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[superboyprime]

Jeff Lemire (Vertigo's Sweet Tooth, Essex County) takes over writing duties and takes the book in a new direction...





Dr. Mist went missing on a mission in the Amazon.

Comments

[mullon]

I'm just going to assume that Zatanna is wearing a practical outfit because of the terrible weather.

[mrstatham]

I'll be entirely frank, I got sick and tired of seeing the stage-magician gear as her only costume. I mean, yes, we get it, that's her gimmick, but it never explained why we hardly ever saw her wearing anything else.

Although that was probably my favourite thing about Seven Soldiers; Morrison and Sook probably gave her about six different costumes.

[kenn_el]

Zee's costume, though, is, to use a worn-out term, 'iconic', not just for her, but for her father and her lineage. She's one of the only female characters whose costume says who she is. The top hat is almost equal to the s-shield, the bat, the lightning bolt, etc. And, you're right, during Seven Soldiers, there were several variations on the costume, but IIRC, the hat and some form of fishnet were consistent.
Also, Zee's thing was/is that she's also a stage magician, so the costume, the flashiness of it, goes along with who she is.
Finally, Zee's 'magic'; what we see isn't necessarily what's there. She COULD be wearing sweat pants, a t-shirt, and sneaks, while everyone else sees the fishnets and heels (Marvel's Arcanna did a variation on this, hiding her pregnancy). Zee COULD be wearing a Jim Lee outfit, complete with shoulder and knee pads!
Back to the issue, though: I AM intrigued by what Lemire might have to tell about Zee's history, and how her father died. Is the fact that his hat was never recovered why she doesn't wear one? I wrote a blog post about it here:http://kennowen.blogspot.com/2012/05/zataras-and-new-52.html

[mrosa]

Well, the reason why she only wears a stage magician suit is because it's incredibly erotic. We know that. Let's not go around pretending there are other reasons, or finding elaborate in-continuity explanations for it. Because that worked so well with Power Girl. Sometimes - most of the time really - a sensual woman in fishnets, top hat and tight blouse is just a sensual woman in fishnets, top hat and tight blouse.

[kenn_el]

Yes, but if she's in the DC Universe, it's Zatanna! (Then, again, I'm not the target audience for the erotic content. Show me an adult male in shorts, and then I'm on board!)

[darkknightjrk]

Yeah, I like the idea that she wears the traditional outfit on stage, and sometimes she'll wear the stage costume if she has no time to change or has to act while performing, but she has other outfits too.

That said, would it kill them to at least have her keep the top hat?

[mrstatham]

I like the idea that Kenn-el suggested. That maybe we've not seen the top hat for a reason. That might not have been the case with Milligan, but Lemire is a long-term planner. If Zee recovers her father's stuff, then I'd wager we could see her top hat soon.

[espanolbot]

In Paul Dini's Detective Comics run, when she wasn't practicing she apparently hung around the place in a tracksuit and sweat pants.