Alexander Toth was an American professional cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His work included Super Friends, Space Ghost, The Herculoids, and Birdman. Toth's work has been resurrected in the late-night, adult-themed spinoffs on Cartoon Network: Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Sealab 2021, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
He was inducted into the comic-book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990
So I received and read my copy of Zorro by Alex Toth: Remastered Edition. It's just a gorgeous book. The slip-case is beautifully made and view through the "Z" cut-out is incredible. The gilt edges look amazing. Of course the art in these stories by Alex Toth is just incredible. Toth was a master and his work on Zorro was among his very best. The stories are, what they are. Largely adapted from the Zorro TV show and aimed squarely at an audience of 8-12 year old boys. But Toth's beautiful artwork shines through and that's the star of the book along with the exquisite production values. I will say that I'm not 100% sold on the modern re-coloring. It's not super obtrusive, like that garish colors we saw on the DC Archives books or the Marvel Masterworks. And it's not the utterly horrific re-drawing/coloring that Neal Adams was doing in the last couple decades of his life. I almost think this would have been better in black & white. Toth is one of those artists whose work simply looks the best in black and white and it's something that also works for a pulpy western setting such as Zorro's. But, overall, I couldn't be more happy with this. A truly beautiful book.
A true delight, I had never read any of this before, but found the art accessible and entertaining, the stories fun and charming, and found myself quite enraptured with this era of Zorro, wanting more. The book itself is extremely high quality overall, perhaps the nicest hardcover I own.