Review: Robyn Hood Shadows of the Past One-Shot

Over the last few months Zenescope have been going for an unconventional publishing mode, at least for todays heavy event laden competition. Sure, they have the regular Grimm Fairy Tales , but for the rest of the Zenescope universe, we have been getting a classic one and done affair with one-shots that allow for elements of continuation.

Everything that Robyn has gone through has led to this day and possibly her biggest challenge to date. Now a fallen knight, a former protector of the light, stands ready to help Robyn reclaim what was unknowingly stolen from her.

Another change for Zeenscope is they eschewed their normal triumvirate of story tellers instead going for a single writer in Joe Brusha. Now, Brusha is a Zenescope veteran of many books, so if you are a fan of the company’s books then you are in safe hands. Brusha’s writing has the easy feel of a writer who has confidence and has been there / done that. Harsher critics may say that means that the beats of the book are predictable; I am not critic instead choosing to give credit for introducing a range of tropes into the book, some of which have been built upon over time. The dialogue works well with the exception of one scene of “plan A or plan B” that came across as forced. The other question I have is about the time frames in the book. How long ago is the past as it seems it was quite some time ago, meaning that Robyn is how old?

The art is provided by Ismael Canales who delivers a mixed bag. The action scenes work well as do the majority of the smaller panels. The problem is that, for me, some of the splash pages look boring or are misplaced. Take the first page for example, a portrait of a knight that doesn’t really scream excitement and there is a page of a castle that doesn’t really inspire either. That said, at least Robyn stays right handed, unlike another archer in another universe; I appreciate the consistency. The duo of Juan Manuel Rodriguez and Maxflan Araujo supply the colors. I am not sure why there is a need for two, but the colouring process is a strength of Zenescope books and this pairing are no exception to that rule. Lettering guru Taylor Esposito of Gost Glyph studies completes the team whit his usual high standards of work.

I have to applaud Zenescope for their current publishing model. Larger issue one-shots mean that stories can be told, for the most part, in a one and done fashion that an Ol’ Timer like me can appreciate. True, there are threads that connect the books, more so than in other books, but you get the idea. As for this Robyn book, it’s a fun read that has part resolution though leaves a larger portion unresolved than I expected.

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Joe Brusha
Art by; Ismael Canales
Colors by; Juan Manuel Rodriguez & Maxflan Araujo
Letters by; Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
Published by; Zenescope Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network