Zatanna & the Ripper is a fantasy webcomic starring Zatanna Zatara and John Constantine, and the third DC Comics webcomic to be released via Webtoon after Batman: Wayne Family Adventures and Vixen: NYC. It is written by Sarah Deely and drawn by Syro. The first batch of chapters released on Webtoon on July 12, 2022.
The story follows Zatanna, an aspiring stage magician (and wielder of real magic) on her 21st birthday, where she is told by her father Zatara that he is having her go solo, much to her shock. Of course things keep going downhill from there when her dad gets attacked by an enigmatic sorceress and she gets sent back in time to 1888. To Whitechapel. Now she must find her way home and protect her new friends from a certain serial killer...
The comic can be read for free here
and is updated on Tuesdays. It concluded after 51 chapters.
Preview: Official Trailer
Tropes in this webcomic:
- Accidental Misnaming: The women of Victorian London have trouble getting Zatanna's name right, due to it being uncommon. Their attempts range from "Zoltan" to "Zintana".
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: As Zatanna begins her investigation, the murder victims start becoming people she's interacted with.
- Breakfast in Bed: After feeding Mary's meatpie to a rodent to avoid letting Mary know she's repulsed by it Zatanna tries to magic her way home in her room, but manages to summon a plate of eggs and bacon from her time instead which she eats as a small comfort in the privacy of her room.
- Cain and Abel: Shauna Belzer, the Ventriloquist, killed her brother Ferdie because he got all the praise for their stage show.
- The Charmer: Constantine is introduced charming both a customer in line at a deli and the deli employee just with a smile and a wink, and is later seen with both a man and a woman hanging off of him.
- Disposable Sex Worker: The cops of 1888 Whitechapel are blithely unconcerned with the disappearance of prostitutes, and only get involved when murder becomes a possibility.
- Does Not Like Spam: Zatanna goes out of her way to avoid eating meat pies. The inhabitants of Victorian England and John Constantine, however, enjoy eating it.
- Enfant Terrible: As a child, Shauna/the Ventriloquist killed her brother Ferdie by loosening the chains of his swing.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Allura plans to use Zatanna's is secondary to the threat of Jack the Ripper.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Shauna/the Ventriloquist. She killed her brother because she felt he didn’t deserve the spotlight and planned to kill Zatanna because she was ungrateful of what being the daughter of Giovanni Zatara gave her.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: The working girls Zatanna befriends are all lovely women trying to make the best of their situations.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Zatanna eventually summons a bottle of hooch when she yet again fails to get home, lamenting that she’s at least old enough to drink now. Then she takes a sip and realizes that it tastes horrible.
- Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Zatanna is revealed to be the owner of a black cat named Meatpie.
- Magicians Are Wizards: Zatanna and her father were working stage magicians in addition to being actual mages.
- Mistaken for Prostitute: The people of 1888 London naturally mistake Zatanna for a working girl, given that her usual outfit doesn't exactly conform to Victorian standards of propriety.
- Name and Name: The title of the webcomic is Zatanna and the Ripper.
- Narnia Time: Gio Zatara counts the days of his imprisonment in Allura's cell, but she happily informs him that time in there doesn't correspond to real world time.
- Power Incontinence: Zatanna still struggles with mastering her abilities. Her attempts to return to her own time can at most summon items from different eras to her.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant:
- The Ripper turns out to be Michael Amar AKA Murmur, explicitly said to be one of The Flash's enemies.
- Zatanna is later menaced by Shauna Belzer, the third Ventriloquist. Once again, Zatanna lampshades that she's one of Batman's enemies although granted, Zatanna was only familiar with Arnold Wesker.
- Running Gag:
- None of the ladies Zatanna befriends can properly pronounce her name.
- Because she's Mistaken for Prostitute, Zatanna is nicknamed "The Tramp Magician" by the townspeople.
- Sdrawkcab Speech: As usual, Zatanna's spells are done with her saying the incantantions backwards. She mentions that it is how she controls her powers.
- Serial Killer: Jack the Ripper lurks along the streets of Victorian London, targeting defenseless women.
- Ship Tease: Zatanna and Constantine regularly flirt with each other throughout the series.
- This Is My Boomstick: Zatanna provides Roz and Agnes with tasers to protect themselves from the Ripper. She also gives them condoms.
- Trapped in the Past: After she is hit by a combination of her father's magic and that of a mysterious sorceress, 21st century woman Zatanna finds herself in 1888 Whitechapel, during the era of Jack the Ripper. She later pulls John Constantine back in time as well.
- Vague Age: While Zatanna is explicitly 21, Constantine is a bit murkier. Gio refers to him as an old friend, but he's drawn to look like a young man.
- What Year Is This?: Once Zatanna is able to break the curse preventing her from talking the first thing she does when she has a second is ask where she is and what year it is.
