Celadore

Caanan Grall

Celadore was the last of the Zuda products from DC to see print before the line was discontinued, but they definitely ended on a high note, as this is a really fun supernatural romp.  Including all sorts of creatures of the night, such as ghosts, frankensteins, elves and genies, the story revolves around a Buffy-like monster hunter whom the vampires fear, wise-cracking all the while, laughing in the face of death.  Unfortunately, the opening scene is the last we see of that Celadore, as she is struck with some mystic mojo that pushes her soul from her body.  But Celadore isn't done yet, as she wakes up to find herself in the body of an eleven-year-old girl.  While not the strikes-fear-into-her-enemies menace that she used to be, she still kicks plenty of undead butt along with a nosy neighbor boy with a knack for finding trouble and a shape-shifting ex-boyfriend, among others.  It's just a lot harder getting into bars to follow monsters or to generally be taken seriously when she's bite-sized and has a worried "mother" to think about back home who still thinks she's her daughter.  The first conflict she must resolve in this series is to confront the vampire master who destroyed her life, the very same monster who plans to light a candle that will allow vampires to walk freely in daylight.  Other adventures include stopping the reign of a nymph who can control men, and stopping a friend who has been turned into a genie from upsetting reality too much.  There's plenty of action in this fast-paced series, which is pretty funny, balancing out the more horrific elements.  I'm not the biggest fan of the rough art on this book, but it gets the job done, and even worse is how DC prints these comics on low-quality paper that often makes the coloring look dreadful.  But if you can get past that, this is a decent read, and certainly one of the best things to come from the Zuda experiment.