Trade Marks: Zorro (2008) Vol. 1

I am a pretty big Zorro fan, and the collection of Alex Toth's Zorro stories for Dell is one of my all-time favourite books. I must admit to being very intrigued a few years back, when I heard that Isabel Allende was writing novel starring Zorro. I quite liked that book, but I would not go so far as to say that I loved it. When I spotted this volume is a bargain bin for $6, I could not pass it up. Overall, I would say that Matt Wagner did a good job adapting Allende's work. It is a solid updating of the character and, and Wagner shows restraint by not tearing everything apart by introducing an overly 'grim and gritty' version of the character. He seems to understand that Zorro's fundamental appeal is the mixture of action, charm and humour. The artwork by Francesco Francavilla is about as far from Toth as you can get, but it is still quite appealing with excellent storytelling and action sequences. That being said, this volume is enjoyable yet disposable. I had a fun ride, but there is really nothing that sets it apart from the pack. It's an above average action tale, nothing more and nothing less. Trade Mark: B