Zorro is an interesting comic book story. I am not entirely familiar with previous written versions of this story but this particular version is by Matt Wagner and Isabel Allende and Francesco Francavilla. All of these authors had a role in this version, which makes it entertaining to read. I cannot say that comics are my favorite type of book but it was nice to expand myself and read through it and see how it compared to the movie version that I am most familiar with.
The artwork is very depictive of what Zorro could be imagined as. There are darker and lighter areas, showing when the enemy is speaking and has the action. My favorite out of the whole book is toward the end of the book. It is a full two pages and shows Zorro riding his horse, leaving a trail of dust behind him. I think it perfectly depicts a romantic notion that some people might have about a hero like Zorro. The gutters in the book allow it to flow nicely, and makes it seem like the story is moving, as much as a book’s illustrations can move. Francavilla did a very nice job on this.
The language in this book is used creatively. Wagner uses words like “krack” and “spsshh” and “kaboom,” which are all words that the reader can hear in their head. The Spanish language is used for both the enemy and the hero, but in different ways. The harsher Spanish words are used by the enemy, which kind of reminds me of the movie The Hurt Locker from last quarter, when all of the Arab people spoke in Arabic and there were no English subtitles, which made them appear to be more sinister.
I do not feel that there is any way that Zorro could relate to my life. If I had a fantasy to be a hero like Zorro, it could, but otherwise it does not. Society has embraced Zorro, like other heroic characters, because I think everyone has some aspiration to be heroic. It might not be at their current age but when they were a child, imagining themselves as an adult. I think that most people, as they age, enjoy this type of story for its entertainment factor and not some longed for wish that they could be a hero. Overall, I would recommend Zorro to anyone who enjoys the comic book genre and to those who just like heroes! It is an enormously popular theme for movies and books like Zorro, and has proved to be successful many times over.
You make an excellent point about the use of language in your comparison of Zorro and The Hurt Locker. It would certainly change the story if the Bad Guys used more Spanish, or contrastingly, if the Good Guys used more Spanish. Language choices are always fascinating. One part of Zorro that older people may relate to, aside from the unrealistic hero aspect of his life, is his two identities. Many older people feel they have a public self and a private self, and one is more authentic than the other. Langston Hughes wrote a poem about this called "The Mask."
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