Publisher: Massive Publishing
Writer/Artist: Sean Gordon Murphy
Colours: Simon Gough
Lettering: DC Hopkins
Release Date: 27th March 2024

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On sale today from Massive Publishing, “Zorro: Man of the Dead” is the latest series from Sean Gordon Murphy, the the writer-artist behind DC Comic’s Batman: White Knight universe. Described by the publisher as “Don Quixote meets Narcos”, the story provides a fresh take on the legend of Zorro, bringing him into the modern world in the form of Diego, a young man who appears to have suffered some sort of psychotic break following the murders of both his father and his mentor almost a decade apart. Completely and utterly convinced that he actually is the legendary swashbuckling hero, Diego is currently in the process of trying to rallying the inhabitants of La Vega to stand up to the brutal Cartel who have been ruling their area with an iron fist for years.

I’m not exactly sure how this series managed to fly under my radar, but I’m certainly glad I finally managed to get a hold of it. More Sean Gordon Murphy comics are always a good thing, and watching him inject his own brand of creativity and worldbuilding into such a well-established legend, much like he has done with the Caped Crusader over at DC, is a real joy. Diego’s older sister Rosa is a particular highlight, cynical and vengeful but gradually finding herself grudgingly buying into the modern day Zorro myth she is watching unfold before her, even if her main priority is keeping her brother safe.

On that note, the cast of characters that Murphy has created here are each fascinating in their own way, from “El Cementerio”, the hulking bodega owner who thought he had left his assassin background behind him when he moved to La Vega, to El Rojo, the moustache-twirling (although not literally, unfortunately) head of the local Cartel who has had just about enough of all this Zorro nonsense and who hatches a fairly barbaric plan to draw this would-be hero out of hiding.

As you might expect, the artwork here is absolutely top-notch, with Murphy bringing his trademark kinetic detail to the page in spades.  It also means that there are a ton of vehicles involved, although not so much in this latest issue. What we do get is a plenty of high-level visual storytelling, with Murphy letting the village’s support for “El Zorro” continue to grow before hurling us headlong into an frantic, action-packed skirmish at the end of the issue. The beauty of the layouts and the detail in the linework keeps every single page visually interesting, with colourist Simon Gough adding a gritty feel to the proceedings and letterer DC Hopkins taking us by the hand and leading us round Murphy’s truly striking pages.

While the first two issues laid the groundwork for this straightforward but wickedly engaging premise, this latest chapter ups the ante significantly as Zorro and several of his new found allies lead a stealth mission to El Rojo’s mansion to try and find some incriminating files to pass on to the DEA and hopefully rid the land of the Cartel leader for good. Swords flash and bullets fly, leading to an eye-widening cliffhanger than all but guarantees any reader will be right back here next month.

A delightfully fresh take on the legendary swashbuckler, and a series that does a fantastic job of showcasing Murphy’s skill as both writer and artist, this series is definitely going to leave a (hopefully not Z-shaped) mark on anyone who decides to pick it up.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5.

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Oh, and if you’ve missed out on the first couple of issues, have no fear because the series will be an exclusive digital release to Omnibus.app on April 2, 2024 and the complete graphic novel is available for preorder now on Simon & Schuster.

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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