Zorro
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Book Summary Information
Illustrator: Alex TothEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-09
ISBN: 1582400903
Number of pages: 248
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Image Comics
Book Reviews of Zorro
Book Review: The Mark of Toth----Flash & Dash
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the comic art giants of the 1950s and 1960s was Alexander "Alex" Toth. His work continued on until his death a couple of years back---some of it absolutely brilliant (all of it good)---but more sporadically than in his heyday. He did a lot of film work towards the end of the 60s----storyboarding and character-designing both feature films (The Angry Red Planet, Hickey & Boggs) and tv cartoon shows (Space Ghost, Space Angel, Jonny Quest, the Herculoids,the Fantastic Four, among others), but his large fan base dotes basically on his comics work. One of those, fans,this reviewer, stays enthralled with Toth's work at Western Publishing Co.
(Back then mostly known as Westernb Printing and Lithographing Co.) under the imprimatures of Dell and Gold Key comics.
It is my personal belief that Toth's "High Tide" of prolific creativity were the Dell years , from 1957 to 1961 (with one brief reappearance for them in 1963 for a one-shot job on the Gold Key title, The Frogmen). It is in '57 that he storms onto the Dell scene with a movie adaptation of the John Ford/John Wayne Naval aviation
epic, "The Wings of Eagles" and then carries through with renditions of "The Range Rider" and with Disneys "Paul Revere's Ride, with Johnny Tremain". His illustrations are bold and vibrant, full of verve and vigor, and his action sequences are just plain full of---ACTION----unlike the more static renderings of lesser artists. Toth doesn't fool with fine lines, he goes for bold inking, with great masses and swathes of black to capture the reader's eye.
The Paul Revere comic is most impressive as an action piece and features page after page of horseback pursuits, exquisitely realized. And in most of these scenes Paul Revere wears a cloak or cape that swirls and billows out behind him as he thunders through the night. The effect here was so impressive that it obviuously came to the minds of the Dell executives a year later when they undertook to turn the new Walt Disney Zorro t.v. series into comic adventures. Since night-time chases involving horses and a guy in a cape were called for, why not call on their hotshot cape and horses guy---Alex Toth.
They did just that, and a milestone in comics history was realized. The Toth run
on Zorro was dazzling. Swirling capes and flashing blades are mainstays here, as are beautiful layouts and excellent "set design and decoration". Toth draws Zorro like he's a film director and cinematographer shooting an action movie. The thing is just totally involving.
Oddly, Toth was put off by the cape. It was a Disney innovation and had not been seen in any prior Zorro movie presentation. Not Fairbanks, nor Tyrone Power (or even John Carroll or Reid Hadley in Republic Pictures' Zorro serials)wore a cape. The only thing like it is a sequence in Fox's "Mark of Zorro" where Tyrone Power appears with a cloak over his "street clothes" on one occasion. Escaping the Spanish Lancers on horseback that night, the cloak whips and billows in the wind
and the effect IS striking. Obviously the Disney people liked that and added a cloak/cape to their version of the Zorro costume to achieve just that effect on a regular basis. Toth griped about the cape, saying it was a pain to draw, and saying it would not be practical for sword fighting, either. His grumblings (which he was good at) went, of course, utterly unheeded. And today the cloak/cape has remained in place for both the later Duncan Regehr t.v. episodes and the Antonio Banderas
theatrical films. Tough luck, Alex. Panache trumps practicality every time!
This volume collects the Dell Toth Zorro adventures in one volume and a great collection it is. One of the intriguing things to note here is Toth's "evolution" of the chief early villain, "Captain Monastario". Early on, Toth renders him with a likeness to actor Britt Lomond, who played Monastario on t.v., but---as the comic series progresses---Toth makes Monastario increasingly leaner and meaner looking, until he almost looks demonic. By the time his "comeuppance" day comes around Monastario is almost a dead ringer for Satan, less the tail, horns, and pitchfork. One suspects Alex had great fun with this transformation.
An illustrative masterpiece, full of flair and dynamism, Alex Toth's Zorro is a graphic art jewel that shouldn't be missed. I miss the vibrant comics colors greatly, but this specially shaded B&W version will more than do "in a pinch".
Enjoy!
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