Zagor

For Zagor, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, see The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. For Goan festival, see Zagor (festival). For the commune in Mureş County, Romania, called Zágor in Hungarian, see Zagăr.
Zagor
Publication information
Publisher Sergio Bonelli Editore
First appearance 1961
Created by Sergio Bonelli
Gallieno Ferri
In-story information
Alter ego Patrick Wilding
Notable aliases Zagor, Za-Gor-Te-Nay, Spirit with the Hatchet
Abilities strength, agility, master acrobat, formidable gunfighter, infallible with hatchet

Zagor is an Italian comic book created by editor and writer Sergio Bonelli (pseudonym Guido Nolitta) and artist Gallieno Ferri. Zagor was first published In Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1961.

Character

Zagor's real name is Patrick Wilding; he is the son of Mike and Betty. He is a western character living in a forest named Darkwood, located in Pennsylvania, north eastern United States. His name Zagor comes from its Indian name "Za-Gor Te-Nay", whose fictional meaning is "The Spirit with the Hatchet". Though the writers don't mention exact dates, Zagor is supposed to be active during the first half of the 19th century, or around 1825–1830. Zagor fights to maintain peace over all his territory, protect the Indian tribes and hunt down criminals. Son of an army official retiring to live as a pioneer and trapper in the forests of the north-east, Patrick Wilding sees his parents die at the hands of a band of Abenaki Indians, led by Salomon Kinsky. Taken in by the middle-aged trapper nicknamed "Wandering Fitzy", the boy grows up with only one thought on his mind: revenge. Fitzy teaches him how to make a deadly weapon out of a hatchet, and when he is old enough to fulfill this he finds out that his father had himself slaughtered many Indians, and the boy's understanding of the relativity of the concepts of good, evil and justice compels him to transform himself (with his accomplices the Sullivans, a family of acrobats who are his image makers) into Za-Gor-Te-Nay. Better still, shortened, Zagor. He is a kind of avenger always ready to side with the weak and the oppressed, whether red, white or black, whoever they may be. Moving his shack to an island surrounded by quick-sand in a marshy area of Darkwood Forest, Zagor begins his work as a peacemaker. He takes Darkwood tribes under his wing earning himself a distinction of the Lord of Darkwood, beloved and respected by peaceful natives and trappers, and feared and hated by anyone who would endanger the peace between reds and whites. Zagor isn't your typical western character, there's a mix of horror and sci-fi side by side with a bit of humour coming mostly from his sidekick Chico, a short, fat Mexican man who became his best friend. His full name is "Don" Chico Felipe Cayetano Lopez Martinez y Gonzales.

Abilities

There seems to be a hint of divine regarding Zagor's abilities as he from time to time demonstrates almost superhuman strength, agility and endurance. His fighting prowess is extraordinary whether he finds himself in a gunfight or plain brawl. If needed, Zagor is more than capable of dealing with multiple opponents and is basically invincible in a one-on-one bout. In many occasions, he is also seen fighting North American wildlife (such as cougars, alligators and even bears) with nothing more than his hatchet or knife. He is infallible with his oval bladed hatchet, whether he uses it as a melee weapon or as a projectile. Zagor is also shown possessing an incredible speed which, paired with his almost cat-like reflexes, often allows him to catch a traveling spear or even an arrow, a feats which usually leave Indians in an awe further solidifying Zagor's status of an emissary of the Great Spirit (a superstition that Zagor uses to his advantage). Zagor can quickly cover great distances using his trademark branch-to-branch way of traveling where he jumps from one treetop to another. His war cry seems to be a roar of an unidentifiable (and presumably horrific) creature. This is one of Zagor's calling cards, the one which usually leaves wrongdoers in a frantic state of mind.

Allies and enemies

Notable allies:

Chico (Felipe Cayetano Lopez Martinez y Gonzales) - Short obese bumbling but kindhearted Mexican. He is Zagor's loyal companion and a comic relief throughout the series.

Tonka - Chief of Mohawk tribe and Zagor's blood brother.

Colonel Norman Perry - Military doctor and influential person in the army brass.

Baron Icarus LaPlume (Feather) - An inventor obsessed with flying who always ends up victim of his own devices.

Drunky Duck - Indian postman whose unorthodox ways of delivering mail infuriate Chico.

"Doc" Lester - Trapper and former dentist. Has an elusive past.

Many Eyes - Shaman which embraces white people's medicine and technology. One of the few Indians to know Zagor's true identity.

Frida Lang - Austrian countess and Zagor's love interest.

Memorable enemies include:

Professor Hellingen - Mad scientist and Zagor's nemesis. Not only that he is capable of creating a doomsday devices but he has also managed to cheat death and return to the land of the living to wreak havoc not once, but twice.

Kandrax - Celtic druid who wields mystical powers.

Mortimer - Scheming genius and a conspirator. Inspired by A. C. Doyle's professor Moriarty.

SuperMike - Man of many talents and abilities and Zagor's evil counterpart.

The Alchemist (Robert Gray) - Terrorist with prosthetic arms and expert in chemical warfare. One of very few persons to defeat Zagor in a fistfight.

One-eyed Jack - Glass-eyed outlaw.

Popularity outside Italy

Even though Zagor is popular in Italy, it is even more popular in Croatia and Serbia, where it is being published to this day, being also published in other former Yugoslav republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Slovenia. In former Yugoslavia, Zagor was published by the Serbian publication Dnevnik in its Zlatna Serija edition from 1968, now there are more modern publishings in this countries like M-comics for Macedonia. Although not as popular, Zagor comics are also published in Austria.

Zagor is one of the most popular comic heroes in Turkey since the 1960s. Two unofficial Zagor movies have been produced in Turkey in 1971, "Zagor - Kara Korsan'in hazineleri" and "Zagor - Kara Bela".[1] Zagor was also published in Greece and in Israel in the 1970s, where, during that time, Tex Willer was published as well.

In 2015, Epicenter Comics released, in U.S.A., the first English-language edition of the three-part story Zagor! Terror from the Sea, including extra essays, introduction texts and original covers.

Authors

Illustrators

References

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