The enemy of my enemy is my friend … maybe?
Creative Staff:
Writer: LaToya Morgan
Artwork: Daniel Mainé
Colors: Leonardo Paciarotti
Letters: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Robyn, has been electrocuted, imprisoned, beaten and nearly killed on numerous occasions during her stay in the other-dimensional prison, The Dungeon. With the hope of an escape home to New York looking less likely with each passing minute, Robyn must pull together every last ounce of strength she has to make one final stand, or risk remaining trapped on this island forever.
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Executioner has easily recaptured escapees Robyn and Zoë, plus a traitor they always suspected, prison guard Miller, who is later revealed to be Locksley’s friend Avril. But now that the trouble makers have been detained, the real fun will begin in the Pit which contends the archer against a trio of her former adversaries – Vapor Lord, the arachnoid and Salina. However the warden made one fatal mistake: allowing the vigilante to be armed with her favorite weapon, thinking being outnumbered would be a disadvantage … clearly he does not know her too well. As the forces face off, these former foes think vengeance will soon be theirs, taunting the blonde heroine as they attempt to surround her and cut off any escape. But a few quick shafts embedded in select areas immediately softens the odds, with the past vampire king now suffering underfoot.
With Robyn now distracted, the spider beast quickly surges forward and scatters the archer’s oaken shafts, assuming she would now be defenseless. But this heroine is too quick witted to allow such a cheap trick to become a penalty, using her swift reactions and unerring aim to pacify the abomination as he gloats, just like his friend. Now with only the red head named Salina to contend against, the two women challenge for dominance, mental energies against physical prowess. Although the contest may have been decided by the telekinetic, Locksley has another weapon at her disposal – revenge. While she may have put most of them within this Dungeon, who was it who made them suffer all of these years? It was not New York’s guardian but the warden and his guards, the men and women who placed them in isolation, locked down their abilities and allowed them to suffer for their own amusement. Which group has warranted more hatred: the hero or the jailors? The decision is easy to come across … and now the tide as turned.
In Summary:
With the end now here, writer LaToya Morgan finally releases the unduly emphasized conclusion, which is very leading and disappointing from the start. The Hunt in the title was supposed to tire our savior, then introduce the foreboding Executioner who was to become the dominant protagonist, but he instead plays a miniscule part as a overly powerful pursuer, then left out of the final battle against this prisoner. Why introduce him if he doesn’t fulfill his primary role as one who punishes as his name denotes? Anyone who is a faithful reader of Robyn Hood will know Locksley is never without a plan, especially when the warden allows for such an obvious escape and her friends’ lives on the line, how is she not to take it? The bad guys even lean the odds in their favor, and yet they do not take advantage of anything. The allowance for a weapon, while it may have been arrogance on the supervisor’s part, it is also stupidity to think no one sane would not take dominance of the situation. Wouldn’t his overseers have provided a dossier for this dangerous person and her abilities for getting out of tight spots? Then add her skill, Robyn’s quick wits, the mental acuity to think out of impossible predicaments, and that leaves him with giving her all of these benefits in what was supposed to be a death arena? How else could he not be asking for trouble? Then again, the whole is too predictable than to leave readers without a singular conclusion, and thus, allowing for an unsatisfying ending for what could have been a gripping and remarkable series.
It is only the prominent artwork of Daniel Mainé and Leonardo Paciarotti’s eye focusing colors which keep our attention for this lackluster finale. The whole idea of a gladiatorial arena is a great way to start off the end, but it would have been nice to see some close up reactions from the gallery, prisoners booing the action in the center ring. The hot brightness of the Pit also helps to magnify the high drama and sincere fight of life or death, throwing the reader into midst of the combat, allowing us to experience what Robyn faces. Skillful usage of panel transitions moves the story along seemlessly, highlighting essential moments, never allowing us to rest from this challenging tale. It is this type of artistic cooperation which gave us a reason to return to the Dungeon, throwing the audience into Locksley’s escapades every month, not wanting it to end even as it became ever more like a B-grade prison escape movie. But the enticing combination of stunning illustrations and emotion filled tonal shades kept us coming back, watching as our beloved archer tried her best to leave, but just like this wondrous graphic medium, it kept pulling us back.
Robyn Hood: The Hunt began as a tempting romp for our heroine archer into the classic cop goes to prison to confront her past, but somewhere along the way, it fell into the same genre and kept stumbling to the end. While the premise for the title was promising, allowing the Order of Tarot’s proxy Nataliya to clear the way of Locksley, this underlying meaning was never followed through and became lost. As such, we were thrown into clichéd predictability within the Dungeon, a place where troublesome Highborns are placed to keep them out the way for other more sinister plans, but even this location was never fully fleshed out. With all of these seemingly essential story points left raw and still clinging to the bone, it leaves the reader with an unpleasant taste in what could have been a very appetizing meal. And yet, there may still be hope for the narrative as a whole if we are ever given privy to the entire information, but since it is still developing, it essentially sacrifices this title for what could have been a great story for Robyn … and that is a great shame.
Grade: B+
Series Grade: B+
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: December 27, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
