GAL 45 - Under the Sign of the Z part2 - p8

GET A LIFE!
EPISODE 45: UNDER THE SIGN OF THE Z (2)

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Art by Tyrell Deaver

Story & lettering by Franco Villa

Edits by Cristian Di Biase & Luca Salvadei

English Edits by Joe Teanby


NOTES

The story moves now to an historical character with Irish origin, William Lamport,
whose adventurous life led him to join some pirates first, and then run to Spain, where he adapted his name in Guillén Lombardo (almost an ancestor of the Lombard family).
As told in History, this ladies' man and skilled swordsman became an army captain at the court of Spain, standing out in battle against Swedish and French.

A secret supporter of the Irish rebellion, he was later sent to Mexico as a spy at the court of the local viceroy, who was suspected of sympathizing with Portugal's rebellion.
In Mexico City, where the Spanish government was faltering, the Inquisition and the corrupted functionaries used to lord it over as they saw fit.
William Lamport led there his double life: engaged with a wealthy heiress, he attended the most exclusive circles, but at the same time he gathered evidence against the viceroy.

Later, Lamport conspired to depose the viceroy, and was arrested by the Inquisition with the charge of attempting to liberate Indians and black slaves, and also dealing with Indian Medicine Men and practicing astrology.
He was also accused of aiming at the crown of King of Mexico.

In 1872, one Vicente Riva Palacio (a ex soldier, but also a Mason) fictionalized William Lamport's life in the novel Memorias de un Impostor, chronicling his double life and his nocturnal schemes of rebellion against Spain and Inquisition.
A revolutionary searching for freedom, but also a romantic in search of true love, the William Lamport of this novel saves himself from damnation by finding the principle of life, the divine spark in all of us-- that which is represented by the semitic letter 'Z', according to Masonry.

And thus the prototype of Zorro was born.

In 1919, Memorias de un Impostor was re-worked by another Mason, Johnston McCulley, who moved the setting to the 1800s, and changed the character into Diego de la Vega, also known as Zorro.

"Vega" stands for "Plain", as will be clearly stated in page 10.