Back in DC Comics‘ Absolute Wonder Woman #12, we got the surprise reveal of the Absolute Universe version of Zatanna. It was, in a word: gnikcohs. Sorry: shocking. And now, thanks to writer Kelly Thompson, we’ve got a glimpse of artist Hayden Sherman’s magical designs for the character.
In a much longer post on Sherman’s stellar character designs on her newsletter, which is well worth reading in full if you value insight on the comic book art form (this is a subtle bit of bullying, btw), Thompson leads off with a character design sheet for Zatanna by Sherman:
As Thompson notes, they weren’t planning on releasing anything on Zatanna — it was meant to be a surprise, and her first appearance in Absolute Wonder Woman #12 featured her trussed up in a prison/laboratory, in the restraining mask you see above. Unfortunately, the full costume leaked, with Sherman posting the full cover from Absolute Wonder Woman #16 on Instagram, with colors by Jordie Bellaire.
“Zee was tricky for a lot of reasons — including that Hayden wasn’t going to get to be the first one to draw her IN COSTUME in story (that’s Matias Bergara in next month’s ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #14),” Thompson explained. “So Hayden had to both think of her eventual ‘Zatanna Costume’ and also what she would look like while trapped inside Cale’s Area 41 Prison. As usual, Hayden pulls it off brilliantly.”
While she first appeared in Absolute Wonder Woman #12, and will have her first cover appearance in #6, you can look forward to Absolute Zatanna appearing in the pages of the book in Absolute Wonder Woman #14 with art by Matías Bergara, which hits stores on November 26, 2025. Tcelloc — sorry, collect them all!
Here’s Sherman’s cover for Absolute Wonder Woman #16:
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