Demons of Sherwood
IDW Publishing; ComicMix; $19.99
Robin Hood is, of course, one of the best-known legends in the world. Robin and his band of men robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, fought with the Sheriff of Nottingham and his men, rescued Maid Marian, saved England, and lived happily ever after, right?
Well, not quite.
Writer Robert Tinnell (The Wicked West) and artist Bo Hampton (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) use the end of the legend as the starting point of their new page turner of a graphic novel, Demons of Sherwood. They show us a world where an unhappy reality has intruded upon the legend, and once they establish the status quo they almost immediately start shaking it up.
Robin is a lonely drunkard. He hasn’t seen Marian since he saved her. His band of rogues, thieves and patriots are apparently no more. And there’s apparently a witch or witches about in the land.
Tinnell, of course, has proven himself time and again at blending genres. He brought horror together with a World War I adventure in The Black Forest, and matched horror and the traditional western in The Wicked West. It might seem, though, a more daunting task to bring horror to the legend of Robin Hood.
As it turns out, Tinnell and Hampton make it look easy.
The first thing they had to do was capture the spirit of the Robin Hood legend. They did that so well that they could have just told a straight forward Robin-Hood-ten-years-later tale and it would have been just fine by us.
Like their previous collaboration, Sight Unseen, they quickly establish the mood and feel of the story and then take off at high speed. At this point, readers should have their seatbelts fastened.
The horror aspect was a pure bonus, but it was a really good bonus. The creators presented a threat that was simultaneously entertaining and captivating to the reader and one that would have seemed understandable and terrifying to the characters in the times that their real counterparts lived.
Hampton, who also co-wrote the project with Tinnell, deftly captures both the daring-do of typical Robin Hood-style action and the moodier, creepier elements with great style, though his flair is always in service to the story.
The result is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and one that gets our highest recommendation.
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Demons of Sherwood
IDW Publishing; ComicMix; $19.99
Robin Hood is, of course, one of the best-known legends in the world. Robin and his band of men robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, fought with the Sheriff of Nottingham and his men, rescued Maid Marian, saved England, and lived happily ever after, right?
Well, not quite.
Writer Robert Tinnell (The Wicked West) and artist Bo Hampton (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) use the end of the legend as the starting point of their new page turner of a graphic novel, Demons of Sherwood. They show us a world where an unhappy reality has intruded upon the legend, and once they establish the status quo they almost immediately start shaking it up.
Robin is a lonely drunkard. He hasn’t seen Marian since he saved her. His band of rogues, thieves and patriots are apparently no more. And there’s apparently a witch or witches about in the land.
Tinnell, of course, has proven himself time and again at blending genres. He brought horror together with a World War I adventure in The Black Forest, and matched horror and the traditional western in The Wicked West. It might seem, though, a more daunting task to bring horror to the legend of Robin Hood.
As it turns out, Tinnell and Hampton make it look easy.
The first thing they had to do was capture the spirit of the Robin Hood legend. They did that so well that they could have just told a straight forward Robin-Hood-ten-years-later tale and it would have been just fine by us.
Like their previous collaboration, Sight Unseen, they quickly establish the mood and feel of the story and then take off at high speed. At this point, readers should have their seatbelts fastened.
The horror aspect was a pure bonus, but it was a really good bonus. The creators presented a threat that was simultaneously entertaining and captivating to the reader and one that would have seemed understandable and terrifying to the characters in the times that their real counterparts lived.
Hampton, who also co-wrote the project with Tinnell, deftly captures both the daring-do of typical Robin Hood-style action and the moodier, creepier elements with great style, though his flair is always in service to the story.
The result is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and one that gets our highest recommendation.
Popular Topics
Overstreet Access Quick Links
