Are you watching closely? Following Jamal Campbell’s stunning Zatanna debut with last year’s six-issue miniseries, the writer/artist is back for more as he takes DC’s contralinguistic conjuror on the road through the realms of magic, bearing the auspicious new title of “Prime Magus.” What exactly does that mean, and what’s in store for Zatanna’s next act? We got to speak—forwards, mercifully—with Campbell about precisely that ahead of the release of this week’s Zatanna #1.

For those just joining us, how does Zatanna's story continue from your miniseries last year?

In the miniseries, “It’s Showtime!,” Zatanna was forced to reckon with the possibility that her magic was actively detrimental to her life and destroying the lives of her loved ones. Ultimately, she saw through this delusion, reclaiming and reinvigorating her connection to magic. This new series continues that reclamation with Zatanna stepping into the role of Prime Magus, putting herself in the center of all things magic where she feels that she belongs.

Additionally, the miniseries left off with quite a few open threads that will be reintroduced and explored. From the ghostly vampire Lady White and the tragically cursed Adam, to the machinations of Brother Night and the true nature of the Crimson Palace, they are all threads that connect to larger stories that will be explored one by one. Oh, and her arch nemesis Allura is a harmless little bunny now. Completely harmless…

Before we proceed further, I'd like to pose to you the most frequently asked question about this series I've received from the DC Discord Community. The solicits for Zatanna have been teasing this concept that she will be assuming the role of "Prime Magus." What exactly is a Prime Magus?

The Prime Magus is a title new to us, but fans will find it reaches far back into the history of magic in the DC Universe. Also known as “The Greatest,” the previous Prime Magi—Hecate, the Upside-Down Man and Zehuti—were all figures of immense power who had great influence in forming magic into what it is today. Zatanna has stepped into the role in hopes of adding to that legacy and becoming a leader to the Realms of Magic, protecting, uniting and guiding them through the dark days approaching.

However, as expected when dealing with magic, the mantle of Prime Magus isn’t quite what it appears to be on the surface. What is the true purpose and function of the Prime Magus? Why was knowledge of its existence previously unknown before now? How did Zatanna take up the mantle, and why? Readers will get the first proper hints to these questions in issue #4, and that story will unfold layer by layer as the series goes on.

Your interpretation of Zatanna has so far been defined by an enticingly grandiose, yet conversational, tone between Zatanna and the reader, like a magician's patter before a trick. How much has the theatricality of stage magic influenced your approach to Zatanna? Any magicians you take as inspiration?

Naturally, the theatricality of stage magic and performing arts as a whole was something I wanted my portrayal of Zatanna to embody. Zatanna’s relationship with her craft, both stage and spell, was drawn mostly from my own experience with and being around dancers in my local scene as well as my mum, who used to dance when she was younger.

Speaking specifically of magicians, I gravitated towards those like Ricky Jay and Michael Vincent, who have a casual and wonderfully earnest reverence for their art. While I wouldn’t say my Zatanna is wholly inspired by them, she’s certainly more flashy and bombastic due to the nature of the genre, but the ease in which Zatanna weaves her spells in and out of her natural speech is somewhat representative of that style of stage magic.

My personal favorite work of yours for DC, even more than your breathtaking layouts, has been your character design. Your Jo Mullein is the best-dressed Green Lantern in the history of the Corps, and Marilyn Moonlight has my favorite look of any character this decade. Can we anticipate any more of those show-stopping original outfits in this series?

Designing characters is one of my favorite parts of this job and is honestly half the reason I’m a comic artist to begin with, so I am hoping to do as much of it as I can going forward. Most immediately, Zatanna’s Prime Magus will be taking center stage, and I’m having so much fun drawing her and seeing other artists’ renditions as well. I’m also beginning to work out a set of new characters that will be a bit more out there in scale and scope than what I’ve typically done with the likes of Marilyn Moonlight and Jo, but I hope are equally well received by fans.

When I talk about Zatanna, I like to point out that historically, she's the Queen of the Crossover. The first Zatanna story was also the first story to weave across multiple DC titles, as she enlisted the heroes of the DC Universe to help her search for her father. In that tradition, what kind of guest stars would you most like to see share the stage with her? (Personally, I'm hoping she gets to meet Marilyn.)

Zatanna is definitely Queen of the Crossover, and while the first stretch of the series will be mainly on her as a solo act, I can’t wait to bring in other characters from the world of magic and the wider DC Universe into the book. In fact, one of Zatanna’s secret goals as Prime Magus will facilitate doing just that. I’ll leave fans to discover exactly what that entails in the book.

In terms of specific characters, I do have a shortlist of potential characters and team-ups that I’m sorting through with my editors. I’m going to choose to be a bit tight-lipped and abstain from making big promises, but I will say that Marilyn Moonlight as well as many fan-favorite team-ups from Zatanna’s past are definitely there for consideration.

We know Zatanna's always been a favorite of yours, but what surprised you the most about her in preparing for this project?

Honestly, the thing that really stood out to me was how many open story threads there are around Zatanna due to the nature of her publishing history. I plucked up some of those threads for the miniseries, such as Allura and her animosity for the Zataras, Brother Night’s search for power and Zatanna’s connection to her mother Sindella. But there is so much more there to mine and so much space to expand on said stories, which I have full intention of taking advantage of. One that I’m most excited to tackle is Zatanna’s conflicted relationship with the Hidden City of the Homo-Magi, which is both Sindella’s place of birth and place of death, and soon to be the site of much more to come.

Near the end of the first issue, you produce a map of the realms of magic which feels evocative of the Multiversity map from years past. It almost feels like you’re laying out a mission statement here to codify exactly how magic works in the DC Universe. What are you intending to teach us about magic through our new Prime Magus?

One of the ideas of Zatanna as Prime Magus is “The Greatest Tour,” wherein she travels across the Realms of Magic, illustrated in that new map, and experiences everything from grand high fantasy realms, to small-town folklore, to government attempts to control magic, to the wonders of the still unexplored. I believe Zatanna is the perfect character to showcase the breadth of worlds, characters and magic across the DC Universe and all that it can offer, new and old. I want to tackle as much of that as I can with this book.
 

Zatanna #1 by Jamal Campbell is now available in print and as a digital comic book. Get caught up by reading Campbell’s previous Zatanna miniseries in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.