ZAGOR

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.

Zagor's real name is Patrick Wilding; he is the son of Mike and Betty. He is a western character living in an imaginary 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.

Publisher: Sergio Bonelli Editore

First appearance: 1961

Created by: Sergio Bonelli, Gallieno Ferri

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

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