Never turn your back to the jungle … never know who is sneaking around from behind.
Creative Staff:
Writer: LaToya Morgan
Artwork: Daniel Mainé
Colors: Leonardo Paciarotti
Letters: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Robyn had barely survived the prison and is now making her treacherous journey through the jungle, tracked by her most dangerous enemies. The hunt intensifies as Robyn’s search for a way home may be short-lived by something lurking in her surroundings. Will Robyn survive her deadliest adventure yet?
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
The delightful feeling of a setting sun, the warmth of the fading light and the sense something is coming to an end, or is that all in Robyn’s mind? But then reality jolts her back and the cruel truth of the present becomes all too valid – the archer is fighting for her life. The teen once called Bailey became a vegetated monstrosity and now occupies a place in The Dungeon, it is he who now seeks out Locksley for revenge and freedom from the facility. However, will the flaxen heroine allow him an easy victory as wooden tendrils slowly strangle the air from her lungs … it is not that simple. Even as consciousness begins to wane, she will not surrender to his wooden coffin, not as long as she has the pocket knife from Zoë’s care package. Plunging the miniscule blade into the bark multiple times is the only way to be free, with a mixture of sap and blood oozing from the wounds, and her former captor now begging for mercy. Robyn is not one to kill her foes needlessly, but that still will not prevent a little maiming in self-defense.
But as the archer leaves her oaken pursuer gasping for life, Miller continues his chase for this escapee, cleaning up the mess she has left behind. Red Death was once a formidable nemesis, however now she lies gurgling on her own blood, insisting she can go on. This prison guard knows a useless hunter when he sees it and has no time to tend to her wounds when the quarry is so far ahead. Every second he wastes is one less he has to spend in the pursuit and the competition is not one known for his patience or accepting surrender. The Executioner, a moniker fitting for such a monster carrying a massive double headed ax easily follows an obvious trail, and not even the ferocious beasts of this jungle are worthy of giving him any challenge when the prey is so near. A brief respite to wash the grime of the day may be more than enough time for Locksley’s hunter to close in, but will this woman be willing to surrender so easily?
In Summary:
The hunt is now on and pursuers are beginning to fall to the wayside as they chase an elusive prey named Robyn, but something seems missing. While writer LaToya Morgan was able to capture the frenetic action of this exciting chase, it feels rather blasé, with nothing unique to this escapade aside from Locksley’s former foes being bloodhounds for this adventure. Gone is the usefulness of her signature bow with no arrows to slow down those enemies and while we do marvel at her skill in eluding and a need to survive, everything else is rather bland. With no more wisecracks or internal monologue to entertain us in between scenes, there is an emptiness which cannot be filled only with gore and a hope that she will live until the next issue. As such, this story has descended into an abyss of familiarity, like so many chase scenes we have seen in other pop culture ventures, it has become predictable – even including the betrayals and surprise ending. I keep expecting some big bogeyman to leap out from the bushes, or in this case maybe even the Executioner to surprise us, but then again I am sorry to say, even that might be a bit too cliché.
With an uninspired narrative, it is up to the phenomenal artwork of Daniel Mainé to bring everything into focus with his glorious depictions of these events and colorist Leonardo Paciarotti’s brilliant palette allowing the scenes to glow with unbelievable nuances of grimness and gore. While the issue may start with a beautiful memory of sunny New York City, it quickly descends into the sinister depravity which reminds us this story is a fight for survival. Gone are the normally subdued pages of action punctuated with brief temptations of bloody violence, for now it seems every other panel has become a display piece for crimson. Although it does fit into the story well, the excessive nature of this tale is drifting away from the essential foundation of Robyn Hood – a heroine who is trying to redeem herself from her violent past; although she is not involved in the most intense scenes of bloodletting, the excessive nature of it brings down the premise of the character. However, even within all of these over the top massacres, there are still times within by which this extremely talented duo shine, showing us an amazingly beautiful splash page of Robyn covered in red blood and green sap, standing beside a gorgeous sunset; then in direct opposition, we have an equally stunning portrait of the Executioner amid a conflict of carnage, muscles bulging in mid flex with his axe covered in viscera, admiring his work. Both pages sensationally show off how even within a battlefield, you can still have moments of extremes, both in wonder and horror and yet they can still show off the skill of the artists.
We have reached the apex of the story, and as such, the basis of the hunt has become abundantly clear for both the prey and the hunters. While it may seem clear there are numerous players within the game, one backer has come to the forefront and they are not willing to allow Robyn to win. However while setting up all of the story’s complexity, the basis for the title has become lost within a standard which is familiar with the audience and thus bogged down the smoothness of the tale. Hopefully, the next issue will make everything clear and bring to light what we knew all along: Robyn Hood always comes up on top, no matter what the odds.
Grade: B+
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: November 1st, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
