Norma Editorial brings us the latest work by Sean Gordon Murphy, an adventure story far from the classics with a pulp character as protagonist: Zorro
A character like The Fox has passed through various media throughout its history, but probably none have been as innovative as what it offers us today. Sean Gordon Murphy Through Editorial standard under the title of Zorro: Returns from the dead.
History of the pulp with a Hispanic flavor
Zorro, that masked swordsman who walks around colonial California leaving his mark as if he were a nineteenth-century graffiti artist, was born in 1919 from the mind of Johnston McCulley. It first appeared in The Curse of Capistranoa novel published in Weekly of all stories. The protagonist? Don Diego de la Vegaa nobleman who is duller than unsweetened tea by day, but by night transforms into Zorro, a masked hero who metes out justice and charisma with sword and whip. Revolutionary, gallant and delinquent in equal parts.
It wasn’t long before Hollywood took notice, and in 1920 Douglas Fairbanks I took him to the cinema The mark of Zorro. That film defined the character as the agile, charming and slightly arrogant boy we all know. Since then, we have seen Zorro in television series, comics and even major series successes summer
In the 1950s, Disney with which he published his television series Guy Williams. With a glittering horse and an impeccable wardrobe, Zorro has become the perfect hero for family dinner. Later, comics adopted it, and although it never became as popular as superheroes with capes and tight tights, its mark was well marked.
In modern times perhaps the only reference that the new generations use (and perhaps not even that) is The Mask of Zorro (1998), with Antonio Banderasand its sequel, or perhaps the television series that has arrived in recent times with very moderate success. But the thing that no reader of sleepover comics will miss is that one of his films was responsible for young people Bruce Wayne he lost his parents… and also the inspiration to wear the dress years later. Batman.
Zorro as you’ve never seen him before
The reading experience for most who venture into this volume should be quite similar. Maybe you use the name of a talented artist like Sean Gordon Murphy on the cover or maybe a character statement. pulp which still has its defenders, we expect a story with classic tones, perhaps with more spectacularity and depth than we could find in the stories of the past, and it ends up being surprising when on the third page we discover what this comic really hides.
After a misleading introduction in which we see the classic figure of the masked hero acting against the Spanish soldiers who oppress his land, even marking the Z on the chest of his opponents, we realize that we are not in the 19th century. century. The scene we witness is nothing more than a performance that takes place in the town of The Vega currently.
But nowadays there are also bad guys. Instead of soldiers, these are drug traffickers led by a guy known as The Red who work for a drug cartel. Instead of swords they carry automatic weapons, and instead of riding horses they move at full speed in powerful racing cars, something the author has a real passion for.
And how does the figure of Zorro fit into this reality, beyond the myth? The situation will be resolved very soon, with a young man losing his father at the hands of criminals attacking his city. This young man will grow up troubled by his bad luck and the legend of that vigilante swordsman, until he becomes an adult with a Don Quixote complex with some very useful skills when fighting small mercenaries.
This madman will end up teaming up with his sister, whose life hasn’t been exactly clean, and with a part of the country that continues to venerate the figure of Zorro as if he were a historical liberator. From here large doses of action will bring a crazy plot to its expected and inevitable outcome…
Whips and cars
There’s no doubt that Murphy’s ability to tell an action story is far superior to that of most comics artists. And if we add beautiful cars at full speed, their specialty, we all win. Few but can be said about an excellent graphics section that has the wonderful color of Simon Gough.
As for the story we’re being told, the truth is that it doesn’t quite work. Beyond the nice idea of bringing this character to the present, in the end the situation ends up being too forced and very unrealistic, to the point of forcing the suspension of disbelief too much. Despite everything, the plot flows very well page after page and has moments that manage to get to the point where the author probably would have wanted the entire work to be.
As for the edition, it must be said that this is wonderful tome presented by Editorial standard It is available in hardback format without dust jacket with a page size of 20.5 x 31.3 cm. The volume contains 128 pages in color and includes the translation of the four issues that make up the original edition of Zorro: The man of the dead. The recommended retail price is €29.5 and went on sale in November 2024.
Zorro: Returns from the dead
SEAN MURPHY DOES HIS MAGIC AND REVIVES THE POPULAR EXECUTION OF PULP NOVELS AND TELEVISION IN THE BEST WAY
Diego is convinced he is Zorro. As a child, he witnessed the murder of his parents at the hands of the drug cartel, led by El Rojo, who control his town of La Vega. Since then, the trauma has brought his mind back to a past when he was Zorro, and as a result he has trained in sword fighting and horse riding. Skills that will be necessary for him to free La Vega and avenge his parents by facing the villain known as El Rojo.
Sean Gordon Murphy revives the classic Mexican California vigilante in an adventure drawn with his spectacular pencils and evocative color Simon Gough.
Author: Sean Gordon Murphy Yes Simon Gough