I adored this graphic novel and found the story unique and interesting as you follow Zatanna trying to uncover the big mystery behind her magic. The artwork and colors used were stunning and created a fun and unique storytelling experience.

I have really been enjoying the DC YA books. This is maybe the best series DC is doing right now. Each one sits in its own universe and I love that. Fans of Zatanna will enjoy this and new readers will learn to love Zatanna. The art is spectacular. The colors are beautiful. Thought it was rushed at the ending, but still, very, very good.

Thanks to NetGalley & DC for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is another graphic novel in a new line of comics aimed toward teens interested in DC characters--and it hits its mark. The colors are GORGEOUS, I love all the pinks and purples, the vividness of it all! It definitely actually feels like it's set on a boardwalk!

The story's pretty interesting, I like the mystery being unraveled behind Zatanna's magic. I feel like the boyfriend is the weakest part of the story, he was pretty boring. Weirdly enough, his mom was more interesting than him...haha. Still, it was a pretty tight story and I hope there's more in this series!

If you're looking for a quick, magical, quirky read, this one's for you! I loved getting to know Zatanna and follow her on her journey to discover who she is. The artwork is truly phenomenal and immediately drew me in. The colors and the style were beautiful and absolutely my favorite aesthetic. Give me all the pinks and purples! I hope we get more of this story because I'm definitely intrigued by Zatanna and I would love to see her learning to harness her magical abilities.

First, lemme say, Zatanna, I want to steal your style. I feel like the artist went into the fashion index inside my head before drawing you. Serious vibes.

In Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend, a teenaged Zatanna is ready to spend her summer with her friends and boyfriend - the son of a mob family. Life has other plans. First, Zatanna's dad really wants her to start acting in his famous illusionist show. Second, Zatanna starts casting spells. Third, her boyfriend's mom is out to get her. Fourth, wait, is her dad even her real dad?!

This young adult adaptation is straight vibes. Romance, drama, aesthetics, magic, bunny on a leash, fame, flashbacks, & more!

Four stars for some disjointed storytelling. It was very hard to follow some of the events in flashbacks. Even with knowledge of Zatanna, I had to reread the flashback panels multiple times to fully understand the story.

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend is a DC Comics Young Adult graphic novel that features a teenaged Zatanna learning about who she truly is and where she comes from. This would probably be easier if her life wasn’t surrounded by magic mystery. This is a story that young fans new and old to the character will not want to miss!

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend begins with Zatanna Starr getting ready to perform on stage. Unfortunately, being on stage is something that makes her nervous, which is why she plans on going to film school so she can be behind the camera. Zatanna’s parents Ezra and Lola Starr are a magician and magician’s assistant, so whether Zatanna really likes it or not, magic is in her blood… or is it? Zatanna lives in an area of Brooklyn, New York that features a carnival and various acts. Regardless of how Zatanna feels, she’s definitely surrounded by show business. To make things more complicated, her boyfriend Alexei is part of a family that is a long-time rival to her own.

Zatanna has quite a few questions, but the deeper she goes, she may find that she doesn’t like the answers. Are her parents really who they say they are? What is going on with Alexei’s family and how do they tie into what happened to a couple of people who are related to Zatanna? How did she get her newfound abilities and what do they mean? It’s certainly a lot for one young girl to figure out and the answers will change her life forever!

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend was written by Alys Arden who is known for the Casquette Girls series. Alys writes a story that is relevant to teenagers today, but also is true to the magic and whimsy that is associated with Zatanna as a character. Her writing provides us with insight into a younger version of the Zatanna we are more familiar with, while also being a totally new and original story for the character.

The art is done by Jacquelin de Leon with Sam Lotfi. The art style consists of mostly of smooth solid lines. The colors are dark, but also soft with a concentration on shades of purple. (Purple of course is a color commonly used and associated with Zatanna.) There is a lot of movement within the panels with none of the characters feeling stagnant on the page. Also, the use of panels on top of a full page spread help to break up the uniformity of multiple panels per page. It is not boring to look at.

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend overall is a very entertaining book with an interesting and fun story. Seeing Zatanna’s powers slowly come to her and Zatanna trying to learn about a past she had no idea about made this book an easy and fast read. I would highly recommend the graphic novel not only to teenagers, but to longtime fans and anyone interested in learning a bit about the character as well.

My full review can be found here: https://thegeekiary.com/magic-and-mystery-zatanna-the-jewel-of-gravesend-graphic-novel-review/109748

Established characters don't always translate well to YA, but that is not the case with this book. Zatanna is a teenager living on Coney Island with her parents, who are stage magicians and can't wait to spend the whole summer with her two best friends and the boyfriend her parents don't approve of. It looks like it will be a normal summer until she discovers the ability to do real magic and uncovers a mystery regarding her family. The story was well-written and engaging, and the artwork is gorgeous. The only other Zatanna story I've read is the DC Comics Bombshells series, but I can't wait to read more and hope a sequel is coming soon.
* I received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley

The digital format did no favors for this story. It was hard to tell which parts of DC lore this book was using, and that made it often confusing to follow. I loved the art though. Very much. It was gorgeous. And I'm curious about what comes next in the story.

This was a fun read. I was pulled in my the beautiful colors and promise of magic and mystery.

The plot of this graphic novel follows Zatanna a teenage girl, living in Coney Island with her illusionist parents, trying to be normal, but it is her normal. She is constantly surrounded by illusion and magic and so things are always a little odd. Then Zatanna gets some real magic and things start going crazy for her and she has to adapt quickly, now the media wants to see her, her dad wants to put her in his show, and there is another family trying to steal her power. It is all very dramatic and quick paced.

Overall the book was a good one. I liked Zatanna a lot, she was relatable in that she was her own normal and just trying to be herself, not persuaded by her parents and their careers. She is also strong and stubborn and smitten with someone that her parents don't agree with. She is angsty but in an ok way, not the super annoying woe-is-me kind of way. I also liked the secrets throughout the book, they were interesting and kept it a mystery to be solved, and a fun one, however it was not all great.

I was a little taken aback but the amount of death in this first installment... lots of hopefuly moment followed by tragedy. It might come together as Zatanna's story progresses but for now it was all just kind of sad. I also wasn't a fan of her boyfriend, he was sketchy sometimes and seemed a little controlling (while he was also being controlled by his mother), from what I learned about Zatanna- shw could have done better.

Overall, the plot was ok, the mystery kept it alive for me and I liked Zatanna enough to keep reading. I think the end was a little scrambled and fast, but it was a fun one.

Zatanna Zatara made her first appearance Hawkman #4 from DC Comics back in 1964. She was created by Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson and has gone on to become one of DC’s most magical characters. So, it’s not entirely surprising that the character was next in line for her own graphic novel origin for young readers. While the graphic novel stumbles occasionally, Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon proves to be an exciting take on Zatanna’s origin.

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend focuses on Zatanna’s search for the truth. The story takes place in Coney Island and follows Zatanna and her family, the Starr family, during their life at the Golden Elephant. Her parents, Ezra Starr and Lola Starr, run an illusionist show on Coney Island along the boardwalk. For the young Zatanna, life in the Golden Elephant and on the boardwalk is all she knows. However, after a series of mysterious events, she soon finds herself questioning everything as she goes on the search for Giovanni Zatara. For fans of the character, Zatanna’s search for Zatara will come as no surprise. However, for those unsure of Zatanna’s origin, the search for Zatara will come as a well-executed surprise.

Arden does a great job of crafting Zatanna’s beginnings. The way she goes about introducing her magic and the mystery surrounding it is wonderful. There are, of course, some hiccups along the way, though. At times, it feels as though The Jewel of Gravesend spends too much time on the little moments and not enough time on the big moments. This is especially the case in the second-half of the story. While it is great to see Zatanna’s relationships with her friends and Alexei develop, sometimes it felt as though some scenes weren’t entirely necessary. The most frustrating bits came as Zatanna began to come to terms with who she was and what she was capable of doing.

As she begins to use her newfound abilities, the entire story changes as the bad guys of the story are finally introduced. While that bit is handled incredibly well, it’s frustrating seeing how quickly the story changes because it’s all over so quickly. It’s often expected these books will get sequels, or that new fans will go to the comics in hopes of learning more about the characters. Still, The Jewel of Gravesend could’ve benefited from a somewhat tighter ending. Sure, it’s okay to leave readers wanting to know more and to tease a potential continuation, but most of the bigger questions should be answered by the end to allow for new stories in the next installment.

Even with an opening ending, though, The Jewel of Gravesend is delightful. It’s a great take on Zatanna’s origin story and the artwork is absolutely stunning. The coloring, the shading, the design — all of it is great. It’s hard not to get lost in the pages of the story when the artwork is so expertly crafted.

These stories might be crafted for a younger audience, but The Jewel of Gravesend is a graphic novel all ages can enjoy.

As a newcomer to Zatanna, I found this story unique and interesting. A teenage stage magician growing up on Coney Island who discovers she can do real magic? What could be more fun than that! The bright, colorful illustrations are immediately entrancing and make reading this volume a real treat. There's a whole cast of lively characters to meet and enjoy, though none get much development on page beyond Zatanna.
Despite some mature themes, this book reads very young to me (even for a YA title). I don't know whether that's due to the simple writing style, the cotton candy art, or something else entirely. The emotional depth isn't quite there, but there's plenty of story and action to keep readers engaged. All in all, a fun introduction to a new version of Zatanna!

So so so happy to see Zatanna get a spotlight! She’s one of my favorites, and I really loved this story. Unfortunately, my software to view the advanced comics has something that doesn’t load the pictures very well, so I can’t really speak to the art… but I will absolutely be buying a finished copy to have and flip through! Highly recommend, especially to DC and comics fans!

I'm ready for book two!!!!

This was soooo good.
These teens are out of school for the summer. Their summer plan gets put on the back burner. This story has family rivalry, love, and magic.
Alexei and Zatanna make such a cute couple.

Need to work on the pacing. Besides that, this is going to be a great series.

The illustrator did an amazing job!!!

Another intriguing entry into DC’s alternate origin story YA runs. Here veteran fans of Zatanna will be confused at first by her parentage, but hang tight— it’s all part of the mystery to be revealed. With compelling original characters and worldbuilding coupled with a clear love of the setting (Coney Island), this graphic novel is sure to be a good handsell for the later part of the summer.

Zatanna is the teenage daughter of the amazing illusionist duo, Ezra and Lola Star. Her life is anything but normal. She walks her pet rabbit on a leash, lives in a giant golden elephant, and she is surrounded by talented magicians. Unfortunately, she's in a bit of a Romeo and Juliet situation where the parents of her boyfriend and her own family are bitter rivals. Things start to get even weirder when Zatanna seems to have manifested some powers of her own. As more mysteries seem to pop up from all around her, Zatanna sets out to find out the truth and figure out what her parents have been hiding from her.

Gorgeous artwork, beautiful palette. It's a great story, but it does feel a little rushed at the end. I don't know if this is leaving room for a sequel or not. The ending was left a little open-ended.

This is not well done. The story was confusing and dragged on. The pacing was uneven. The art was hindered by the artist using the same faces. Zaranna's mother, her boyfriend's mother, and her friend were all blondes and looked the same. The men generally were drawn similar.

I'm always happy to see DC heroines getting a spotlight and their own stories, so I was of course very interested in ZATANNA: THE JEWEL OF GRAVESEND when I came across it. I'm not as familiar with Zatanna outside of a couple of adaptations (mostly DC BOMBSHELLS), but I liked seeing this interpretation of her origin story as a teenage girl living in an illusionist community on Coney Island. I felt like we got some good foundation for her as a teenage girl who has a pretty relatable life when it comes to the ups and downs of friends, family, and young love. As she starts to realize that perhaps she has some actual magical powers as opposed to the family illusions, she starts to dive into secrets of her past. I think that there is a lot of good stuff here, and I loved the designs of the characters and the setting, but I do think that the pacing was a bit off. We get a lot of build up, and then a rushed ending to set up the next volume. It made it feel kind of herky jerky, and there were few moments to rest after a few pretty significant reveal moments.

Overall there is enough intrigue and set up to make me go on, and I am curious to see what happens next in Zatanna's story. If you are curious about a new Zatanna story, or really a DC story about a character we may not see as much, this will certainly fit the bill!

Suspenseful, intriguing and beautifully illustrated, this will definitely appeal to older kids and teens who are looking for some magic, some romance and some tragedy all wrapped up in one.

Interesting concept for young-teen Zatanna's back story. Coloring and art style are beautiful.
However a bit nonsensical at times. Walking a bunny on a leash, holding it, taking it everywhere? Being given things left and right. Just seemed over the top.

Additionally story wise there are somethings I found confusing, such as the entire "jewel" focus at some point.. which is never really explained, just there. Someone just disappearing continuously. Lots of plot holes..

Ending takes a bit of an heavy handed turn with some adult themes about lies, betrayal, and doesn't give a clear direction on where the story will go.

Overall, pretty neutral feels about the story but enjoyed the art immensely.

**Thank you to DC Entertainment, DC Comics, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

P.S. This edition is virtual unreadable in it's current format on anything other than a PC. I typically read on my phone, found this to be very restricting and time consuming. Each "page" being two pages scanned together, effecting the font size and only readable if you zoom. Which then requires exiting zoomed mode to read the next set of pages.

Overall I think this is a good edition to the DC imprint line--the artwork is really beautiful and I think teens are going to really love the story. I don't know Zatanna well, but as with others in this line I'm sure there are a few Easter eggs I missed. For me, as an adult, the story was a little eye rolling and nonsensical, but if there's a sequel in the works it'll make more sense.