Django/Zorro – Like dipping french fries in a milkshake, the pairing oddly works

Django/Zorro

by Quentin Tarantino (author), Matt Wagner (author/artist) and artists Francesco Francavilla, Jae Lee, and Esteve Polls

Dynamite Entertainment

2015, 192 pages, 7.1 x 10.4 x 0.9 inches

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Is the concept of a Django and Zorro team-up ridiculous? Of course. But like dipping French fries in a milkshake, the pairing oddly works. Django/Zorro is an official sequel to the film Django Unchained and was written by Quentin Tarantino himself along with Matt Wagner, having just completed a run of Zorro comics.

The story picks up a few years after the film, and Django is still working as a bounty hunter, sending money back to his beloved Broomhilda. While collecting one of these bounties, he happens to meet an older Don Diego de la Vega, whose alter ego (Zorro) hasn't given up his freedom-fighting ways. If you were a fan of the film, you're going to like this, because it reads like another Django movie. It's action packed and has some great dialogue, but what I found really special about this is that it offers a glimpse into Quentin Tarantino's future.

As a huge fan of Tarantino's work, I was saddened when I heard him announce that he's hanging up his director hat after ten films. This only leaves two more to look forward to. But if the Django/Zorro comic is any indication of what he plans on doing after he stops directing, then comic fans get to rejoice.

As a special bonus for writers to geek out over, there's a full script of the first issue included in this collected edition. It's interesting to see how these two masters of their craft assemble the story that eventually makes its way to comic form. This is required reading for Tarantino completionists, and comic fans alike. Highly recommended.

– JP LeRoux