Complete and unabridged, with an illuminating Introduction, this is the timeless masterpiece of pulse-pounding action, daring exploits and passionate romance. Here is the original "Zorro" story, the tale of a "Robin Hood" of Old California—so beloved by the world that it inspired dozens of motion pictures and television series. Although masked heroes in dramatic costumes with secret identities as ordinary, even ineffectual civilians, have been popular with old and young alike for the last seventy or so years, they were almost unknown in literature until the fabulous success of Zorro, first as a magazine serial, then in book form, and finally as a screen blockbuster. Zorro is unique—no other hero has quite his gift for delivering a witty line while pressing a villain to retreat with his consummate swordsmanship. No one has quite his gift for paying a languidly bored compliment to a Señorita as Don Diego, or for fiery, poetic love-making as Zorro. And no one else has quite his touch for delivering retribution to those who brutally victimize the poor and helpless—not even Superman or Black Scorpion leave their initials behind, carved in the evildoer's own hide as a permanent reminder that "crime does not pay." Myth, allegory, parable—The Mark of Zorro is a call to champion the rights of the downtrodden and oppressed that is not lost on the young, whatever its reception by their more jaded and literal-minded seniors. In all of his sixty-plus Zorro tales, Johnston McCulley had one goal: using his pen to fight injustice as his immortal hero did with the sword. If you have never read it, this very special edition is the place to start. If you have read it before, this is the perfect time to relive all Don Diego de la Vega's immortal exploits in Old California.