Zorro #17
Reviewed by Russell Burlingame
Zorro #17 Story by Matt Wagner Francisco Francavilla's art in this book is spot-on for the type of title that it is (this and "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" are two of Dynamite's best—and month in and month out a couple of the better titles based on licensed products in mainstream comics), but frankly the script leaves a little bit to be desired. The narrative boxes that pervade the first half of the book violate the basic rule in comics, TV and movies: they tell rather than show, giving readers an overview of the story but frankly leaning a little too much on the crutch of it. In this case, they have a number of nicely-rendered but rather clumsy splash pages. It's an interesting problem to have, given that this issue is almost exactly what you'd expect of a Zorro comic (so this much exposition doesn't seem like it should be necessary)—a rich, morally questionable landowner is taking advantage of the peasants and Zorro steps in on their behalf. Here, he imposes his own unique interpretation of a Hawthorne classic on the man. This issue, then, can be enjoyed by anyone who has an interest in Zorro. After all, it's more or less a blueprint for all Zorro stories. That said, it's clear that Wagner and company have a greater plan at work, as the last couple of pages features a man and his son who, upon hearing the events of the issue related to them, take it pretty hard. |
 |
Take A Look Inside
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
Reviewer Bio
Russell Burlingame is a journalist and columnist living and working in New York City. In high school, Russell interviewed Elliot S. Maggin for a review of the Kingdom Come novelization, and since then has worked consistently in and around the comics industry. He interned for Wizard magazine, and has freelanced for Wizard and Newsarama, in addition to a number of non-comics publications, Russell is currently working on a graphic novel based on Cap'n Internet, the comic strip that ran in his college newspaper; and a graphic biography of folk singer Phil Ochs with artist Marion Vitus.
Currently, in addition to his freelance work and his comics projects, Russell writes a number of columns for ComicRelated, including Conscientious Sequentials, The Gold Exchange, What's Perhappenin', Closing Statements, Reflecting 'Pool and To See or Not To See. Russell also takes point on the Hot Shot of the Week feature.
blog comments powered by Disqus