Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea-leaf readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans French Quarter. She cut her teeth on the streets of New York and has worked all around the world since. The Casquette Girls, her debut novel, garnered over one million reads online before it was acquired by Skyscape. The fourth book in the series, The Gates to Guinée, is due out in 2020. Jacquelin de Leon is an illustrator and comics artist currently located in San Jose, California. She graduated with a BFA in illustration and entertainment design from Laguna College of Art and Design. Since graduating in 2015 she has become an illustration brand, self-publishing multiple books and working full-time to produce for her online shop and her YouTube channel. When not working on major projects, her favorite subjects are vivid and magical mermaids, sultry witches, and tattooed punk girls with colored hair. Their most recent graphic novel is Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend.
Zatana: The Jewel of Gravesend is a solid YA-dark fantasy. The titular character, Zatana, is a private high school girl who spends her summer vacation living with her family on Coney Island. Her father is a world renowned magician, and her boyfriend is the son of the local Russian mobster. Only not is all as it seems. When a competing magic show arrives on Coney Island, Zatana starts seeing glowing letters appear, only backwards. Furthermore, the glowing letters seem to have their own magic, and Zatana is able to perform actual spells, not the simple illusions of her father’s show. Slowly, the history of her powers is revealed, climaxing in a dark and deadly ending to the graphic novel.
Zatana: The Jewel of Gravesend works on many levels. Arden has written well-developed and identifiable characters. Zatana isn’t exactly an outcast, but she’s certainly nerdy and quirky, especially when compared with the other girls at her school. Her misfit status works well in the story, and many teens will be able to identify with her or someone in her small circle of friends. Furthermore, the romance elements and the magic elements are well thought out, and nothing seems too cheesy or overwrought. YA audiences will be able to find this believable and understandable, as will most adult horror readers interested in dark fantasy YA work. Furthermore, while there is some suspense, there’s nothing here that a younger tween audience couldn’t understand, so there’s a lot of potential for readership here, and Arden is able to tap into emotions and feelings that various audiences will be able to identify with. On top of that, de Leon’s art is perfect for this book. It’s not too stylized, nor is it overly realistic, creating the perfect blend of comic fantasy and realism required for this tale.
Zatana: The Jewel of the Gravesend is a well-crafted, well-developed YA story. There are elements of romance and teen angst, all wrapped up in a dark fantasy package full of mystery that teases the reader into wanting to discover the end of the tale. Alys Arden has crafted likable and relatable characters, and Jacquelyn de Leon has brought them to life with solid and consistent artwork. Overall, this is a great dark fantasy and horror that YA audiences, as well as general adult audiences, will thoroughly enjoy.

I really enjoyed this! I'm a big comic fan, but am not particularly familiar with Zatanna other than she is a magic user, looks great in a top hat, and had a thing with Batman.

This gives a great reintroduction and origin to the character as a young adult and sets up circumstances surrounding her past and the magic that she holds within. Full of magic, family secrets, and young love this graphic novel was such a fun. The story telling and pacing was great and the illustrations were beautiful! Can't wait to read more!

Pretty sure it had me hooked once I saw her put the spiked collar on the bunny. I loved the whole feel. The friendships were very authentic and those interactions gave a light hearted reprieve from the darker storyline.

The only feedback I would give would be that while the mirror-script idea is neat, the reading backwards thing is a hassle.

✨ I received an ARC of this graphic novel from NetGalley and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review.

Zatanna's not your typical New Yorker. She walks her giant rabbit on a leather leash down the boardwalk, lives in a colossal architectural wonder known as the Golden Elephant, had her first kiss in the Haunted Hell Gate ride--and wouldn't have it any other way.
For a short comic/ graphic novel, this volume has great character and plot development. We really get to know some of the motivation behind the different factions involved in the greater mystery. This makes the twists that much more revealing, which is perfect for a story centered on illusion. The artwork is also top notch. The cliff hanger left me craving more!

I really loved this! I can’t wait to get a finished copy of this! I enjoyed the story and the art was beautiful! I can’t wait to add this to my collection. I totally recommend this. Can’t go wrong with Alys Arden as the author.

A captivating YA reimagining of Zatanna's teen years, set on the bright lights of the Coney Island boardwalk. Filled with magic, illusions and star-crossed love; this is the coming of age story of one of my favorite DC heroes. A lovely summer read that wonderfully balances the occult aspects of Zatanna's past with the more mundane problems of growing up.

I found this to be a highly enjoyable (and quick) read that breathed new life into a fairly well-known character. With beautiful artwork, a gorgeous color palate, and a compelling plot Arden and De Leon created a dazzling graphic novel. My only complaint is, I wish it was just a bit longer, but I suppose that's what sequels are for.

The art was beautiful but the story dragged a bit for me. It took longer than needed to show the plot of the story while introducing the world and characters. As a novel this would be fine but as a graphic novel it was hard to keep my interest.

Zatanna is the daughter of magicians, she lives on Coney Island in a beautiful Golden Elephant, has an adorable pet rabbit, and had a boyfriend. She wants to live a normal life and be a normal girl .Zatanna has been raised by the stage, by magic tricks, and magic shows, but she doesn't want to be a magician. She discovers that there is a mystery surrounding her family and herself ,she is determined to find out the truth. I would recommend this.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

I really like Zatanna, so I was excited to read this book but unfortunately it fell a bit flat. Zatanna felt like the least interesting character in the book, and the ending especially felt very rushed and muddled - it felt very weird to me as a reader, as if the authors changed their mind last-minute on what they wanted to happen. The art was lovely though - easily my favorite part, and I loved the vibrancy in it. Overall, I do think that teens and people really new to the character will like it, but I feel like if you’re a Zatanna fan, you may be a bit turned off by the book.

I'm a big fan of Zatanna Zatara; she's always been one of my top favorite DC superheroes and she doesn't feature in the main continuity as much as she should. I was excited to see her in this YA DC graphic novel. The YA line for DC typically reimagines DC heroes and villains as teens in modern settings, and I think Jewel of Gravesend does a decent job of reimagining Zatanna's origins for a younger audience.

The story follows Zatanna Starr, daughter of Ezra and Lola Starr, famous Coney Island magicians. After a visit to an Italian mermaid circus tent, Zatanna starts coming into a mysterious power. There is a shrouded figure watching Zatanna from the shadows, and people close to her scheming against her. Her father Ezra warns her that the more she uses her power, the more others will want to take it for their own.

This is definitely an alternate universe kind of origin, and at first I felt like it was a random story with Zatanna's name slapped on the purple haired character. As the comic progressed, it did reveal there is more than meets the eye, and I appreciated the twists. There is actual canon Zatanna Zatara lore sprinkled in among the teen romance, family drama, and Coney Island chaos. I thought the beginning was slow to get into the plot, and the last 20 or so pages were fast and a bit confusing. The novel itself doesn't seem to be well-balanced. A lot of questions remained unanswered, leaving the ending open for a sequel -- which I believe it will definitely need.

Overall, a short read good for younger teens. Long time Zatanna fans might be a little put off, but I think they too could eventually enjoy it. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and DC Comics for my advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite DC characters is Zatanna Zatara, so I knew I would love this as soon as I requested it! This is a fun, short graphic novel that gives our favorite magician the origin story she deserves- though this book does change her original comic background quite a bit. Both casual fans and intense fans of DC will love this story!

The bright colors will catch a reader's eye, and the story will keep them going. It's a classic tale, a daughter of a famous star that doesn't want a life in the limelight - just wants to be a normal teenager, spending the summer having fun with her friends. But all too soon, the story takes a drastic turn - a missing magician, the Russian mob, worrying if your parents aren't truly your parents...

This is definitely a one-sitting read, and yet manages to cover a lot of ground. I've always loved what I've learned about Zatanna's back story, and seeing it brought to a younger generation is fantastic. I will definitely be purchasing this title for my library's teen collection. Not only is it a good, engrossing story... but I think the feeling of being misplaced in your own life, as well as the grief Zatanna feels after her loss, will be one that teens can really connect with.

Zatanna Star is from a famous magic family and her playground is Coney Island. Nestled within the tight knit entertainment community, things seem normal on the outside but family secrets threaten to turn Zatanna’s life upside down. Zatanna is clearly at odds with her father Ezra Star and desperately in love with boyfriend Alexei.

When Alexei’s mom hatches a plan to get ahold of a mystical jewel, Zatanna must decide whether to lean into her true magic powers or let his mom destroy everything and everyone she loves.

Those new to DC Comics and Zatanna won’t need to know much about the character to enjoy this story. Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend gives just enough background to set the story in motion introducing the characters that are important quickly by giving hints of the history between the Zolkov and Star families.

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden and Jacquelin de Leon is a beautiful comic that leans heavily on the pinks and purples, the colors that are usually associated with the Zatanna character.

ARC was given by NetGalley and DC Entertainment in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (July 26th, 2022)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Near death experiences, death, loss of loved ones, grief



Oh my glob, friends! Receiving an arc of this comic came out of left field and I am shook! I was graciously blessed by the arc gods and oh, thank you because this was a wonderful experience. I don’t really talk about my favorite DC universe heroes too often and Zatanna has always been one of my favorites. She’s also a hero that we don’t know much about. Zatanna doesn’t have a huge backstory and she doesn’t get the spotlight that often in shows or comics, and it feels so good to see Zatanna getting the spotlight compared to a lot of other DC heroes.

Zatanna is the daughter of famous illusionists, Ezra and Lola Starr. In Coney Island, New York, Zatanna only wants to get away from everything and lead a normal life. A life that doesn’t involve being in the constant spotlight or even the center of her father’s stunts. When one night Zatanna it out with her boyfriend and friends, strange things begin to happen and she decides to confront the one person who may have answers. Soon, secrets and mysteries surround Zatanna begins to pop up, friends and foes lurk in the shadows to see what with become of this magician.

Again, Zatanna is one of my favorite DC heroes. I’m pretty much a lover of the kind of heroes that don’t often get the spotlight like Martian Manhunter, Huntress, Hawkgirl, etc… So seeing a comic come out with more of Zatanna’s childhood/teenage years was a big excited time for me. However, I’ve been hesitant due to these comics being written in middle grade style, but also they tend to feel hit or miss to how the characters have already been established from the get-go of DC Comics. And I’m happy to say that this is one where I really fell in love with it.

The artwork is absolutely breath taking and the colors of the cover instantly drew me in. Not only is the art style something that really captures me attention and really shows off the mood in ever panel, but the color pallet is one that speaks to me and feels very much like my own personality at times. Plus, I have to talk about the rabbit, Flop. The way the rabbit was given expressions had me on the floor dying because I loved it so much.

Overall, I had a great time reading this comic. I think my only real issue or downside I had was the lack of information we have around the foe/foes of this book. I think I would have liked to have seen a little more information about that, but still a fantastic read. Like with all comics, I recommend then for readathons and those quick reads for travel. And I can’t recommend this one enough. It’s a true whimsical time!

Zatanna is arguably one of the best heroes in the DC universe, yet she's only had a few solo runs so it's very satisfying seeing her get her own graphic novel origin story that's been modernized and geared toward young readers/young adults. The artwork for the most part is stunning with bright, vivid colors that catch your eye. I found myself lingering on several of the pages just to admire it.

The plot is fine, definitely written for a more juvenile audience, but it is great to see more POC characters throughout. Overall, this would be a great introduction for any kids/teens looking to get into comics but aren't quite sure where to start.

It took me a while to get into this graphic novel, but when I did I was completely invested in Zatanna finding out who she really is. Magic surrounds Zatanna and it feels only right that she takes up her rightful spot in the world of Magic. The graphic novel left off with a cliff hanger and I am hoping there will be a book two. All in all, the illustrations are beautiful and the story its self is interesting.

I just reviewed Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden. #ZatannaTheJewelofGravesend #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchanged for my honest review.

First off let’s just say that this cover is absolutely beautiful! When I saw it I instantly had heart eyes~

The color palette and illustrations in this are breathtaking! It’s just so pretty to look at, it’s easy to just get lost in the beautiful color palette.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t vibe with the plot. At first it sounded interesting enough but it just couldn’t really hold my attention long enough to read in one siting. That’s not to say this isn’t a good story it just wasn’t for me which is a bummer because like I said visually it’s stunning !

It was very hard to get invested in this book. I found the main character very unlikeable. Sorry, not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend. This graphic novel comes out July 26th 2022! The artwork in this graphic novel was stunning! I have to admit that I did not realize Zatanna was a known comic book character when I requested this book. I enjoyed this one and am interested in future books

Such a fun read and super cute as well! A story of love and magic that keeps you entertained from start to finish!

A vivid story of friendship, family, love, and magic set against the vibrant background of Brooklyn's Coney Island. With gorgeous art and delightful characters, including some truly chilling villain action, this was completely un-put-downable, and I cannot wait for volume two to be available. Also, unlike some more complex or intricate graphic novels (which this absolutely was!) it was very easy to follow, though not at all predictable. I will be recommending this one to everyone.