Zenescope.  They are not the company you usually go to when you are in the mood for a good read.  They barely even register.  When you do think of them on that rare occasion they come to mind you think about the cheesecake covers they sport with the main characters often in various forms of undress rather than the contents that might be within.  Though things have been getting better the last few years with the art and the stories becoming more affable and with some good reviews, usually what is featured beneath those well-drawn covers does not always live up to what those very same covers promise.

But… in this case, Zenescope made sure they would.

Surprisingly, Robyn Hood puts a nice little spin on the legend and makes it quite entertaining with some strong storytelling and some fairly dynamic artwork.  Is it the best book on the stands?  Maybe not, but it is a a fun way to while away some time if you need to.  First and foremost, Robyn would be a woman instead of a man, like most of the characters Zenescope would publish.  Secondly, she would have an origin that involves prophecy, magic, and violence and thirdly, she would not actually be from Earth, but Myst, sent here as a child to protect her from those who would harm her.  They are but only a few of the changes among the many that take place in these books and while the bones of the story are familiar, it is the meat that makes it enjoyable.

Writer Pat Shand creates an intriguing character in Robyn.  She is a girl that has only ever wanted to fit in but has had a hard time of it.  Her father hates her, her mother is quite sick and she does not have a lot of friends.  Shand makes Robyn a very sympathetic figure at first, but as the story goes on and Robyn endures the trials thrown her way, she becomes stronger, resilient, a hero and even liked by those around her.  It takes a while to get Robyn to this point, but the journey is worth it and for the most part, fun to watch.  There are some hardships that Robyn has to go through, like the loss of her mother, her rape and mutilation at the hands of a classmate as well as her father’s abuse, and they are a little hard to stomach at times, but they only serve to temper her and forge her into a woman as hard as one of her arrowheads.

The rest of the cast is who you would expect, though there are obviously a few new additions.  Friar Tuck, Little John and Will Scarlet are all present, for what is Robyn Hood without her Merry Men?  There are also plenty of villains and magical creatures for Robyn to go up against and while some simply get in the way, some are just plain evil and give her a run for her money.  The one problem that seems to plague her more than her villains though, is getting teleported between Myst and Earth at the most inopportune of times.  It is an interesting little story mechanism that creates a lot of tension for our hero and adds a little suspense at the same time.

To go along with the engaging writing done by Pat Shand is some fairly good artwork by Dan Glasl, Rob Dumo and primarily, Larry Watts.  Larry Watts in particular is quite good adding a nice level of excitement to the book and as the story moves on, Watts only gets better and better.  In fact, the whole series is like that as with each passing issue, Robyn’s adventures become a lot more interesting, a little more entertaining and ultimately, satisfying.  There is a lot of potential sewn throughout the first two miniseries of this book and could become really compelling depending on what route they take.  All in all, the title was definitely a surprise, but a good one and if it should continue on in the same manner, then you might want to give this a shot if you are in the mood for some good, old-school adventure.

3.5 out of 5