If you were wondering what twists Alien Books might bring to their new Zorro license, the answer is: a really great creative teams. Or at least, one and a half of those. As announced at New York Comic Con, the first two books out of the gate are Howard Chaykin and Jorge Fornés on Zorro, and Dan Abnett and Aaron Lopestri on Zorro’s Legacy.
“I grew up with ZORRO, the television series, the comics, the Fairbanks and Power pictures–and loved them all,” said Chaykin via a press release provided to Comic Book Club. “I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to tell a Zorro story that takes our hero on an adventure a world away from the hills of San Capistrano.”
Added Fornés, “Howard Chaykin is one of my favorite creators in both writing and drawing. I hadn’t had the opportunity to work with him until now, and I didn’t want to pass it up. I’m absolutely thrilled that we’re able to collaborate on this book.”
Zorro will launch in April of 2026, and “follow Don Diego de la Vega as the crime-fighting Avenger faces off against Napoleon Bonaparte forces in a showdown for the ages.”
Meanwhile, Zorro’s Legacy will hit in June of 2026, and feature a soundtrack by Daft Punk as the son of Flynn from the original movie… Oh, sorry, I was thinking of Tron: Legacy. Anyway, Abnett and Lopestri will transport the action to modern day Los Angeles, where a descendant of the original Zorro tries to live up to his ancestor’s roots, while also navigating traffic on the 405. Just kidding about that last part.
“Zorro is a great hero, and his legacy is as relevant as it’s always been,” said Abnett. “And Aaron’s a great artist. It’s a pleasure to be working with him to explore this classic character and carry that legacy forward into new adventures and daring exploits for today’s readership.”
Added Lopestri, “Zorro is a classic adventure character that everyone knows. I am thrilled to be involved in bringing a modernized version of him to life in this mini-series with Dan!”
Lopestri is heavily associated with the movement Comicsgate, which is described as, “an alt-right harassment campaign meant to oppose diversity and progressivism in the North American superhero comic book industry.” A counterpoint to Gamergate for video games, Comicsgate has regularly harassed LGBTQ+ members of the comics community, people of color, and particularly women. After Alien Books suffered a blow to their rebooted Valiant superhero line when one of the writers was called out for using what read as anti-trans hate speech in the book Bloodshot, this is another potential area of backlash for the publisher.
These new books will be distributed to comic book shops via Alien’s deal with IDW. You can check out not final artwork for both titles, below.
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