Giovanni Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Action Comics # 1 and was created by writer and artist Fred Guardineer. DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Cover of Action Comics #1, which featured the debut of Superman. ... Fred Guardineer (born October 3, 1913, Albany, New York; died 2002) was an American illustrator and comic book writer-artist best known for his work in the 1930s and 1940s during what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books, and for his 1950s art on the Werstern... Homo Magi is a term to describe a sub-race of magic using Atlantean descended humans in the DC Universe. ... The All-Star Squadron was an American comic book (1981-1987) created by Roy Thomas and published by DC Comics about the adventures of a large team of superheroes which comprised of most of the feature characters owned by the company that appeared in the Golden Age of Comic Books... Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ... Cover of Action Comics #1, which featured the debut of Superman. ... Fred Guardineer (born October 3, 1913, Albany, New York; died 2002) was an American illustrator and comic book writer-artist best known for his work in the 1930s and 1940s during what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books, and for his 1950s art on the Werstern...

History

Zatara was a fictional magician appearing in various publications of DC Comics, beginning with 1938's Action Comics # 1, which is also the first appearance of Superman. The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse Magic and sorcery are the influencing of events, objects, people and physical phenomena by mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Cover of Action Comics #1, which featured the debut of Superman. ... Superman is a comic book superhero, originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ...

A descendant of the Homo Magi, as well as being an illusionist, Zatara also had genuine magical powers, which he focused through speaking backwards: he could do anything so long as he could describe it in sdrawkcab hceeps ("backwards speech", spelled backwards). This helped distinguish Zatara from the numerous Mandrake the Magician knockoffs that cluttered the comics and pulp magazines of the day. Homo Magi is a term to describe a sub-race of magic using Atlantean descended humans in the DC Universe. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Mandrake the Magician is a U.S. comic strip created in 1934 by Lee Falk (also creator of The Phantom) and mainly appearing in syndication in newspapers. ... See comedian Stand up comedian List of Comedians List of British comedians comics comic book comic strip underground comics alternative comics web comic sprite comics manga graphic novel List of comic characters This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... Flynns Detective Fiction from 1941. ...

His love of magic began early when he was given a magic kit by his uncle, himself a professional illusionist. Although he began learning the craft in childhood, his early attempts at performing professionally were unsuccessful until he realized that he needed to work on his showmanship. Showmanship is a dog competition. ...

To that end, he dug up old diaries of Leonardo Da Vinci, who was a direct ancestor. While reading the diaries, which Da Vinci wrote in backwards spelling as a security precaution, Zatara learned that his family had the command of magic. He discovered this inadvertently when he accidentally gave a command to a mannequin to begin waving an arm wildly. Zatara realized that he could command it to stop by giving the order in backwards spelling. The Mona Lisa Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath: scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, and writer. ... A pair of mannequins A mannequin (alternately, manikin, mannikin, manakin, dummy, or form) is a life-size, articulated doll mainly used to display clothing. ...

With this new knowledge, Zatara developed a successful show. During the premiere performance a fire broke out on stage, forcing Zatara to use his command of real magic to put it out. While the audience mistook the incident as part of the act, Zatara realized that this power could be invaluable in helping people and he resolved to use it as such between shows.

Now better known as the father of his more famous daughter Zatanna, John Zatara sacrificed himself to protect her while attempting to save the spiritual dimensions surrounding Earth from the Great Evil Beast at the conclusion of Alan Moore's "American Gothic" storyline in Swamp Thing which was loosely tied to the events that happened in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Since then he has made sporadic appearances in the afterlife, including resurrecting Mason O'Dare in Starman #80, and the recent Seven Soldiers: Zatanna miniseries. Zatanna Zatara is a fictional wizard and a superheroine in the DC universe. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton) is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... The Swamp Thing is a fictional character created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson for DC Comics, and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy comic book series of the same name. ... Crisis on Infinite Earths was a 12-issue comic book limited series (identified as a 12 part maxi-series) and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 in order to simplify their fifty-year-old continuity. ... Several incarnations of Starman. ...

His nephew Zachary Zatara now uses the Zatara name as a stage magician. Zachary Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Universe. ...

Other versions

Another Zatara was featured in a supporting role in the miniseries Kingdom Come and its follow-up, The Kingdom. This Zatara is the son of Zatanna and magician John Constantine, which makes him the grandson of the original. He is described as "a youthful Harry Houdini-like successor to the magician super-hero lineage." The cover to Absolute Kingdom Come by Alex Ross (2006) Kingdom Come is a comic book limited series published in 1996 by DC Comics, written by Mark Waid and painted by Alex Ross. ... The Kingdom is a comic book miniseries published by DC Comics, written by Mark Waid. ... John Constantine (born May 10, 1953 in Liverpool, England) is the fictional protagonist of the comic series Hellblazer. ...

Other media

Zatara in Batman: The Animated Series

The one broadcast depiction of the character was in Batman: The Animated Series in a flashback within the episode "Zatanna", where the (apparently non-powered) character trained Bruce Wayne in escapology. Zatara has already died, of unspecified circumstances, by the time that episode took place. He was voiced by Vincent Schiavelli. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The animated Batman shoots his grappling gun from a rooftop in a scene from the episode, On Leather Wings. ... The animated Batman shoots his grappling gun from a rooftop in a scene from the episode, On Leather Wings. ... For other uses, see Batman (disambiguation). ... Harry Houdini, a famous escapologist and magician. ... Vincent Schiavelli and his then wife Allyce Beasley (September 20, 1987) Photo by Alan Light Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (November 10, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work in film and television. ...

In addition, in the Cartoon Monsoon contest, Zatara appeared in the Zatanna entry as the frustrated father of the title character. The story was set during Zatanna's teen years and took certain liberties.

External links

• Zatara Index at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics
• Jess Nevins' Comic Book Annotations for Kingdom Come #3
• Zatara Biography at Toonopedia