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Zatanna & The Ripper #2
Zatanna & The Ripper Volume Two
Trapped in the past and hunting a serial killer? Of course Zatanna's birthday got magically messed up.
Continuing from the Webtoons tale—when Zatanna is attacked and bested by a powerful sorceress, her father casts a spell to protect her and send her away from the chaos she's caught in the middle of.
Zatanna arrives in Whitechapel, London, in the year 1888. She soon discovers a serial killer plaguing the streets of the city, Jack the Ripper. Unable to return home and certain that the supernatural killer has answers, Zatanna sets out in pursuit of the Ripper alongside the denizens of Whitechapel and one John Constantine.
Continuing from the Webtoons tale—when Zatanna is attacked and bested by a powerful sorceress, her father casts a spell to protect her and send her away from the chaos she's caught in the middle of.
Zatanna arrives in Whitechapel, London, in the year 1888. She soon discovers a serial killer plaguing the streets of the city, Jack the Ripper. Unable to return home and certain that the supernatural killer has answers, Zatanna sets out in pursuit of the Ripper alongside the denizens of Whitechapel and one John Constantine.
200 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2023
5 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Dealy
4 books4 followersSarah Dealy is a writer, podcast producer, and aspiring roller skater living on the West side of the United States.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 9, 2023
A KISSING CLIFFHANGER, WHAT A GOOD!! It's amazing how much alive something can feel when your lead characters interact.
May 7, 2024
18-34
September 22, 2023
CHAPTERS: 12-25
December 13, 2024
Not saying Constantine is useless but he's LESS WHINY in this version of him lol I guess I'm so used to him just drinking all the time and sort of bumbling about but he actually seems to be SUPER useful in this version, cheering her on and trying to get Zatanna to be confident in herself.
Again this is weird because I've always known Zatanna to be badass and confident and great with her magic, but again she's only supposed to be 21 in this. AND HOW OLD IS JOHN SUPPOSED TO BE!?!?
Two more books to go~
Again this is weird because I've always known Zatanna to be badass and confident and great with her magic, but again she's only supposed to be 21 in this. AND HOW OLD IS JOHN SUPPOSED TO BE!?!?
Two more books to go~
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February 27, 2025So apparently the young folk do still like comics, but rather than wrestling with continuities that have tangled roots stretching back to their great-grandparents' time, they favour something called 'Webtoon'. Lightweights or what? DC, having never met a wall they couldn't fling something at in vague hope of recaptured relevance, have responded to this by making collaborative comics with said Webtoon, which were so obviously not aimed at me that I completely ignored them until I saw this in the library and it had John Constantine on the cover, meaning I was contractually obliged to give it a go.
Now, what I didn't notice was that it was the second volume, and as such it's hardly fair if I were to object to bits of the plot I didn't follow, like why John was being sent through time by the Crown, and indeed, who and what the Crown might be in this context; presumably he's not operating as an agent of the British state, because that would miss the point of the character even more spectacularly than the posh Netflix version. Nor is it fair to get into my wider distaste for fictionalised true crime in general, and Ripperology in particular – or to object that John has already solved the Ripper case once, probably before the creative team on this were born*. But all the same, in a comic that I would guess is intended for young female readers, and with a majority non-male creative team, I was really surprised by how much a book with Zatanna's name on was dominated by the men in her life. Her powers are playing up; she keeps needing advice and even pep talks from John, who is apparently a much more experienced magician than her, even though he looks like a standard issue cute manga boy with a light dusting of stubble. And if it's not that, it's her attempts to rescue her dad and to live up to him (at one stage we get a flashback to a speech he gave her on the suspiciously familiar theme of power and responsibility). I couldn't even take refuge in the London history side of the story because, unlike certain other works on a similar theme, the art has no detectable sense of place; i borrowed the collection in Whitechapel! I'm within walking distance of West Norwood Cemetery, where John and Zatanna follow up one lead! But as depicted here, neither gave me the slightest spark of 'Oh! Hey!' And let's not even get into the journey between the two crossing Tower Bridge six years before it opened. So yeah, I was right the first time; not for me. If the young folk are getting something out of it, good luck to them; gods know we've left them precious little else to enjoy.
*It was Prince Charles, of course.
Now, what I didn't notice was that it was the second volume, and as such it's hardly fair if I were to object to bits of the plot I didn't follow, like why John was being sent through time by the Crown, and indeed, who and what the Crown might be in this context; presumably he's not operating as an agent of the British state, because that would miss the point of the character even more spectacularly than the posh Netflix version. Nor is it fair to get into my wider distaste for fictionalised true crime in general, and Ripperology in particular – or to object that John has already solved the Ripper case once, probably before the creative team on this were born*. But all the same, in a comic that I would guess is intended for young female readers, and with a majority non-male creative team, I was really surprised by how much a book with Zatanna's name on was dominated by the men in her life. Her powers are playing up; she keeps needing advice and even pep talks from John, who is apparently a much more experienced magician than her, even though he looks like a standard issue cute manga boy with a light dusting of stubble. And if it's not that, it's her attempts to rescue her dad and to live up to him (at one stage we get a flashback to a speech he gave her on the suspiciously familiar theme of power and responsibility). I couldn't even take refuge in the London history side of the story because, unlike certain other works on a similar theme, the art has no detectable sense of place; i borrowed the collection in Whitechapel! I'm within walking distance of West Norwood Cemetery, where John and Zatanna follow up one lead! But as depicted here, neither gave me the slightest spark of 'Oh! Hey!' And let's not even get into the journey between the two crossing Tower Bridge six years before it opened. So yeah, I was right the first time; not for me. If the young folk are getting something out of it, good luck to them; gods know we've left them precious little else to enjoy.
*It was Prince Charles, of course.
June 30, 2023
Ich habe diesen Comic (und auch dessen ersten Teil) als Webcomic gelesen, daher kann ich ein Buch bewerten, das eigentlich noch gar nicht erschienen ist :D.
Vorneweg: In Sachen DC kenne ich fast nur ein paar einzelne Filme und von den meisten bin ich nicht sonderlich überzeugt. Vorkenntnisse in Bezug auf Comic Lore hatte ich überhaupt keine, insofern kann ich nicht beurteilen, ob die Figuren beispielsweise Lore-konform handeln oder irgendwo falsch abbiegen.
Mein größter Kritikpunkt an dieser Stelle ist eigentlich, dass ich mir einfach ... einen längeren Comic gewünscht hätte. Vielleicht bin ich hier von koreanischen Webtoons mit 100+ Kapiteln verwöhnt, sodass es für mich einfach ungewohnt ist, dass die Geschichte so schnell auserzählt ist.
Dabei ist das Pacing extrem stimmig. So ist es nicht. Ich hätte mir nur weitere Arcs gewünscht.
Wer allerdings genau danach sucht - einer Geschichte, die nicht ins Endlose ausufert, sondern erzählt ist, wenn sie erzählt ist, findet hier einen Comic, der auch für Leute ohne große DC-Kenntnisse sehr viel Spaß macht und ziemlich großartiges Artwork hat.
Vorneweg: In Sachen DC kenne ich fast nur ein paar einzelne Filme und von den meisten bin ich nicht sonderlich überzeugt. Vorkenntnisse in Bezug auf Comic Lore hatte ich überhaupt keine, insofern kann ich nicht beurteilen, ob die Figuren beispielsweise Lore-konform handeln oder irgendwo falsch abbiegen.
Mein größter Kritikpunkt an dieser Stelle ist eigentlich, dass ich mir einfach ... einen längeren Comic gewünscht hätte. Vielleicht bin ich hier von koreanischen Webtoons mit 100+ Kapiteln verwöhnt, sodass es für mich einfach ungewohnt ist, dass die Geschichte so schnell auserzählt ist.
Dabei ist das Pacing extrem stimmig. So ist es nicht. Ich hätte mir nur weitere Arcs gewünscht.
Wer allerdings genau danach sucht - einer Geschichte, die nicht ins Endlose ausufert, sondern erzählt ist, wenn sie erzählt ist, findet hier einen Comic, der auch für Leute ohne große DC-Kenntnisse sehr viel Spaß macht und ziemlich großartiges Artwork hat.
May 30, 2023
I've already reviewed the first volume and this is the 2nd half of the Webtoon series that I'm caught up on. Loved these DC Webtoons and so happy we'll be able to have print versions of them.
December 30, 2023
A fun adventure mystery that feels a bit light, like it's pulling it's punches.
October 5, 2024
Read as it came out on webtoon.
Collects episodes 12-23
Collects episodes 12-23
November 10, 2024
okay but what is the age difference between john and zee supposed to be in this? bc i'm currently side-eyeing the shit out of it
June 6, 2025
2.75. not a bad read, just felt like it jumped around a bit too much without saying what's happening.
September 22, 2025
drinking before leaving the 19th century. low-key wanna experience that
September 26, 2024
Did not realize just how much Constantine would be in this one. There's really no introduction to him or his powers or his background or anything about him. All we know is that he somehow knows Zatanna. If you aren't familiar with Constantine then you will probably confused regarding like everything about him. And I am not familiar with him.
Many Character motivations made little to no sense and it feels like the reader is just expected to know what is going on without being told or shown.
Many Character motivations made little to no sense and it feels like the reader is just expected to know what is going on without being told or shown.
November 18, 2023
EDIT: No, I did not reread this. I am just adding a reread so my GR reading goal aligns with my Storygraph reading goal because apparently "WEBTOONS DON'T COUNT AS READING" and so some (only some) have been removed from the database 🙄
November 11, 2025
Oh wow this is peak, the art is fire and the story? Wow I’m loving zatanna so much and jonh as well. This is from episode 12 to episode 22
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews