***2024 Summer in Sherwood***
Tony Lee manages to cobble the many assorted aspects of the Robin Hood myth in one coherent whole in this graphic novel. We have Robin returned from the Crusades to take up his dukedom. He immediately comes into conflict with the Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisborne, the obvious bad guys of the tale, who naturally support Prince John and the Norman aristocracy. The Prince has his eye on the throne and has delayed gathering the necessary ransom for his brother, Richard the Lionheart. The gang’s all there: Little John, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller's Son, Friar Tuck, and Maid Marian. Lee even manages to incorporate the archery contest, one of the iconic deeds of Robin Hood. Nor does he leave out the return of Richard and the reward of Robin and his loyal men. He does avoid calling them the Merry Men—the implication being that their plight is too dark for much merriment.
I found the artwork confusing. Marian was distinguishable because she was the only female character but the men were exceedingly difficult to tell apart. The Sheriff and Guy had to be parsed by dialogue. Often I had to identify Robin by situation. More often than not, the eyes are just black shadows and not the windows to the soul that we are used to. In my opinion, it should be easy to identify the characters, by costume if not by face. Richard was easily indicated by his Crusader garb, but he was the only easily identifiable man.
I find myself wondering about readers who first encounter Robin Hood through this medium. Because I've read the stories, I recognized what Lee was doing with the plotline, but would it make sense to someone new to the story? Would it inspire them to read further or would it satisfy their curiosity? I would certainly be confused if this was my first encounter with Sherwood's famous outlaw.
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