Robyn Hood #1 (of 5)

Written by: Pat Shand

Letters by: Jim Campbell

Pencils by: Dan Glasl

Colours by: Tom Mullin & Jason Embury

Story by: Joe Brusha, Raven Gregory, Ralph Tedesco & Pat Shand

Edited by: Hannah Gorfinkel

Published by: Zenescope Entertainment Inc.

Intro:

We all love the big two when it comes to comics. Marvel and DC always take the spotlight and often times people ignore the fact that there’s a whole other world outside of those two companies, with a vast array of incredible stories to tell and plenty of interesting characters to fall in love with.

One of those characters certainly caught my attention when I first saw her, and I knew that I would need to pull myself away from the shadows of the big two in order to discover a new love for comics that don’t get the love that they deserve. That character was Zenescopes’s very own, Robyn Hood.

Now it has to be said that Zenescope has plenty of great looking titles that I want to dive into, but my usual readers will know that I have a love for DC’s Green Arrow in particular, and I love archers in all forms of media due to the fact that I was a kid born in Nottingham being raised on the tales of Robin Hood, so it’s no surprise I’d eventually find myself here, this day, reading Zenescopes own version of the character, that certainly catches the attention of the reader with their character’s aesthetics.

Plot:

Born in the magical world of Myst, but raised in the realm of Earth, Robyn Locksley had a tough childhood, and her teen years weren’t much different. However, she did what she had to in order to survive, but surviving isn’t always enough.

In the world of Myst, the small town of Bree is in trouble from its own tyrant that rules over them, and though a sorceress tells a poor peasant that a young girl trapped in another realm is their savior, the young girl isn’t ready for her destiny to unfold just yet.

After making the wrong choices, Robyn finds herself in hospital, with an eye cut out, and later in jail for grand theft auto. She messed with the wrong people this time, and though she’s always been tough, this time it was difficult because the people she pissed off are powerful enough to scare anyone away, even being so high up that they seem to be above the law, but Robyn vows payback.

Whilst in prison, a bright light appears and Robyn is dragged into it, finding herself in a new realm, but before she can learn too much, she is surrounded by knights. This is just the beginning of Robyn’s origin story, and it kicks off with a bang.

Story:

Before I read this story, I wanted to make sure I learned their origins, so starting from issue 1 seemed like a great idea, and it was. This story is intense, it has a whole lot of tragedy, and in some ways, it prepares you for a whole lot of action that will surely follow.

I could not take my eyes off the pages, even for a second. I just had to keep reading and see where this story was heading. I learned the gruesome truth of how Robyn loses her eye as seen on the covers, and it had me on the edge of my seat feeling all sorts of emotions. That’s how you can tell it’s a good story when you genuinely feel anger towards the antagonists and want to jump into the pages to help. It’s that intense, but in many ways, I felt that way because the story feels so grounded, which will seem odd when it comes to more of the story being told within the realm of Myst, but if it continues to feel like this when I read it, then I have no bad words to say about the writing at all.

Art:

Admittedly, I got this first issue on Google books because I wanted to read it and was too impatient to try and find a physical copy, with it being Christmas and all, it was difficult to spend time looking, so I didn’t quite get the feeling I’m sure I would if I owned the physical copy, with the colours jumping out of the pages, etc.

That being said, the art and colours in this book are still excellent. They really make the images clear and precise, with the art itself bringing forth the graphic depictions of certain parts of the story. The sharp linework makes it easy to spot distinct details and bring the story to life, even if the words weren’t there. Even in scenes where vision is blurred, the art really stands out from what you see within the more common comics published by Marvel and DC, making this a brilliantly unique book that should be talked about more.

Conclusion:

This first issue has me wanting more. I’m fully invested in learning more about Robyn, Myst, and the journey Robyn will go on to get her revenge and become the badass outlaw hero that we see on the covers of the comics. This story was exciting and intense and hit all the right notes for an origin, in my opinion at least.

If you love archery characters, be it Hawkeye, Green Arrow, Robin Hood, or someone else, then give this series a try because I am sure you won’t be disappointed.