, twisting and turning and enticing readers with a page-turning emotional mystery.A lively turn for a lesser-known comic-book hero. (Graphic fantasy. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.