PBCLS Makeover

The Palm Beach County Library home page and web catalog have gotten a makeover. Check them out and tell me what you think about the new look.

Don’t forget to check out Freegal, the library’s new digital music download portal. The link is on the top right of the catalog home page.

Zatanna: Mistress of Magic

As promised, I’m reviewing Zatanna: Mistress of Magic, finally! I have long been a huge Zatanna fan. She is one of my favorite characters to cosplay, and next to Harley Quinn, she is one of my favorite characters in the DCU. Her first appearance in DC Comics was in 1964 in Hawkman. Since then, she’s been involved in the stories of several DC heroes, and has helped out the Justice League on multiple occasions.  (I am more familiar with her from her relationship to Batman, of course) She’s never had her own series until last year when Paul Dini (the creator of Harley Quinn and even more of a fan of Zatanna than me) started working on one.  In April, we got issues 1-6 in the graphic novel titled Zatanna: Mistress of Magic.

In her new series, Zatanna faces new villains such as the mystical crime lord, Brother Night, who is trying to extend his influence into the mundane world and the demon Fuseli that he employs to keep Zatanna trapped in a nightmare. She even faces down creatures from hell itself.  My favorite parts were seeing Zatanna in a wedding dress and seeing her turn girls who think she is a cocktail waitress into doves. There’s also a visit from her cousin, Zachary Zatara who has also appeared in Teen Titans and Superman.

 By far, my favorite storyline was the arc surrounding Brother Night. I hope we get to see more of him. He was super creepy. Also in that story, the character of Detective Dale Colton is introduced. His investigations into Brother Night are his first foray into the realm of magic. I’d like to see him again too (and see if something develops between him and Zatanna). We won’t know until October when she returns in Zatanna: Shades of Past. I can’t wait!

Japanese Spiderman (1978)

Meet the Author: Brad Meltzer

One of our librarians has fond memories of walking into a comic book store and seeing Mike Mignola (Hellboy) sitting at a table at a mostly unattended signing.

Those days are gone. If you want to see talent, it’s rare that they’ll show up at a comic book store. No, you’ll probably have to travel to a convention and fork over dollars before you can see your favorite artist or writer — especially if you want something signed.

That’s why it’s so cool that Brad Meltzer is going to be at the Hagen Ranch Road Library on Saturday, April 18 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for free.

Meltzer is the author of the controversial Identity Crisis and he’s written for JLA and Green Arrow in addition to other titles (and soon Buffy).

He will be plugging his New York Times Bestseller Book of Lies, a novel about the murder of Superman creator Jerry Siegel’s father.

Tickets for speaker available beginning April 6. Two tickets per person. Limited seating available for this free presentation. Call 561-894-7500 for more details.