7 Soldiers: Zatanna

21:43 / 10.06.05

Anyway, I've done the second WIKI page for this (it's my fave still, so I'm quite keen.)

So, you can - whatever - have a look. Tell me if you want your credit, if I ain't seen you right, tell me my prose is as leaden as a 3000 point Warhammer army (no, don't.) There's some speculation from my head there that I can't be arsed transcribing again that you might find interesting.

Mr Tricks

23:12 / 10.06.05

not to nit pick or anything but as I recall King Mob was crossing the BAY BRIDGE which connects Berkeley (where he hung with his ex) to S.F.

For Zatanna to be crossing the Golden Gate to get into S.F. we'll have to presume her workshop was happening in the Marin are (a common location for esoteric workshops).

just saying's all....

00:58 / 11.06.05

RE: Page 5. The poster opposite from the Sargon one. The logo seems to indicate that this is a poster of Blackstone, the real/comic-book magician. Which makes sense, as he's obviously a little fuller of face than Zatara was.

Similarly, re: Page 16. The third rule, "If you can't keep it down, don't bring it up" -- basically, don't invoke something if you can't control or banish it. This is especially true of magic like Zatanna's, which is based on speech and the use of names...

15:23 / 11.06.05

So, okay. Blackstone, a real magician, had a comic book for a while. It started out written by Walter B. Gibson, and published by the people who used to do the old Shadow books, Street & Smith. "Super-Magic Comics" for the first issue, and then it was "Super Magician." He was published by EC for a while, and then by Marvel for a while.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that's Blackstone in there.

19:12 / 12.06.05

Thanks.

I totally wouldn't know the Golden Gate from the Bay. Thanks guys, will update.

14:31 / 20.06.05

M'Thinkin Phantom Stranger will be the link between Zatanna's story and what happens with Frankenstein.

See Animal Man for emotional resonance and needful things.

Warewullf

11:55 / 21.06.05

Sooooooooo.... y'think Grant's gonna mention anything about Phantom Stranger being Superman and Wonder Woman's son?

12:28 / 21.06.05

EH?

16:17 / 21.06.05

Phantom Stranger being Superman and Wonder Woman's son

Best Retcon EVER.

Warewullf

17:14 / 21.06.05

Oh yes.

See this site:

In recent times, another man from an alternate timeline (Hypertime) has appeared in much the same dress and manner as the Phantom Stranger. This man is the grown child of his timeline's Superman and Wonder Woman. Raised by his parents and godfather, the Batman, this man has also interceded during crises which involved the crossover between his time and that of the mainstream DC universe. He was originally drawn to the DCU by the machinations of the Superman-killer, Gog. He is an agent of his world's Quintessence — Ganthet, Highfather, Zeus, Shazam and ??.

Now, I know he says that it's some alternate future version of the Stranger but I'm pretty sure it was implied in "The Kingdom" that it's the "real" Phantom Stranger, if you follow me.

osymandus

17:23 / 21.06.05

And this site counters this claim (how weird this is just being discussed over in the DC universe surgery )

http://polisci.spc.uchicago.edu/~jtlevy/stranger.html

Id prefer it he wasnt to be honest. A far better idea would be , "he" really is just outside everything and is essentialy the karmic agent of the DC universe.

23:23 / 21.06.05

I like the wandering Jew best.

I brought it up there, because Chad &c. were tormenting me about it.

Billuccho!

18:24 / 01.07.05

Zatanna really *is* the best of the 7S bunch, isn't it? Great fun.

Isn't there a reflection in Cassandra's shop window of Dr. Strange's window? Looked like it, at least. Seems he lives across the street.

I'm Rick Jones, bitch

18:46 / 01.07.05

Loved the Doom Patrol Kirbyesque Phantom Stranger...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:28 / 02.07.05

I had no idea Cassandra was blind. All her weird positioning, staring into space, and strange comments work.

Well, Daredevil blind, at least. That one bluesy panel makes sense now.

Kirk Ultra

23:27 / 28.07.05

So is Zatanna #3 the first of the Seven Soldiers series to be delayed? Or am I crazy?

Billuccho!

01:39 / 29.07.05

Nope, it's delayed. I think.

03:33 / 29.07.05

Yeah, no 7S at my local comic emporium yesterday. BALLS!!!

_Boboss

07:51 / 29.07.05

nothing until the tenth of august gang. three issues in august though.

12:10 / 29.07.05

shitehawks. Oh well, I bought a couple more Starman trades to make up.

Spaniel

12:34 / 29.07.05

I bought Sleeper volume 2 - which is happens to be the shit. I might have to resurrect that thread.

FinderWolf

15:04 / 29.07.05

>> I had no idea Cassandra was blind. All her weird positioning, staring into space, and strange comments work.

I also didn't get that from the comic or art itself, found out when I read that fan page on the Stranger. Not sure if this means the comic didn't do it's job of communicating that the character was blind...

23:21 / 01.08.05

It was fairly self-evident to me, what with the blank eyeballs and askew facial directions.

Juan_Arteaga

01:38 / 02.08.05

It seemed pretty evident to me that Cass was blind, too. The blank eyes gave that away to me.

Regrettable Juvenilia

07:21 / 02.08.05

My cat's breath smells of catfood.

FinderWolf

13:10 / 02.08.05

I thought her eyes were just really really light blue, as they were colored slightly, weren't they?

13:15 / 02.08.05

catfood = obviously.

Yeah, light light blue is a blindman cliché... I was dense at first. Surprise!

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

14:33 / 10.08.05

HOLY TAPDANCING CRAP!

S
L
I
G
H
T
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S

It all comes together here, true believers! Zatanna's storyline crashes head first into The Shining Knight's, and we even get some Infinite Crisis residue, what with Zee being all guilty about her Mind Erasing.

Also, Misty has an enormously huge secret about her revealed. Hell no, I ain't tellin' you!

I remember when I was pretty sure that each SS issue was going to be mostly stand alone with little threads tying things together in the background. The last page of this ish just blows all that up into dust. And it's wonderful. I swear, every issue of Seven Soldiers to date has caused me to go and reread all the ones before it.

20:39 / 10.08.05

Who wants to bet that the SEVEN UNKNOWN MEN are named after Dwarves?

This is all SOOO much better than Waid's Queen of Fables story.

23:43 / 10.08.05

...

Just. Read. This.

Yowza!

Felt shockingly full of stuff happening, even if it was a pretty compressed strings of events.

But Misty!

The few more clues to the Newsboy Army murder case, the implications with regard to that bus from Shining Knight #2...

Curious to see if anything happens with Gwydion...

11:24 / 11.08.05

Evil Queen... Huntsman... In hindsight, maybe we should have seen that one coming, but, damn! I'm going to go read it agin.

13:40 / 11.08.05

So far, the third issues all seem to be the point when the plot actually kicks in and interconnections are made - and details of the Newsboy murder case begin to unveil.

There's also something else; the tragedy of the giant spider's death. Loved that, Misty's reaction, the "human" side of the Faerie Threat--

But, seriously! My only major complaint with Zatanna so far has been that she teeters dangerously on the costume fence between burlesque and stupidity; that costume does NOT look practicaly, even if I do like the red and black half-cape.

15:16 / 11.08.05

I liked this week's attempt at marrying the styles of the blue and white JLA costume and the stage-performer costume.

21:41 / 11.08.05

Okay real questions:

End of 7S:SK:3 implies that Don Vincenzo is killed by Spyder, and then is reanimated by use of the Cauldron.

7S:Z:3 refutes that. Don Vincenzo obviously dies, and is escorted unto the afterlife by Ali Ka-Zoom. Neh-Buh-Loh manages to escape with the Cauldron, and does not seem interested in using it on Don Vincenzo.

But Spyder's instrument indicates that Don Vincenzo's body shows evidence of life. The girls didn't animate the body, as they escaped with Vanguard. My only idea is that someone possibly Grundies him, but perhaps I misread the events. I remain confused.

Also: Do we all believe it's Zatara's ghost that visits Cassie Craft's shop and leaves his hat? Ali seems to suggest it was him. Yet he kept his hat, and appears much more tattered than the ghost in 7S:Z:2.