Zorro's Shadow: How a Mexican Legend Became America's First Superhero

by Stephen J.C. Andes Narrated by Robert Fass

Overview

Long before Superman or Batman made their first appearances, there was Zorro. Born on the pages of the pulps in 1919, Zorro fenced his way through the American popular imagination, carving his signature letter Z into the flesh of evildoers in Old Spanish California. Zorro is the original caped crusader, the first hero to have a band called the Avengers, and the character who laid the blueprint for the modern American superhero.



In Zorro's Shadow, historian and Latin American studies expert Stephen J. C. Andes investigates the legends behind the mask of Zorro, revealing that the origin of America's first superhero lies in Latinx history and experience. Revealing the length of Zorro's shadow on the superhero genre is a reclamation of the legend of Zorro for a multiethnic and multicultural America.



Based on the never-before-seen letters of Zorro creator Johnston McCulley, Andes describes how the legends around Lamport and Murrieta influenced the development of the masked hero in black, and further, how Zorro went from a real life Mexican bandido to a distinctly white, aristocratic hero. Revealing the length of Zorro's shadow on the superhero genre is a reclamation of the legend of Zorro for a multiethnic and multicultural America.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“Zorro’s Shadow is a wonderfully fascinating account of a pop specter that has long haunted North America: Zorro, a settler-colonial avenger brought to life by Stephen J. C. Andes’s dogged archival research and sharp interpretation.” —Greg Grandin, author of Fordlandia and The End of the Myth 


“Zorro's Shadow is the history I've been waiting for all my life, without even knowing it.” —Jeffrey Mariotte, Goodreads ​  


“...a wildly entertaining journey. Andes leaves no stone unturned in his quest for the first superhero on the continent. Just in time for the original caped crusader’s 100th anniversary, you owe yourself a look through this fun and fascinating ride.” —Kilewy, Goodreads 


“In this swashbuckler of a ride, Andes powerfully excavates the true significance of that swish-slash Z: the super-symbol that signifies the strength, struggle, and spirit of Latinx folx yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” —Frederick Luis Aldama, editor of Tales from la Vida: A Latinx 


“Zorro’s Shadow is definitely a ‘come for the geeky details, stay for the powerful insight’ kind of book. Would recommend!” —Noelle, Goodreads 

JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile

Zorro (Spanish for “fox”) had a sword, a cape, and a secret identity, and he always fought for the little guy. What more could you want in a superhero? In a voice finding just the right midpoint between an academic tone and a sense of fandom and fun, award-winning narrator Robert Fass takes listeners on a deep dive into the history and cultural background of a character who sold millions of books and spawned dozens of films before Batman and the Lone Ranger popped up in comics and on the radio in the late 1930s. Zorro made his first appearance in THE CURSE OF CAPISTRANO by pulp writer Johnston McCulley in 1919, but it’s the search for a historic Latin-American prototype that will keep the listener enthralled. B.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176147032
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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