Nowadays, Zatanna is considered one of the premiere mystical characters in the DC pantheon. She's been a member of numerous versions of the Justice League and she's appeared in live action (Smallville) and in numerous animated TV series (Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, and others). But, her popularity and importance in the DC universe was a slow journey. In this tour we will look at her debut, and her rise to finally becoming a heavy hitter!
Before we introduce Zatanna, I guess it's only fitting that we first find out who her father is. Giovanni "John" Zatara (commonly referred to simply as Zatara) was a magic-based hero who debuted in Action Comics #1 (along with Superman) in 1938. His stories were popular enough that he remained a regular feature in that title until 1950. He was also featured in a second series (World's Finest Comics) from 1941 through 1951.
Zatara fell into temporary obscurity following the wane of the comic book industry between the end of its Golden Age and the advent of its Silver Age (beginning in 1956). The DC Silver Age presented readers with a new Flash, a new Hawkman, a new Green Lantern, and many other new versions of other heroes from decades before. The new Silver Age heroes had no real ties to their Golden Age counterparts. Eventually, it was established that all the Golden Age heroes resided on a parallel Earth that became known as Earth-Two. The newer heroes resided on Earth-One.
Zatanna Zatara was introduced in Hawkman #4 (Nov. 1964). Dressed in a sexy fishnet stocking version of her dad's tuxedo-themed costume, she meets Hawkman and Hawkgirl and seeks their assistance. She is trying to find her missing father, Zatara. An editors note confirms Zatara's appearances the 1940s and 1950s, making Zatanna the first Silver Age hero to have a personal connection to her Golden Age counterpart. (Many years later it would be established that Giavanni Zatara migrated from Earth-Two to Earth-One for unknown reasons. His daughter Zatanna was born on Earth-One.)
Zatanna explains that she is new to the superhero gig and is also in the infancy of her journey in the mystic arts. Like her father, she is able to cast spells by speaking backwards. Her father has been missing for several years and her quest to find him has led her to Hawkman and Hawkgirl. The duo hope their Absorbascon (an electronic device from their home planet that gathers information about Earth) might help Zatanna locate her father. Unfortunately, it fails to find any information about him. A disappointed Zatanna quickly departs, leaving the Hawk couple wondering if they will see this mysterious woman again.
About 8 months after her debut, Zatanna is seen next in Atom #19 (July 1965). Zatanna requests assistance from Atom as she continues to search for her missing father. The two of them visit a subatomic world that is ruled by magic where they battle a villain named Druid. The two are able to defeat Druid but they do not find Zatara. Zatanna tells Atom that she will continue her journey, perhaps enlisting the aid of Green Lantern, the Flash, or the Justice League. Prophetic words.
A half year went by before Zatanna was seen again. This time she pops up in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #42 (January 1966). Green Lantern and Zatanna travel to the realm of Brittany and the land of Ys. They take on Patch-Eyed-Pete and the Warlock. By the end of the story our heroes have defeated these villains, but Zatanna's search to locate her missing father remains unfruitful.
Eight months after teaming with Green Lantern, Zatanna next shows up next in Detective Comics #355. She partners with Elongated Man. After battling a ring of petty crooks operating out of a prop shop, Zatanna gets ahold of the magic book of I Ching. When she combines it with the Golden Tripod she will have access to enter the dark magical dimension where she believes her father, Zatara, is being held. Elongated Man volunteers to accompany her, but she declines his offer, explaining that only magical beings can enter the dark dimension.
After four guest appearances, it was time for Zatanna to bring the search for her father to its conclusion. She would call upon all the heroes she previously teamed up with for one more helping hand. This adventure took place in pages of Justice League of America #51 (Feb. 1967). However, since her first appearance in Hawkman #4 in 1964, a major event had happened in the real world. On January 12, 1966, ABC televised their first episode of the Batman TV-series featuring Adam West and Burt Ward... and it was a HUGE success. That success came with an immense viewership that DC was more than ready to cash in on for comic book sales. Directly following the TV series' auspicious debut, JLA-member Batman was featured front-and-center on/in every issue of Justice League of America for the next 15 months (and when he wasn't front and center... an Earth-Two Robin with a very "Batmanish" costume would be!). When Zatanna showed up in Justice League of America to re-team with the heroes she had adventured with previously, Batman is included. Why you ask? Well, months earlier in Detective Comics #336 (2/1965) there had been a throw-away character, a witch, whose appearance was confined to that singular issue. She came and went. So, retroactively, that witch was explained to have been Zatanna in disguise! DC's conundrum of how to feature Batman prominently in this JLA and Zatanna team up was solved. A win/win for all involved!! Well.... except Hawkgirl and Robin. Apparently their past assistance wasn't impressive enough for Zatanna's spell to conjure them to her aid again this issue!
A little more than two years after her comic book debut, Zatanna was finally able to reunite with her father, thanks to the assistance of her new Justice League pals.
Despite her multi-title debut, Zatanna didn't catch on with readers right away. Following her reunion with her father, it would be three years before readers of DC comics would see her again.
In a backup tale in
Flash #198 (June 1970), Barry Allen and Iris West go to see Zatanna's stage act. Events lead to her teaming up with Flash to
defeat the demon Xarkon. The entire adventure takes place in what, for the audience, is nothing more than a split second!
It took eight months for Zatanna to show up next. Her next adventure teamed her with the JLA again, this time in Justice League of America #87 (Feb. 1971). She assisted the team by helping them defeat some aliens and robots from another planet where corporate greed had led to the downfall of human civilization.
This Justice League story has an interesting tidbit of fun comic book history. It introduces 4 characters who were clearly an homage to Marvel Comics-Avengers characters (Jack B Quick (Quicksilver); Blue Jay (Ant-Man); Wandjina (Thor); and Silver Sorceress (Scarlet Witch)). Decades later, Silver Sorceress and Blue Jay were pulled from the obscurity of this issue and become members of the Justice League themselves for several years.
Nine months passed before Zatanna turned up again. This time in the pages of World's Finest Comics #207 (Nov. 1971). Her appearance in the story consists of just two panels. It seems Dr. Light was able to siphon some of the light that her magic creates and use it for his evil endeavors.
Notable in this story is the "editor's note" that Zatanna would be appearing in upcoming issues of Adventure Comics.
Following Zatanna's two-panel-appearance in World's Finest #207, one month later she would have another two-panel-appearance in World's Finest #208 (Dec. 1971)!
In this issue, Superman needs assistance coping with magic and first turns to Zatanna. She proves to be of little help so he travels over to Earth-Two to enlist the assistance of Dr. Fate instead.
Seven years after her initial debut, Zatanna receives her first solo adventure. It is a three-issue back-up story that spans Adventure Comics #413 - #415. This tale introduced Zatanna's first supporting cast member, Jeff Sloane. Jeff was her manager during her early days. He was romantically interested her, but she maintained they would remain friends only.
Zatanna's father, Zatara, is under the control of an unknown entity. With Zatara being the stronger magician, is able to place a spell on Zatanna and Jeff that sends them into another dimension.
Zatanna and Jeff battle their way back to Earth to eventually learn that Zatara has been taken over by Allura, the same sorceress responsible for the curse that separated Zatanna and Zatara several years earlier. Allura is eventually exorcised from Zatara's body and trapped in a bottle like a genie.
This tale is a sort of presuppose of Zatanna's journey to become one of DC's premiere mage characters.
On a personal note, I've always adored Gray Morrow's art and his version of Zatanna is one of my favorites.
(The flashback of her origin mistakenly includes Flash and Atom)
After a three-issue absence Zatanna returns as a backup feature in Adventure Comics #419 (May 1972). She battles a Gorgon giant called... Gorgonus 
. She tricks him into looking at himself in a mirror and he turns to stone . Maybe she should have taken an extra issue off! This one was a snoozer!
In August of 1970, Justice League of America published its 100th issue. This milestone comic featured a Justice League crossover event that included not only the Justice Society of America, but also the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The Seven Soldiers were another hero team from DC's Golden Age who's adventures and existence were now considered part of Earth-Two.
This was an adventure so action-packed and character-filled that it took a total of three issues to tell it all!
We learn that The Seven Soldiers of Victory had previously been scattered through time and various dimensions and their existences erased from the general populace's memory. But now the League and the Society were going to split up, find and rescue them, and return them to their home Earth.
Several heroes considered "stand by" or "reserve" members of the Justice League also joined in this outing. They included Elongated Man, Diana Prince, Metamorpho, and of course... Zatanna. Zatanna appeared in issues #100 and #102.
(This appearance of Zatanna has a special place in your tour guide's heart, since this tale was the first time I was introduced to her!)
In 1972, DC editors moved Supergirl from being the cover star of Adventure Comics to being the star of her own eponymous series. Zatanna also moved from being an occasional backup feature in Adventure Comics (starring Supergirl) to being an occasional backup feature in Supergirl. Her first outing was in Supergirl #1 (Nov. 1972). In this tale, Zatanna and Jeff visit the realm of Camelot.
Zatanna next appears in Supergirl #2. She takes it to the streets, helping with a rat infestation in a rundown neighborhood. She ultimately enlists the assistance of a current day Pied Piper of Hamelin (who to me looks a lot like Cuban dictator Fidel Castro!).
In Supergirl #3 (Feb 1973), Zatanna puts on a magic show at the Midvale Orphanage at the request of her friend Linda (Supergirl) Danvers. Zatanna is soon helping the ghost of a little boy as he leads her to the owners of the orphanage and she helps prevent them from being murdered.
Despite the fact that Zatanna had been a backup for Supergirl stories for some time now, this is the first time we are informed that the two characters actually know each other (despite never appearing together).
Zatanna appears next in Supergirl #4 (March 1973). Zatanna becomes embedded in a rock and must use her magic to find a descendent of King Arthur to help set her free.
In July, 1973, Zatanna takes a leap over into the pages of Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #132. In this issue, Zatanna helps cure a young paralyzed boy.
It's back over to Supergirl for Zatanna's next appearance. This time not as a backup but as a co-star. Or more accurately... as a rival for the romantic attention of Tony Martyn. Unbeknownst to either woman, Tony is already engaged to someone else.
This tale takes place in Supergirl #7 (Oct. 1973). Sadly, this first volume of Supergirl ended up being not much more than a DC romance series with a super powered lead character. Stories typically centered on Supergirl (or her alter ego Linda Danvers) and her inability to find a good date, rather than focusing on her being the second (or third... depending on your opinion of Wonder Woman) most powerful person on the planet.
This particular issue of Supergirl's first short-lived series was notable for having Supergirl and Zatanna finally meet.
Zatanna's second 1974 appearance was in Justice League of America (vol. 1) #114. She appears twice in the issue. First in a single panel from the main story that shows several superheroes manning the phones for a telethon!
The second time she was seen is in a two-page "Facts Feature" that focuses on heroes who had assisted the Justice League in the past.
After helping man the phones at the super-telethon in 1974, it took four years before Zatanna would appear again.
In 1978, DC held a poll to find out who readers would like to be the next new member of the Justice League. Zatanna won... by a landslide. So in Justice League of America #161, Zatanna was added to DC's premiere super team. She arrives in a new (and hideous IMHO) costume, claiming she is now a sorceress
rather than a magician.
Zatanna went on to have a long tenure with this version of the JLA and in many subsequent incarnations of the team. She constantly trains to learn and hone her skills, and is now considered by many to be one of the leading magic-based heroes in the DC universe.
Fortunately, the black leotard costume was short-lived! She graduated to a caped costume for the remainder of her tenure in the pre-Crisis version of the Justice League of America, before eventually being returned to the tuxedo/fishnet costume that she is most associated with.
Zatanna's days as a C-List character are long behind her, and fans of the character appreciate that!
Zatanna, Zatara, and all related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.
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