For 200 years, the people of La Vega have upheld the legend of Zorro, the hero who saved their village. But there’s a new Zorro in town. Your Major Spoilers review of Zorro: Man of the Dead #1 from Massive Publishing awaits!

ZORRO: MAN OF THE DEAD #1

Writer: Sean Gordon Murphy
Artist: Sean Gordon Murphy
Colorist: Simon Gough
Letterer: DC Hopkins
Editor: Clay McCormack
Publisher: Massive Publishing
Release Date: January 10, 2024
Cover Price: $4.99

Previously in Zorro: Man of the Dead: Diego is a young man who is convinced that he’s Zorro. As a child, he suffered a psychotic break after witnessing the murder of his parents by the drug cartel in his village. To cope with the trauma, he embraced the 200-year-old legend of Zorro by donning the mask, training with the sword, and declaring war on the Narcos for the sake of his people.

THE SINS OF EL ROJO

Twenty years ago, the people of the Mexican village of La Vega followed their local tradition, a festival in honor of Zorro, a folk hero whose spirit is believed to protect their valley. That protection is tested when local gangster and drug lord El Rojo arrives with armed men, shutting down the celebration as a symbol of defiance. He even cuts down the man wearing Zorro’s costume, Antonio de la Vega… right in front of his son and daughter. Twenty years later, that daughter, Rosa, is working for El Rojo as a driver, much to the dismay of her girlfriend and her priest. When she is called upon to lead El Rojo’s boss to the castillo where her brother has been living since their dad was murdered, never speaking so much as a word since that day. The drug runners have come to inform Diego’s caretaker that they are going to need to dig a tunnel from beneath the local church, whether he likes it or not.

“A BLIND EYE IS BETTER THAN A SLIT THROAT”

There’s a lot to like here, including a character who is pretty obviously Danny Trejo, but perhaps the most impressive is the way Murphy’s art manages to balance the modern with the 19th-century vibes of Zorro. The design of Rosa de la Vega and the El Camino she drives are both really cool, and when Zorro finally makes his appearance, it’s a beautiful splash of a man on horseback overtaking that cool car. Every page is truly amazing to behold, aided and abetted by an excellent coloring job, one that manages to keep the oranges and browns that you’d expect from a realistic story set in a desert region, but balanced with vivid reds and yellows that keep it from being dull or muddy. The story has a zing of its own, giving us a good reason why someone might face down heavily armed drug smugglers with only a sword and a horse.

BOTTOM LINE: I’M LIKING THIS

As someone who hasn’t been really into the Murphyverse at DC Comics, I am happy to say that Zorro: Man of the Dead #1 works on nearly every level, with my only real concerns being how accurate this is as a portrayal of modern Mexico, with strong art and a fun premise wrapping up into 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. Unless something goes way off the rails in issue number two, I expect I’ll be reading all four issues of this miniseries.

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