In Remembrance of Newspaper Comic Strips: Zorro

The late 1990s were salad days for the Zorro franchise. Topps had published several well-received Zorro limited comic series, written by Don McGregor, but the main event was the 1998 box-office hit The Mask of Zorro, which had its own comic adaptation, also written by McGregor. In 1999, newspapers still existed as physical objects, so a Zorro strip was quite a coup. Of course, adventure comic strips had been out of fashion since the 1960s, but a big movie could convince the syndicates to give a franchise another chance. The 1979 Buck Rogers film and TV show re-launched the strip, just as the ill-fated Legend of the Lone Ranger re-launched the classic western daily in 1981. In contrast, Zorro had never been a newspaper comic, but it spawned four big-screen film serials, so it transferred quite easily. Indeed, in some ways McGregor’s newspaper Zorro might be the most realistic and compelling psychological depiction of “The Fox” to date, definitely including the new French streaming series.

The first thing that really jumps out about the Zorro strip is the quality of Thomaas Yeates’ art, produced with Tod Smith as co-penciler. In 2012, Yeates started drawing Prince Valiant, which is the Cadilac of strips. His work on Zorro would have stood as a convincing reference, because his period details are exquisite. Yeates' Sunday strips, rendered in black-and-white in Image’s The Dailies: The First Year collection, also frequently use inventive layouts that really pop off the page.

McGregor also serves up an intriguing visual right off the bat, setting much of his first story-arc, “Tusk Envy,” against the backdrop of the La Brea tarpit, which still visibly entraps a massively imposing fossil. Those bones become a source of intrigue for two rogue Spanish soldiers. Nearby, Zorro fights for his life, against his nemesis, Captain Monasterio, and a ruthless mercenary, Quick Blade, retained to kill Zorro.

Indeed, Quick Blade is more skilled, better armed, and far less honor-bound than Monasterio and his men. Consequently, their first encounter becomes an epic struggle for Zorro’s survival. McGregor has a keen facility for writing Zorro’s thoughts and concerns during such battles, including his fear of tell-tale facial scars.

McGregor also keenly expresses the pain Don Diego subsequently suffers as he silently grimaces through his subsequent day. Even more than Zorro, his trusty steed, Tornado truly emerge as the hero of year one. However, McGregor advances the story at a decidedly slow pace, which might have been part of the strips undoing. In one year of strips, he essentially chronicles two days in Zorro’s clandestine career. Admittedly, they are two very eventful (and painful) days. Regardless, when read in a collected format, McGregor’s Zorro is a genuinely gripping page-turner.

In fact, McGregor and Yeates retroactively added a few extra strips to help smooth out the narrative flow. A Year Two collection was printed independently, so it is now impossible to find, but Year One is easy to acquire used at an affordable price—and it is well worth it. Frankly, this is the grittiest Zorro most casual fans will ever encounter. The stakes are high, particularly for Zorro himself. It also seriously addresses the personal costs of his deception, especially in terms of his father’s ill-disguised contempt.

It is too bad McGregor’s Zorro only ran for two years (almost to the exact date). If you go back and catch up with it, it just might become your favorite Zorro. Frankly, it far outshines a lot of other Zorro productions you might remember (including George Hamilton and maybe even Antonio Banderas). Very highly recommended, the First Year Zorro collection will leave you wanting more.