Zatara was the second major DC character introduced in Action Comics #1 (May 1938). Unlike Superman, Zatara is more of a copy of an existing character: Mandrake the Magician. He even gains a similar mustache in the next issue. He had the ability to cast spells by saying words backwards, though sometimes he is able to perform random spells without this (as shown by the summoning of a first aid kit above). Zatara was written and drawn by Fred Guardineer.
Interestingly, Zatara was involved with the first comic book crossover event that spanned many months and many comic books in the mid-1960s, when his daughter Zatanna went searching for him, encountering many of the heroes of the DC universe.