When members of a crew that the Black Canary once infiltrated start turning up dead, Dinah realizes that something magical is afoot. So she turns to her old buddy Zatanna for help. As the present-day story plays out, Paul Dini and Joe Quinones flash back to different times in the pair’s friendship. We get their first meeting in the Himalayas, Zatanna’s first day with the Justice League, and other touchstones from their past together. All in all, it’s a fun story that feels like a less consequential—but still good—episode of Justice League Unlimited.
Adding to the cartoony feel, Joe Quinones and Dave McCaig’s visuals are bright and convey a strong sense of action. Qiunones’s lines don’t try to mimic the broad-shouldered, angular style of Dini and Timm’s cartoons, though. Instead, the art is rounder, with more expressive, exaggerated faces. It is identifiably Quinones’s style. And it’s an excellent balance between being its own thing and nodding to the shadow these characters’ well-known animated appearances.
At the end of the day, Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell isn’t the most innovative or integral comic ever written, but it isn’t trying to be those things, either. But it is a fun aside, especially if you’re a fan of the characters or creators involved.
Collected in
- Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell (OGN)
Credits
Writer: Paul Dini | Artist: Joe Quinones | Colorist: Dave McCaig | Letterer: Sal Cipriano