El Zombo Fantasma [Paperback]

Kevin Munroe (Author), Dave Wilkins (Author), Sean Galloway (Author), Tony Washington (Author), Kevin Munroe (Author), Dave Wilkins (Author), Tony Washington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 2005

El Zombo Fantasma was the most famous and notorious Mexican wrestler on the planet, up until he was murdered ... apparently for throwing a match. Now the luchador has fallen into a strange land of purgatory, and the only way to avoid an eternity of fiery damnation is to return to Los Angeles and guard the well-being of a struggling young spitfire, ten-year-old Belisa Montoya. However, this role as an undead guardian angel gives El Zombo the opportunity to hunt down his killer ... and unearth far more than he bargained for. Don't miss this visually stunning pile-driver of pain from the tag-team of talented newcomers Wilkins, Munroe, and Washington!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Professional Mexican wrestler El Zombo Fantasma is having a bad day. Fresh from his last fight, he suddenly finds himself hurtling toward Purgatory after being murdered by a mysterious assassin. Angelo, his heavenly caseworker, informs him that in order to avoid hellfire, he must return to Earth to protect foul-mouthed Belisa Montoya. It seems that 10-year-old Beli is the reincarnation of an Incan goddess who has been stalked through the centuries by Los Mascaras Negros, tribal baddies who want the goddess' power for themselves. It's no surprise who wins the day in this typical superhero graphic novel, but it is tremendous, pile-driving fun getting there. El Zombo, in all his Wolverine--on--supersteroids glory, explodes off every page with a frenetic energy that is only rivaled by Beli's speedy trash talk. The computer coloration is lush, and the violence is so over the top that any WWF-savvy teen will scarcely bat an eyelash. Try this one with fans of the X-Men and Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider adventures. Jennifer Hubert
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (February 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593072848
• ISBN-13: 978-1593072841
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,405,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > United States > Hispanic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fresh, Fun, Fantasmatastic!, March 2, 2005

By 

Guy L. Gonzalez "Malcontent" (Bloomfield, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: El Zombo Fantasma (Paperback)

An entertaining salsa of genres, Dave Wilkins and Kevin Munroe have created an engaging superhero whose wearing of tights makes sense for once as El Zombo Fantasma was "the most famous and notorious Mexican wrestler on the planet." A villain, actually, the kind the crowd loves to hate, and he feeds off the attention, basking in the spotlight. He's murdered after taking liberties with a title match he's paid to throw, losing by disqualification instead of taking a fall, delivering a brutal move on the champion, Captain Courageous. When his murderer approaches, he at first mistakes him for a hypocritical fan, "asking for my autograph after spitting on me at the show."

Fast forward a year, key moments of his life flashing before him as he falls into some sort of purgatory, and El Zombo is presented with a deal: "Let me make this just as monosyllabically wrestler-friendly for you. If you no help girl and be good, you come back here and you go to hell for rest of... um... oh, yes... time."

The girl in question is Belisa Alejandra Marguerite Consuela Chi-Chi Montoya, a 10-year old spitfire and one of the most wonderful characters to pop up in comics in ages. While El Zombo's name is on the marquee, this is as much Belisa's story as his, and like Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense went toe-to-toe with Bruce Willis, she more than holds her ground here as her own destiny is intertwined with her unorthodox, revenge-seeking guardian zombie.

Munroe spins a fun tale, compact but not light, with more character development in a 3-issue story than many comics deliver over several years' time. These are characters you care about and, when the story ends, want to see more of. Wilkins' character designs are distinctive and his layouts are as energetic as the Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage's bout at Wrestlemania III.

Hopefully there's a chance we'll see new adventures of El Zombo, and his precocious ward, Belisa, sometime in the near future.