Zorro : D'entre les morts

Zorro: Man of the Dead #1-4

by Sean Gordon Murphy, Simon Gough

Don Quixote meets Narcos in Sean Gordon Murphy’s Zorro: Man of the Dead four issue mini-series. In this modern reimagining, the writer-artist behind DC Comics’ Batman: White Knight uses his signature style to deliver a fresh take on the legendary swashbuckling hero.

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.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée

128 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2024

About the author

After breaking into the industry at a young age, Sean Gordon Murphy made a name for himself in the world of indie comics before joining up with DC. In his tenure, he has worked on such titles as Batman/Scarecrow: Year One, Teen Titans, Hellblazer, Joe The Barbarian, and the critically acclaimed miniseries American Vampire: Survival Of The Fittest and The Wake with Scott Snyder. Murphy also wrote and illustrated the original graphic novel Offroad and the popular miniseries Punk Rock Jesus.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

(B+) 78% | Good
Notes: On subjugation liberation, legends fueling daring, though tad bizarre, all swords and cars (a fairly awkward pairing).

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #1-2 ◦ Issues #3-4

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I read 3 comics this week (Bond, Spider-man) that had strong opening but didn't pan out.

The first issue for this is great! The premise is promising. It's modern times, but the spirit of Zorro is still alive and well. The Cartel who rule the town don't like this because Zorro represents rebellion. They slay a man who is celebrating Zorro. 20 years later, the Cartel kill yet another person who is close to the silent Diego. Diego takes up the mantle of Zorro... literally becoming Zorro. Is he Zorro or just a bit unhinged? The townspeople eventually rally around him.

One problem for me was all the zany action scenes. A group of Cartel with machine guns start mowing down our protagonist who just jumps in a car and drives away. Hmm... it's not clear how these bullets are not hitting him.

I also didn't love the sub-plots and character scenes. More time spent with Zorro would have been nice.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with Sean Murphy from his reimagining of Batman in his White Knight series. I really like how he sort of reinvented Batman in that series, much more so than I like the Absolute Batman reimagining. So I wanted to check out some other books that Murphy has done, and it led me to his Zorro book.

I wondered if this would be another reimagining, and it is, but it’s also a sequel to the original Zorro stories. It’s 180 years later. It focuses on a brother, Diego, and his sister, Rosa. They live in a town called La Vega, the place where the original Zorro once had his adventures. And even to this day Zorro has become more myth and legend. Diego and Rosa lose their father and are separated. Diego off to live with a Priest, and Rosa to go work for the very cartels that are ruling the town of La Vega and who killed their father. Years later they are reunited and have to confront the cartels once and for all to save the people of La Vega.

And yes, Zorro figures into this story heavily. There’s a lot going on. The story takes place in modern times. There are cars and guns and drug runners. I really like how Sean Murphy explores the idea of “how does Zorro work in the modern world of machine guns and cars?” This was really fun and I really liked the reimagining of the character.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super fun update on Zorro with the incredible artwork you expect from Sean Murphy (and the sweet vehicle designs - always a plus). Zorro: Man of the Dead takes place in modern times, with historical hometown of Zorro having been overrun by a drug cartel. The children of a Zorro impersonator must work with new allies to channel the spirit of Zorro into a rebellion.

The action is slick, the pacing smooth, the dialogue pleasant. Zorro: Man of the Dead is a tad predictable, but the packaging is terrific. I'd happily read more in this little universe.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story as someone who hasn’t really ever been into Zorro but is a huge fan of Murphy’s work. You can tell he put a lot into this book with the way it was created, drawn, and the story was told. This is definitely a story that could only be told in comics, but regardless, it was a good story and an enjoyable read.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zorro: Man of the Dead collects issues 1-4 of the Massive Publishing comic series written and drawn by Sean Gordon Murphy and colors by Simon Gough.

Twenty years ago, the town of La Vega reenacts the last known appearance of the legendary vigilante Zorro during the town’s Day of the Dead celebrations. As a warning of what a revolt would mean, the head of the local cartel murders the actor playing Zorro in front of his small children.

In present day, Rosa is working for the cartel as a driver to try and get by. Diego lives in a monastery with his adoptive father, not having uttered a single word since witnessing his father’s death. When the cartel arrives at the monastery to inquire about a possible DEA leak, all hell breaks loose and Diego and Rosa are reunited. Only Diego now believes he is the renowned Zorro who must save his town from the evil cartel.

This was an extremely unique and entertaining modern Zorro story. I really liked how Murphy was able to make this character who wields a sword and rapier while riding a horse fit in against enemies using semi-automatic guns and off-road vehicles. There are a surprising number of layers in the story of family, honor, and duty all the while remaining an action packed pulp story. Murphy’s art is beautiful, capturing Mexican landscapes and architecture, high octane action, swashbuckling heroes, and detailed emotion.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sean Gordon Murphy é, sem dúvidas, um dos maiores talentos da narrativa visual da sua geração. Contudo, também é inegável que ele se sai muito melhor na arte do que nos roteiros. Os desenhos de Zorro: A Ressurreição são lindos, mas a proposta para um justiceiro latino contemporâneo não é tão interessante. Talvez pelo fato do olhar colonizado e colonizador de Sean Gordon Murphy sobre a latinidade. Temos muitos estereótipos, a começar com o fato de Zorro ter de enfrentar um cartel mexicano de tráfico de drogas e de o diz do Zorro coincidir com o Día de Los Muertos. Falta a audácia que um olhar decolonial traria, desconstruindo a dominação estadunidense sobre o México. Uma alfinetadinha que fosse seria o máximo, mas isso não existe no quadrinho. Outra coisa que me decepcionou foi o tamanho do quadrinho. Eu achando que tinha ganho alguma vantagem comprando o quadrinho "barato" na pré-venda. "Tadinha, outra iludida!". No fim das contas, é um quadrinho ok e que não traz nenhuma grande reinvenção para o lore do personagem, apenas continuidade.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man who suffered a traumatic event as a child grows up to think he's Zorro and takes on a drug cartel. It's a pretty fun re-telling of the Zorro myth, but the highlight as usual is Sean Gordon Murphy's art.

I don't know if this will hold up to Zorro purists, but as someone with a passing interest in the character I thought this was a clever way to bring the character into the 21st Century.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the heck this was so much fun?? I usually find Zorro retellings super cringe but I loved this! The art style is insane I adore it - I wish there was more because I’d read an entire series of these comics

5 stars

[Ethan Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zorro man of the dead feels in parts like a grant Morrison comic, surreal and cerebral in how it deals with the layers of psychological fragmentation in it's main character. But where Morrison can often loose himself in that surrealism, Sean Murphy grounds the book in an utterly Ernest love of Zorro. A love letter not so much to the original character and the adventures he went on but what those adventures meant to people, Murphy and myself included, the belief system that Zorro inspired in people is the heart of this book and it uses the mask, cape and sword as a way to channel that belief in the idea that people will one day find courage in the face of a common evil. I will say that this is definitely too short, as the story built up to it's finale it felt that some characters lacked development even if this was six issues instead of four so ultimately budget kind of let down what was an otherwise terrific and really authentic confession of love for the Zorro ethos.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew coming in that I was going to like it because there hasn't been a single thing by Sean Gordon Murphy that I didn't enjoy.
Does it seem like he reuses certain action poses and moments in every one of his works? Yes, but they're cool and fit the theme, so I'm going with it.
My one kind of major complaint has to do with the use of Spanish and how incorrect most of it is. The rallying cry is in the wrong verb tense! It's a major moment that calls back to actual Mexican culture, and no one bothered to make sure it's correct? There's also a character who's nickname was either Cementario or Cementerio (which would be the correct word I think SGM wanted), but it's never consistent. Most readers probably don't notice this, but it annoyed me and took me out of the story every time it came up.

[Mendousse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un nouveau Sean Murphy me fait toujours plaisir !
Cette fois, c'est une relecture de Zorro dans un monde actuel qui est au programme.
On reconnaît les traditionnelles obsessions de Murphy et notamment son plaisir à dessiner des bagnoles. C'est, comme à chaque fois, un bonheur pour les yeux.
Les idées sont bonnes, certaines originales, mais il a du mal à tout emboîter comme il convient pour en faire une grande histoire. Une aide au scénario aurait pu en faire un petit chef d'œuvre, mais je ne boude pas mon plaisir !

[Wouter Dhondt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty neat, except for a rushed ending. Loved the punk rock jesus connection.

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever and fun tale on the myth of Zorro in the fast pace, Millaresque style of Sean Murphy. Pure action, plot movement and Zorro

[Gancu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Śliczne gówno

[PoisonFanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 étoiles pour la qualité du dessin, mais bon ça serait pas mal de bosser avec un scénariste des fois, pondre des super concepts est une chose, les mener à bien dans le détail s'en est une toute autre...

[Yoshiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

POPKULTUROWY KOCIOŁEK: Zorro: Z Martwych to próba współczesnego odświeżenia zamaskowanej legendy. Akcja komiksu toczy się w meksykańskim miasteczku La Vega. Mieszkańcy tego miasta, co roku czczą pamięć zamaskowanego mściciela, który stał się symbolem buntu. Bezwzględny bandzior El Rojo, szef lokalnego kartelu, nienawidzi tych corocznych obchodów. Podczas Dnia Zmarłych morduje on aktora grającego Zorro, co staje się początkiem dramatu. Dwójka dzieci ofiary, Rosa i Diego, zostaje sierotami, wybierając skrajnie różne drogi życia. Gdy przeszłość ponownie ich dopada, nadchodzi jednak czas zemsty. Na scenę powraca również sam zamaskowany mściciel, aby ostatecznie rozprawić się z brutalnym kartelowym światem.

Sean Murphy w albumie prezentuje scenariusz, który zręcznie balansuje między klasycznym mitem a nowoczesną opowieścią. Autor stawia na wyraźny kontrast między XIX-wiecznym idealizmem Zorro a współczesnym światem przemocy karteli. Ta mieszanka działa tutaj zaskakująco dobrze.

Historia zachwyca rytmem, wciąga od pierwszych stron i nie pozwala oderwać się od lektury. Murphy wprowadza liczne zwroty akcji i nieprzewidywalne wydarzenia, dzięki czemu fabuła nie nuży.

Mocną stroną komiksu jest ciekawe podejście do postaci Zorro i jednoczesne pewne przewartościowanie jego ideałów. Postać Diego, dorosłego już bohatera, balansuje między rzeczywistością a wyobrażeniem siebie jako mściciela. Z kolei Rosa, jego siostra, wprowadza perspektywę pragmatyzmu, tworząc tym samym fascynujący kontrast między rodzeństwem. Murphy zręcznie ukazuje również konflikty moralne i psychologiczne postaci, choć w kilku miejscach mogłoby być więcej refleksji nad ich traumami i przeszłością.

Do zalet albumu trzeba zaliczyć także przemyślane i subtelne odniesienia do wcześniejszych adaptacji Zorro. Scenarzysta tworzy tym samym hołd dla twórców, którzy rozwijali postać na przestrzeni dekad. Dodatkowo sprawnie łączy to z przyjemnym w odbiorze humorem i mocno wyczuwalną przygodową otoczką.

Nie wszystko jest tu jednak idealne. Zauważalną wadą scenariusza jest jego skrótowość. Komiks liczy zaledwie cztery rozdziały, przez co niektóre wątki są ledwie zarysowane. To samo dotyczy się psychologii postaci, która nie zawsze jest tu należycie rozwinięta. Nie przeszkadza to jednak w pozytywnym odbiorze całej historii. Można nawet powiedzieć, że taka zwięzła fabuła nadaje całości filmowego charakteru.

Pewne drobne zastrzeżenia można mieć tu ponadto do dialogów. Rozmowy są w większości dobrze nakreślone, ale momentami popadają one w niepotrzebną teatralność, przez co wypadają trochę sztucznie.

Autorowi udało się tutaj stworzyć postacie pełne energii, z silnie zarysowanymi charakterami. Bohaterowie nie są czarno-biali, lecz poruszają się w szarej strefie moralnej. Są motywowani traumami, chęcią czynienia dobra i osobistymi pragnieniami.

Diego jako Zorro jest charyzmatyczny, nieprzewidywalny i odważny, a jego kontrast z racjonalną, twardą Rosą wzbogaca narrację. Wprowadzona trauma z ich dzieciństwa i zemsta dodają zaś historii potrzebnego dramatyzmu. Postacie drugoplanowe również wypadają całkiem dobrze. El Rojo to przerażający antagonista, bezwzględny i bezkompromisowy, który wprowadza napięcie i niebezpieczeństwo. Kapitan Monasterio i lokalni mieszkańcy również urozmaicają fabułę, dodając kontekst społeczny i historyczny.

Ograniczone miejsce w albumie powoduje jednak, że postacie nie zawsze mogą należycie się zaprezentować. Ich psychologiczny obraz i walka tocząca się w ich wnętrzu, jest tu często ukazana mocno skrótowo. Nadal potrafi ona zaciekawić czytelnika, ale pozostawia pewien drobny niedosyt....

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...

[Marielle Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this certainly ain't your grandma's Zorro. (I say that quite literally. Zorro was first created in 1919, so it really is older than my 94-year-old Nana!) This is a straight-up homage of the Zorro legend, so much so it borders on meta commentary of the 106-year-old character at times. Zorro in this universe is one part an actual person who lived in the 19th century and one part legend that people almost worship. At a festival celebrating the legend, a young boy named Diego watches his father, who is playing the part of Zorro, get his throat slit by the local drug cartel. His sister sees this as well while in the crowd. How they react goes in completely opposite directions.

Diego suffers a psychotic break. He doesn't speak for 20 years, and despite being dragged to a number of therapists, retreats into his own world where he comes to believe he actually IS Zorro. This illusion is helped from being raised in an old Spanish fort by his father's friend Alejandro with no modern conveniences.

Rosa in the meantime starts working for the local gang, never visiting her brother for fear of interrupting his peaceful life. That is until Alejandro gets gunned down and Diego decides to suit up as the masked avenger. As it turns out, not only can he talk, he's pretty damn good at killing bad guys! Rosa then gets dragged into her brother's life, trying to deal with the fact her brother thinks he's a superhero dressed in black who can somehow defeat a drug cartel with guns and cars while using a sword and riding a horse.

Honestly, this was a great ride from start to finish. I loved how the story really committed to itself wholeheartedly. It was a great blend of a love letter to the legend of Zorro that has been kept in the public eye for over 100 years now, meta commentary on that legend as well, and just a lot of fun action sequences that show how a guy with a sword actually CAN be effective against vatos with machine guns. The art was very good too. I could tell clearly who everyone was, what was going on in the action sequences, and there were no goofy off-model faces (or faces traced from porn for the women). Really this was a breath of fresh air as far as comic books go. While a sequel isn't necessary, given how nicely everything was wrapped up in the finale, I wouldn't mind one at all if it's at the same quality and level this story turned out to be!

[J. Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a huge Zorro fan in general but Sean Murphy is always killing it with his artwork and his writing is enjoyable enough. The art alone is a 5 for me! I enjoyed the plot, characters and storytelling. The main problem for me lies in the fact that Zorro is delusional for much of the book. It kind of diminishes the meaning of the character a bit. I can certainly ignore that indiscretion and then I get hit with some tiny plot holes (for example) the fact that Trejo (obviously based on Danny Trejo the actor) says he knew that El Rojo had killed Rosa’s Dad but didn’t know she had a brother in Diego? You have to have a little bit of naïveté to believe that a person on a horse could beat people with machine guns anyway. It’s part of the charm and I actively try not to over analyze stories I ingest because it ruins the fun. The story overall was 3 stars.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the interest of full disclosure I backed this on Kickstarter.

With the disclosure out of the way, Murphy is a writer that I think deserves more credit. His earlier Kickstarter, The Plot Holes, is about to go with a mass publisher and go buy it if you like stories with meta fictional elements. His Batman AU work has been quite good.

Yes, this a story updating Zorro for the 2020s. It is done with appreciation for the source material (for me that includes Allende's novel). The introduction of new characters, including Diego's sister, work and even have some depth added to them.

Dealing with drug dealers and their automatic weapons? Should be no contest, especially when the hero is a little unhinged and on horseback with a sword.

Yeah, not so much.

[Davy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how I missed the kickstarter campaign for this but I would have definitely backed it because I think this is a killer modern Zorro story! The way Murphy updates Zorro for a modern retelling while simultaneously not pulling any punches by keeping the violence real and gritty, not just a PG telling, makes this one of my favorite reads in a while.

I have 2 small disclosures for my 5 star rating. 1.) Sean Murphy is one of my favorite writer/authors in all of comics so his style especially appeals to me. 2.) I dressed as Zorro more times than I can remember as a child. Those 2 things combined rounded this 4.5 star read up to 5 for me!

[Sheldon Wiebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover blurb describes Zorro: Man of the Dead as "Don Quixote meets Narcos." It's not wrong.

Our protagonist, Diego La Vega, is convinced he's Zorro. It's a delusion that is trauma induced - and that puts him at war with a drug cartel that has taken over his village (and was responsible for the murder of his father several years before that).

The word "unique" gets bandied about (usually carelessly) but it definitely applies here. Zorro: Man of the Dead is a one-of-a-kind.

Sean Murphy's writing and art are exquisite and the tale he unfolds is filled with action and unusual characters. This is a terrific look at how legends and real life can affect each other.

Gripping stuff.

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sean Murphy’s art is fantastic as usual and for it I pushed through until about half way into the second issue before I gave up. The plot is… interesting. The execution of said plot is so/so. The issue for me was the writing. Murphy who also wrote is just not a gifted writer. The dialogue in particular is very stilted, including the use of overly expository sound effects. We understand that the gate is shut based on pictures and dialogue we did not need the superfluous “shut” sound effect. Not everyone will be turned off by the writing but I demand a fairly high bar in what I read. I love Zorro and I love Murphys art but I could not get past it.

[Zaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn't a retelling of Zorro but a new story, set in the modern world, with people who believed in Zorro. The story was interesting, mixing familly relationships, vengeance, fights and violence. If the main characters weren't especially likable, they worked with the story and the Zorro background. I didn't really like the religious tone, but the fact there were dias de la muerte was nice. The art and colors were pretty good and worked well with Zorro.

[Daniel Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Releitura dinâmica de um clássico dos quadrinhos
Esse Zorro do Sean Murphy é uma vitima da violência dos carteis que assolam o México do dias atuais
isso significa que aquela história clássica de capa e espada veio pro presente e com isso temos uma trama totalmente amarradas aos dias atuais.
Cenas de ação extravagantes, coadjuvantes curiosos e relativamente bem desenvolvidos , o Zorro de Sean Muprhy lembra sim o Batman dele mas tem identidade própria e entrega um entretenimento honesto.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandpa and I bonded over sword-fighting movies, so I wanted to throw some money at this, and was pleasantly surprised how I grew to enjoy this short series.

I wasn't quite buying the premise as of the first issue, but Murphy somehow made me care about the characters more than I expected, and because of that, the who cornball plot worked for me.

Beautifully drawn and colored.

[Juliano Stefani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ao ler essa obra fica evidente o apresso que o autor tem pelo personagem. O roteiro é simples e rápido, mas a arte e a narrativa geram uma imersão única e te prendem à hq do início ao fim. Muito divertida, ela cumpre o papel de revitalizar o herói sem ser repetitiva e cria uma mitologia que poderia facilmente se desdobrar em novas minisséries. Excelente material!

[Vladimír · Rating 4 out of 5]

Páčila sa mi kresba, hlavná myšlienka a aj konfrontácia romantického hrdinu a drsného gangu dneška. Škoda len, že sa Murphy o niečo viac nepohral s mentálnym problémom hlavného hrdinu. Príbeh mohol byť ešte o úroveň lepší.

[John Funderburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the fact that Murphy explored the Don Quixote angle with the character, but I feel like he could have leaned into it more. Outside of that bit of characterization, there wasn't a great deal to take away from this story. Formulaic, but it helped to have Murphy's signature style.

[Patrick Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.nothing to deel but plenty of action and great art! Very easy 4 issue run.