Review: Robyn Hood Spawn of Nyarlathotep One-Shot

Another month and yet another book featuring Robyn that reads like monster of the month. Sooner or latter, Zenescope, you are going to have to tie-up all theses loose threads left dangling; the small arc elements that are in place are just bread crumbs to a larger narrative. At leat I hope they are.

There is a monster loose in New York, again. People are disappearing, again; and it i s up to the only person who can stop it, you guessed it, Robyn Hood, again! Armed with new abilities, dread and lessons learnt long ago, Robyn heads off save her city, again

Joe Brusha better have a long play in mind for Robyn as at this point, I have seen “monster of the month” far too often for my liking. Eschewing the once popular mini-series format, Zenescope of gone for a more one-shot approach, which does give the reader more pages for their buck. But when the the beats of each book are the same has there been any real.progress? Sure, in the mini series format you can get books that stretch the story too much; case in point Heroes in Crisis and the lamentable Batman Catwoman series and do not get me started on all the extra issues it has taken to get to the Amazing Spider-Man non-climax! This sameness of feel and of methodology of previous issues is shame as this book is quite enjoyable. We get to see a younger Robyn, the new Robyn and of course the normal Robyn all in one story. The monologue is fun for what it is, familiar trope are used to good effect. It is very much a Robyn centric book; I do feel sorry for Ghosthawk fans who may have read the “guest starring” blurb in Previews and gone looking for this book; enjoy his practically non-impactful appearance.

Alessio Mariani art fits the Zenescope mould well for the most part, with the young Robyn pages easily been the most consistent, at least in the opening pages. The action scenes carry pace, though the figure work can look a tad wooden in places, especially around the real big bad of the piece. Strong lines help detail facial elements, though I didn’t realise an ever changing boob size was one of Robyn’s powers! Live and learn I guess. Mariani handles the different time periods well, along with a range of environs; this isn’t just another darkness meets darkness type of affair. The colors from Juan Manuel Rodriguez are up to the task of the locales showing a diverse range of skills towards the final act of the book. I am not sure how many more adjectives I can use to describe the stellar work of letterer Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios, just know that when his name is on the credits, inside or on the cover, you are going to get a font that will allow you to fully immerse yourself in the book. There are a range of covers, as is the norm nowadays; it is buyers choice.

I have often stated that Zenescope books are, for me at least, a guilty pleasure. I am sorry to that the the pleasure aspect has been dwindling for awhile with books such as Grimm Fairy Tales, Van Helsing and this in some sort of holding pattern. Surely the time to press forward has to be soon otherwise I won’t feel guilty about stopping reading them at all.

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 3 Stars

Written by; Joe Brusha
Art by; Alessio Mariani
Colors by; Juan Manuel Rodriguez
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