Zatanna: The Jewel of the Gravesend pulled from DC schedule

DC has pulled its upcoming original graphic novel Zatanna: The Jewel of the Gravesend from its publishing schedule and placed it in the proverbial vault.

Shortly before orders from bookstores were due, the publisher informed retailers that the OGN will be delayed indefinitely. In their own words, "Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend will be resolicited for release at a later date."

Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend recasts the long-running DC character, who traditionally casts magic spells by speaking her desired outcomes backwards, as a quirky, streetwise magician who will come to learn the secret history of her family's magical legacy.

"Zatanna's not your typical New Yorker. She walks her giant rabbit on a leather leash down the boardwalk, lives in a colossal architectural wonder known as the Golden Elephant, had her first kiss in the Haunted Hell Gate ride - and wouldn't have it any other way," reads DC's description of Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend.

"But the time for having fun in Luna Park comes to an end when a mystic's quest for a powerful jewel unravels everything Zatanna thought she knew about herself and her beloved neighborhood," it continues. "Mysteries and magic surround her as she reveals the truth about her family's legacy, and confronts the illusion that has been cast over her entire life."

Here's a preview:

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Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend preview

This was planned as a major booktrade release, and the comic book debut of prose author Alys Arden. Arden is the writer behind the Southern gothic prose novel series The Casquette Girls, with its fourth installment, The Gates of Guinée, going on sale January 19.

Jacqueline de Leon is drawing Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend.

While it might be a while for this Zatanna OGN, she's been the co-star of the recent Justice League ongoing. And although that series has ended, the team (and Zatanna) will return in a back-up story in Future State: Justice League.

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Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)