In the span of the series’ first six issues, Matt Wagner has meticulously told the origin of Zorro,
fleshing the character out in such a way that he stands shoulder to
shoulder with any contemporary character in terms of depth and
complexity. As Wagner has told Newsarama previously, his version of the
freedom fighter of Old California is based on the original pulp era
Zorro stories by the character’s creator, Johnston McCulley, as well as
novelist Isabelle Allende’s contemporary take on the legendary
character.
As Wagner told Newsarama previously,
he saw his chance to tell the origin of Zorro as something similar to
going back to the very start of the character and incorporating what
makes the most sense for the character, much like Dynamite has done
with The Lone Ranger.
Last year, Wagner told Newsarama: “Another part of what attracted me so
much this gig was when Nick told me that, through the licensor, they
also had access to using the material found in Isabel Allende’s 2005
novel, Zorro. I had read this delightful re-imagining of Zorro’s
origins and absolutely loved. In fact, I’ve raved about it in more than
one interview long before this. The book tells the story of Zorro’s
origin in intricate detail, taking the time and humanity to explain
absolutely everything about how he got to be who he is and how he came
to take on his one-man crusade against oppression. Much like the film Batman Begins,
by the time Diego finally appears onstage as Zorro, it all makes
perfect sense; all the pieces are in place and it doesn’t seem like a
sudden bolt of convenient inspiration for him to put on a costume and
fight the bad guys. It’s a definite extension of who he already is. So,
I plan on using a lot of the clever, clever plot points that Ms.
Allende conceived of as well as trying to capture a lot of the pulpy
spirit of the original novel.”
Get Guy Williams or George Hamilton out of your mind.
Joined by artist Francesco Francavilla (Wagner also serves as the series’ art director),
Wagner’s take on Zorro has met with praise from critics and fans alike.
The forthcoming issue #7 wraps up “The Trail of the Fox,” Wagner’s
re-telling of Zorro’s origin, and we spoke with the writer about his
first arc on the series, as well as what’s to come.
Newsarama: Matt, in telling the origin story of Zorro, you're
telling the story all around him, showing how he is seen by others
along with the insight from his longtime friend, Bernardo. Why go this
route to explaining who he is, and how he came to be?
Matt Wagner: I went that rout in order to accentuate the mythic
grandeur of his tale. Bernardo makes very clear that what we are
witnessing is the birth of a legend. And I don’t think true legends
ever really consider themselves as such. Would George Washington ever
have presented his own story with the same sense of admiration and awe
as his contemporary chroniclers? So, by having Diego’s dearest
friend—and the only other person to know his secret identity—I can tell
his story with the distance necessary for that heroic glory and yet also
filter that viewpoint through the voice of a character that is
personally intimate with our main character. It gives me the best of
both worlds, in fact. I also really love the descriptive dichotomy of
Bernardo’s narration; he’s a character who is (due to psychological
scars) mute to the world around him and yet he’s the voice who reveals the true history of his dearest friend that would go on to become the legendary hero, El Zorro!
NRAMA: You've mentioned before that you're pulling from elements
that Isabelle Allende introduced in her novel in your origin story of
Zorro, but for those who haven't read the novel, what are some of the
bigger pieces that you're using?
MW: Well, the fact that Diego’s mother was Native American, the
secret society—“La Justicia”—that he joins during his time in Spain,
the source of his name, his costume, his horse…all those are from the
Allende book. The character and portrayal of the brutal Sgt. Pedro
Gonzales is more influenced by the original Zorro story, “The Curse of
Capistrano” written by the character’s creator, Johnson McCully. In
most film versions (aside from the first, silent flick starring Douglas
Fairbanks) Gonzales is renamed Sgt. Garcia and assumes the role of a
comedic foil; he’s pudgy and not too smart. The actual pace and
construction of this version of the story is mine. In the
Allende book, Diego doesn’t even get into the costume until the final
forty or fifty pages of the book. Obviously, that’s just not gonna work
in a comic book adaptation. Granted, I’ve taken my good sweet time with
this first origin arc but we DO get to see, and in some cases just hear
about, Zorro in action. During these sequences, he’s very much viewed
from the outside as seen by his enemies and the people he’s trying to
intimidate. He’s comes off as somewhat scary and mysterious. That’s
then contrasted with the back-story wherein we get to learn about his
youth and his progression into the hero he will become; it’s a far more
intimate narrative. In the McCully book, he unmasks at the end; the
battle is done and he no longer needs the disguise. Again, obviously
that's not what we're going for in this case. At the end of the first
story arc, he’s just getting started in his ongoing crusade against the
forces of oppression.
NRAMA: Tell us about the inclusion of La Justica. While it does
add a certain richness and an epic feel to the story, you could also
argue that it takes away from Zorro's "specialness"....that now he's
just "one" of the "Zorros" - kind of like the League of Batmen in a
way... What about making Zorro part of a fraternity appealed to you?
MW: Well, again, that’s an element from the Allende novel. I
don’t really agree though that his inclusion in the ranks of La
Justicia takes away from his uniqueness. The members are fairly
individualistic and they’re not ALL code-named Zorro so I’d say the
analogy is closer to something like the Justice League. And, certainly,
no one seems to think that those members are all one and the
same, cookie-cutter versions of the same character. The thing I liked
about this narrative element is that it establishes that he already has
some experience with and an acceptance of the fact that it’s okay to
operate in a covert fashion in the name of justice. You know, that’s
one of the problems with most super-hero legendry…the idea that
suddenly seems to pop into the main character’s head; “There’s trouble
in my town. What’s to be done? Hmmm…I know! I’ll wear a mask
and adopt an alternate identity in order to better battle the forces of
evil!” Certainly seems like a big leap of faith to the think that anyone
would come up with such an idea. So, in this case, there’s already an
established fraternity that exemplifies these ideals and that sort of
behavior. And let’s not forget, Diego comes from a lineage that values
honor and tradition. This, then, becomes his tradition.
I’d agree that within the confines of where and when La Justicia
operates, maybe he’d seem like merely a pea in the bigger pod. But
Zorro is operating half a world away from his secret brethren. He’s
definitely his one man—and one hell of a hero!
NRAMA: Fair enough. You're still listed as Art Director for the
series. But given the character and setting, this material is right in
Francesco's comfort zone. So what do you do as Art Director now that
the series is up and running?
MW: Every visual aspect of the book gets run by me for approval.
That includes everything from the interior artist’s initial breakdowns
to the cover’s logo placement and color. And, yeah, you’re right…this
stuff is right up Francesco’s alley. Still, inevitably, there’re moments where—as both the art director and
writer—that I need to lend a guiding hand to how the production is
going. Things like; we need to pull the camera back in panel #4 so that
we see more of the setting, establish where the characters are. Or; the
action looks a little stiff in panel #3, try making those character
poses just a bit more kinetic.
Now, I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not but we’ve got a new
artist on board for the second story arc—Cezar Razek. Nothing against
Francesco, who’s done a fabulous job on the origin, but we wanted to
shake things up just a bit. Anyone who’s familiar with Grendel ought to
know I like to keep things lively (yet solid) in regards to a book’s
visual and narrative style. That said, I’m also changing how I’ll be
writing the next arc. It won't
feature Bernardo’s narration this time around…again, just want to give
each arc it’s own personality and flavor. And, certainly, Fran will be
back for a future gig on the book. He’s too damn good to turn loose for
very long and, let’s face, the guy just loooooves Zorro!
NRAMA: Back to the story, and probably a more global
perspective, what are Zorro's goals here? I'm probably having one of
those moments where I'm realizing the character I liked as a kid (bless
you, Guy Williams) is something that, through adult eyes, I see
as...well, it's hard to call him a pure hero, isn't it? Surely not all
of Spanish California was corrupt and in need of a cleansing.... It's
funny - I mean, in today's language, he'd be called either a terrorist
or insurgent or a freedom fighter, depending on which side of the line
you stood...
MW: Sure…as would Robin Hood, El Cid, William Tell and any
number of classical heroes of this ilk. And, certainly, Zorro doesn’t
think he’s going to drive the Spain from California altogether. He’s
Spanish himself, after all! His complaint is with the current regime of
Spanish authorities; a corrupt official—Governor Rafael Mancado—heads
the entire workings of the government in California and, in typical
“trickle down” manner, he’s replaced the hard working and honorable
members of the ruling class with his own legions of toadies and brutes.
Remember, Diego’s father was once a dearly beloved Alcalde (mayor) of
the area and was ousted by this band of thugs. Ideally, Diego would
like to see his father reinstated and the office of governor turned
over to a more deserving individual.
NRAMA: Story-wise, how much can you advance Zorro? Classically,
Zorro's fought wave after wave of (often bumbling) Spanish troops. He
obviously can't force the Spanish out of California before they
actually left according to history, but still...what else is there for
him besides fighting off wave after wave of Spanish troops?
MW: Well, yeah…it’s Spanish troops. I’ve got no real interest in
having Zorro face off with vampires, werewolves or space aliens.
Previous comic book incarnations of the character have tried that and I
found it all to be pretty dreadful. But, if done right…the troops he
fights won’t be just a faceless “wave after wave”. It’s gotta be all
about character. That’s why I’ve taken so long to get through the
origin tale. I really wanted readers to know Diego as a character before we get to all the regular trappings of his persona as Zorro with which we’re all so familiar. We all know he wears as black costume and mask, rides a black horse, carves a “Z” when he strikes, etc, etc… Plus, it’s during
the course of these issues that we see exactly how his life took on
those elements that he later incorporates into the design of his alter
ego. Have you noticed that, aside from his lessons under the tutelage
of his fencing master, we haven’t really seen a proper sword battle
yet? I mean—C’MON!—this is Zorro! Where the hell are the sword fights?
Again, that’s because I’m focusing on his character so much that,
hopefully, by the time we get to an actual sword fight (the final issue
of the origin arc, #8) the reader will be really ready for it. They’ve
seen him evolve into this brash crusader for justice and they feel like
they know him quite intimately. They’ll be invested in
the outcome as opposed to viewing it as just another moment in a Zorro
tale. I’ve gotta say, that decision wasn’t an easy sell of the licensor
either (the copyright holders). They too felt like we ought to have
sword fights in each and every issue! I finally won that battle by
pointing out that the audience didn’t really see a real light-saber battle until the very end of the second Star Wars
film. That weapon plays such a significant role in that mythos and yet
we didn’t really see in proper action (I’m not counting that stiff and
awkward fight between Darth and Obi-Wan) until the end of Empire. As a result, we were really invested in Luke and his story—we cared about the outcome.
Okay, so my whole point here is that I intend to take that same sort of
approach towards the villains as well. If you’ll notice, Zorro’s main
opponent during this first arc is Sgt. Gonzales. Well, think of
that…he’s a sergeant. He’s pretty low down in the chain of command. Our
boy’s got a long way to go until he makes it to the upper brass, the
real source of his grievance. In any given Zorro movie, the hero has to
get to the heart of the matter and defeat all
the bad guys in the space of two hours. That’s certainly not the case
with the series which we hope has a successful run for some time to
come. So, this is only the beginning for Zorro. By the end of the
origin story, we haven’t even met the main villains yet. There are bigger challenges in store for Diego than we’ve see so far.
NRAMA: Let's talk about Diego's homecoming in issue #7 - I can
understand pretending to be a dandy to the outside world, but why to
his father? His dad wrote to him of how much he missed him and needed
him back, and he can clearly see that this charade is hurting him...why
do it?
MW: When he and Bernardo finally arrive home after their lengthy
travails, Diego is surprised to find that things are much worse off
that he had initially imagined. His father is basically under house
arrest and Diego is turned away when he tries to get past the posted
guards. Up until that point, his intention wasn’t really to rush home
and take up this masked crusade using his La Justicia identity. He
fully intended on standing by his father’s side in opposition to the
reigning regime. It’s only after the discovery of how bad things really
had become that he decides that a more drastic response is needed.
After his grandmother’s legacy leads him to discover the gold deposits
in the cave beneath the hacienda, he realizes that he’s got everything
he really needs to act independently of any other consideration.
Actually, this was part of my own addition to the legend. It always
kind of bugged me that, in most of the movies, he comes home to
California, sees the situation and then—BING!—he’s immediately got the
idea to become Zorro and, most importantly, he’s all set up in a flash.
Where’d he get all that stuff? Their family’s supposed to be
wealthy but it’s not like he could just go to his dad and say, “Yo
pops, I’ve got this big secret crusade I’m gonna mount against these
bad dudes but I’m gonna need some serious scratch. Can you float me,
like, a thousand pesos or so?” So, I struck upon the fact that we
needed to explain where and how he got the financial capital to finance
such a mission. It only made sense that he might locate a hidden vein
of gold in the California of the early 1800’s. So, it’s not until that
moment that he decides that “Zorro” is the answer to his dilemma.
Additionally, he doesn’t want to see his father get hurt. Alejandro’s
no longer a spring chicken and Diego knows that, while his father might
still have the heart of a warrior, this escapade is sure to be a young
man’s game. And, after all, isn’t that a pretty common trait to most
masked heroic narratives; whether to share the truth of the masquerade
with the hero’s loved ones? By acting as a dandy, Diego fools the
military into thinking that he couldn’t possibly be any sort of threat,
leaving him with the freedom to come and go as he pleases. But for his
father’s own sake, he feels it’s necessary to extend the illusion to
include his own family as well. This is a factor that I intend to keep
playing with, though; should Diego reveal himself to his father? Or
should he continue to act alone, assuming that Alejandro’s ignorance of
his dual identity will help insure his safety?
NRAMA: This week's issue is the wrap up of "The Trail of the Fox." What can we expect to see?
MW: Romance finally enters the picture! A big part of Zorro’s
image has always included being something of a dashing romantic. He’s
usually got an eye for the ladies and a heart that’s big as a house. We
saw a bit of that in the origin arc with his bout of puppy love
after rescuing the gypsy girl from the soldiers. In fact, the Allende
novel has a lot more of this factor than I was able to include in the
origin arc. In that book, there’s a large amount of text devoted to
Diego’s fumbling infatuation with the eldest daughter of his Spanish
host, Don Tomas de Remeu. I just did not have the space to include all
that in our version so I’m really happy to be able to bring out this
aspect of his character in the second storyline. The second arc will
also feature the man who has replaced Alejandro has Alcalde—Luis
Quintero. We’ll also meet the Alcalde’s hatchet man, Esteban Pasquale
who’s an exiled Spanish noble and quite a skilled swordsman. He’s a far
more formidable opponent in that respect that the more brutish Sgt.
Gonzales.
NRAMA: When we spoke with you about Zorro initially, you
indicated that you were only going to be on the series for...its start,
and then most likely pull back. But the solicitation for issue #10 says
you're still on board..what gives? Is there a point by which you see
yourself calling it a day on Zorro?
MW: What can I say? I loves me some Zorro. That’s how I first
got involved in this book and that’s why I’m sticking around for now.
I’d have to say that I’ve probably got ideas for the next three or four
storylines at this point. After that…who knows?
