“Foxy” Lady.
Creative Staff:
Story and Letters: Alex de Campi
Art: Rey Villegas
Color: Morgan Hickman
What They Say:
Lady Zorro thinks she finds a moment of rest in a Chumash village, but mercenary soldiers are everywhere… and the stormclouds of war are gathering more rapidly than she can imagine. What started out as a simple caper to steal back an artifact has become a suicide mission, where at stake is the survival of the Spanish and native ways of life in Alta California. As Lady Zorro is increasingly backed into a corner, she realizes the only escape is direct confrontation. And worse, at this time when she needs to be at her most dispassionate, her most rational, along comes a handsome Soldier…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While Lady Zorro takes a moment to rest with the Chumash, the fires of war fan across Alta California. The German mercenaries hired by the Condensa ravage the countryside like a plague of locust, destroying everything in their path regardless if the people are Spanish or native Chumash. The Chumash prepare for war and Lady Zorro calls upon her own people to add to their meager army. In the middle of all this, love blooms between Lady Zorro and Hugo, the handsome soldier who is half-Spanish and half-Chumash, but love—while wonderful—may prove to be a distraction at a time when she cannot afford one.
Lady Zorro 3 is another action-packed issue brought to you by de Campi, Villegas, and Hickman. The story is strong, the characters are compelling, and the art and color excellent. At this point there isn’t much to say that I haven’t said before in previous reviews, but I did want to speak a little about what makes Lady Zorro a character in her own right.
There is a strong tradition of female heroes taking the name and identity of male heroes. There’s Supergirl, Batgirl, Batwoman, Ms. Marvel Carol Danvers (later Captain Marvel), Spider-Woman, and so on. As great as these characters are, they stand in constant comparison with their male counterparts—in fact, they can be viewed as inherently subservient to the male heroes from whom they took their identity. Many comic fans call for new female heroes with their own unique identity not linked or dependent upon a man and they are increasingly irritated when female versions of male characters are created instead (see the controversy over the new Thor).
While there is merit to the argument, what often gets overlooked is how much readers (female and male) respond to these characters. The good ones become characters in their own right—the prime example for me would be Barbara Gordon/Batgirl—and Lady Zorro stands on her own just as much as they.
Esperanza is not a gender-swapped Zorro. She possesses her own history, personality, strengths, and weaknesses that play out well in this story. While she lacks male Zorro’s sense of humor and flair, she does share his passion for justice for the people of Alta California, and she stands as a more than capable warrior. What she brings to the table are an intensity and anger that Zorro lacks, along with an ability to put it aside for the greater good.
Her character really came together for me in this issue near the middle when she and Hugo are pinned down by a squad of the German mercenaries while in a boat. They turn the boat over to protect themselves from gunfire and Lady Zorro tells Hugo to listen for her signal. He asks what she’s going to do, and she responds, “What I do best.” She then proceeds to sneak up on the mercenaries and attack them with only a knife. This scene illustrated Esperanza’s resolve, her courage, her skill, and her attitude. It’s hard to imagine male Zorro handling the mercenaries in the same way.
Another element that works well in this story is how Esperanza’s gender never becomes a plot point. There are no moments where she is underestimated because of her sex, or is marveled at for doing brave, amazing things despite being a woman. Her gender is part of who she is, but she is treated with respect in the text without any of the heavy-handed political proselytizing that can occur in comics like these. This is just a great adventure story full of brave, selfless acts, terrible villains, and lots of swashbuckling action, which just happens to star a female protagonist.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the art. I’ve discussed Villegas’ art before, but one aspect where I think he truly excels is in facial expressions and body language. He does a great job of conveying character and emotion through them, with the aid of Hickman’s color. One two panel sequence in particular stands out where one of the mercenaries, thinking he has Lady Zorro pinned, is taking aim. He’s looking down his gun and he has a manic expression, his eyes wide and his teeth bared. He then reacts to something and his head is now jerked away from the gun, his bared teeth gone from grin to rictus, his wide eyes a pale yellow instead of blue-gray. Even the background color changes in those two panels. In the first it’s a cool green bordered with black, but in the second it’s a bright yellow, indicating that something is wrong. That something being that Lady Zorro stabbed him in the back.
In Summary:
Lady Zorro 3 is another great issue in this miniseries. The titular character stands on her own despite her association with a male hero and displays the will and skill needed to end a war before it happens. The art is excellent, and this is an all-around fun comic worthy of the title Zorro. Recommended.
Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite
Release Date: September 10, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
