Always remember where you came from … you never know when it will come back for a visit.
Creative Staff:
Writer: LaToya Morgan
Artwork: Salvatore Cuffari
Colors: Leonardo Paciarotti
Letters: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Robyn has finally taken down the monsters and villains that have plagued New York for far too long. Now, with the streets safe again, Robyn unfortunately isn’t going to get to enjoy them. After being transported to an otherworldly, high tech, maximum security prison, she must fight for her life from some of the very creatures she has placed there. Will she survive with enough of herself intact to get back to the city she calls home? Find out, in Robyn Hood: The Hunt!
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
The last thing Robyn remembers before landing on this island fortress was someone pushing her through a funhouse mirror … never again. While the beauty of a setting sun is not lost on the archer, that is not her highest priority – especially when she makes the stupid blunder of triggering a laser tripwire, what an amateurish mistake. It is only when Locksley spots guards attempting to capture her do things become dangerous, and not the best of choices after they neutralize someone’s bow, for now it is time to get serious. A few selective strikes to vulnerable points and it seems as our heroine will be victorious, until the leader brings out a taser – the only way they can win a five on one fight, by cheating. It seems as if gentlemen no longer have any honor when fighting a lady.
At least now Robyn knows this place is called The Dungeon, or that was what a gruff matron called it before she was ordered to strip and change into a uniform. Her designation now is Prisoner #242779, but there are others in this place who know her as the person who put them here … a few faces which she would rather forget. And it doesn’t get much better once Locksley’s cell mate Zoë introduces herself and tries to get friendly – the last thing our favorite blonde wants since she isn’t staying here long. After much pestering and subsequent attempts of ignoring, her new friend still tries to warn Robyn that she can’t survive here alone, but our heroine does not take to advice easily. It is only in the recreation area does our inmate learn a welcoming party by the likes of Vapor Lord Vasco, Red Death, a lizardman and an arachnothrope is not meant to be inviting but allow for persecution of injustices on their part. Will Robyn weather her first day in this penitentiary or is the corrupt system working against her?
In Summary:
It’s been three years since writer LaToya Morgan graced readers with a regular title in the Zenescope universe, and while she has taunted us with forays into Grimm Tales of Terror, it was not been since her magnificently delicious temptress Venus in Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Goddess Inc. through which have we been able to bathe in her literary excellence. So it is now fitting she returns from her long hiatus in depicting one vicious blonde beauty with no morals to a flaxen vigilante who does the right thing to gain forgiveness for her past. Robyn Locksley – in recent depictions she has become a dignified heroine who grew a conscience but need we not forget when we are introduced to the character, Robyn Hood was a mentally fragile girl who lashed out against anyone who offered a hand in aid … and it is now by which Morgan reflects back upon that stoic persona to shield her against her journey now. This strength of determination, an underlying stubbornness not to allow anyone get close due to the consequences of her Child of Darkness curse: people who become her friend eventually suffer – Marian, Rotter, Liesel, Britney and as of late, Gabby; they all were drawn to Locksley, and whether through coincidence, Fate or some other twisted hand guiding their actions, everyone met some kind of bitter cruelty which affected them, even if they do not blame her, she still feels some obligation for atoning for those relationships.
And yet Morgan enticingly works all of these complex nuances of Robyn’s lone wolf character into an atmosphere which allows for an openness for this forgotten, and so enjoyable, shell which protects her now vulnerable heart … prison. You have to feel for Locksley once she settles in with Zoë, her only potential friend in this cesspit of Highborn scum and villainy, and the conversation turns to references from classic jail movies; I sincerely burst out laughing when Prisoner 242779 started referring to one of my favorite Stephen King adaptation movies, The Shawshank Redemption, and then on the opposing range of the spectrum, Women in Cages. This contrast of polar opposites helps to reinforce the boundaries of glamorized prison life which Hollywood and current literature have given us, since a real life portrayal would not make for an entertaining story which we need to connect with these desperate people. Everything marvelously falls into place via Morgan’s grim tale, setting up a situation by which Robyn isolates herself due to the past, and then is revisited by the enemies which she has tried to forget, in essence, her past actions have come back to haunt her; she has given the reader a narrative which build up on Robyn’s victories and yet also penalizes due to those same gains, the winner claiming the lion’s share of a prize which she neither wanted nor needed, with the losers now scavenging for scraps to sate their ravenous hungers. It can only get better for the audience and unfortunately worse for Locksley – but who are we to complain if someone appreciates it?
Thus with a new series and writer, this title deserves illustrative talent who can keep up with a fantastic narrative, and therefore they reveal themselves within an awe inspiring splash – Robyn admiring a beautiful sunset, before all chaos breaks loose. Salvatore Cuffari gives us a wonderful display of his artistic skill by encapsulating a breathtaking opening within panels to concentrate action, allowing the reader to absorb each scene as tension mounts, all leading up to that sickening event of our heroine being captured. What better way to show off the vulnerability of Locksley than her being surrounded by cowardly men, only holding her at bay via threat of drawn weapons and taser – allowing us to know we are in for something along these draconian lines. However, this emotional melodrama would be hollow without the sensational coloring expertise of Leonardo Paciarotti, giving the world of this island fortress all the compassion it fully warrants. It is amazing how he changes the mood by gradually by decreasing or increasing light and shadow: from Robyn’s signature Sherwood Forest camouflage green and guards’ sickly jade uniforms against the splendor of flora to a transitional descent into The Dungeon’s nauseating florescent lighting of antiseptic surroundings, then only to expand from there. Even as Robyn talks to Zoë, there seems to be a faint glimmer of faith, with her face lit by a gentle glow, but once we tumble further into the depths, everything becomes darker, evoking a sense of despair and thus loss of any hope which our witless heroine may ever hoped for within this pit of corruption. This is how you invoke an audience to care for the protagonist, but that need is not required within this synergy of art and color – brilliance upon itself.
Robyn Hood: The Hunt is an invigorating glimpse into a clichéd prison film, but with all the snark which defines our favorite noble vigilante. While on the surface the issue may be an opportunity for her foes to exact revenge, at the same time, it is a chance for Robyn to glimpse into her own vulnerabilities and see they may also be her greatest strength. With death hiding behind every corner, I for one cannot wait to see how this flaxen challenger will survive her first day in the Dungeon. Will she learn the greatest lesson from prison or will she surrender to the horrors which await within her cell … the minutes tick away in anticipation as I wait with bated breath. Why does a month always seem to be so long?
Grade: A+
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: August 02, 2016
MSRP: $3.99