Paul Dini wraps up his second story arc with Zatanna #6. Benjamin Raymond has got Zatanna under his spell with the intent of exchanging marriage vows...in exchange for Zee's soul! It's up to Zachary Zatara, Zee's brother, to save her...but will his magic be enough, or will the demon of avaraice Mammon get his prize?Dini is obviously having fun with the freedom he has with Zatanna. With the book not being tied in to any convoluted event DC is having right now, Dini gets to tell his own stories and Zatanna gets to shine on her own merit. And shine she does. Her showdown with the demon Mammon was wild, not to mention her trading sharp one-liners with her brother Zach spicing up what could have been a lonely fight. I kind of blanked out at the resolution Dini served up for this particular problem with Mammon and his demonic wager with Mr. Raymond, though. It was a pretty cold move for the Princess of Prestidigitation. But then again, we are talking about the gal who didn't think twice to wipe minds in Identity Crisis, so there's that.
Artist Jesus Saiz continues to put out great work in this book, his dames beautiful and his demons horrifying. He delivers on Dini's scripts well enough, though his storytelling could use some work. Characters have a habit of appearing out of nowhere in some panels, wasting opportunities to make those story beats pop (Mammon's big reveal fizzled because of this). But it's a minor inconvenience, and it doesn't detract too much from such a fun issue.
This is what's missing from mainstream comics right now, the straight-up, no strings attached superheroism that made comic books so fun to read in the first place. This gets a 4 out of 5.
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