Tales of Zorro

Tales of Zorro is a 2008 anthology of Zorro stories and is the first collection of original short fiction featuring pulp hero Zorro, edited by United States author, editor and copywriter Richard Dean Starr and published by Moonstone Books in 2008. A second anthology, More Tales of Zorro, was published in 2011.

Book Notes

The stories in Tales of Zorro incorporate elements from the original Zorro incarnation by Johnston McCulley in The Curse of Capistrano. It also contains many references to other versions of Zorro including the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro, Walt Disney's Zorro (starring Guy Williams), and the New World Television series, as well as Isabel Allende's Zorro: A Novel, among others.

Some stories, such as Peter David's "Colors Seen by Candlelight" incorporate famous historical figures into the story while others contain suggestions of the supernatural or are told from unconventional viewpoints, such as A. C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley's story, "Tornado Warning", which is told through the eyes of Zorro's famous Andalusian stallion.

The collection also includes a rare young adult story, "The Feathered Cape" by Jan Adkins, author of Young Zorro: The Iron Brand. Adkins is a young adult author and illustrator who was also a technical advisor for Allende's 2005 Zorro: A Novel.

Richard Dean Starr contributed a story to the book, "Winds of Change" and also collaborated on Max Allan Collins' story, "Zorro and the Fate Worse Than Death".

Tales of Zorro contains three important essays including a rare Introduction by Guy Williams, Jr. (with Matthew Baugh), a foreword by Zorro Productions, Inc. Senior Vice-President Sandra Curtis, and an Afterword by Isabel Allende.

Contributors, in order of appearance

• Guy Williams, Jr. with Matthew Baugh: "Introduction"
• Sandra Curtis: "Forward"
• Jeff Mariotte: "Mission Gold"
• Robin Wayne Bailey: "The Return of Don Ramon"
• Robert Greenberger: "Flood of Tears"
• Peter David: "Colors Seen by Candlelight"
• Greg Cox: "The Weeping Woman"
• Nancy Holder: "Zorro in the Valley of the Shadow"
• Tim Lasiuta and CJ Henderson: "The Fox and the Tiger"
• Elizabeth Massie: "Corazon de Oro"
• Richard Dean Starr: "Winds of Change"
• Jan Adkins: "The Feathered Cape"
• Mike Bullock and Matthew Baugh: "Enemy of My Enemy"
• Jean Schanberger: "More Than Meets Z Eye"
• Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin: "Stolen Heart"
• A. C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley: "Tornado Warning"
• Loren D. Estleman: "El Pajaro"
• Edward Gorman, Robert Morrish and Terence Butler: "The False Face"
• Max Allan Collins: "Zorro and the Fate Worse Than Death"
• Isabel Allende: "Afterword"

Artists and illustrators

• Cover Art (trade edition): Douglas Klauba
• Cover Art (limited edition): Sergio Martinez
• Interior Illustrations: Ruben Procopio

Book design

• Cover Concept and Art Direction: Richard Dean Starr
• Cover Design: Jim Alexander, Jim Harrington
• Graphic Design and Prepress: Erik Enervold/Simian Brothers Creative

See also

• Californio
• Category: Native American history of California
• Ranchos of California—List of Ranchos of California
• Category: Mexican California (1823—1846)