Customer Reviews

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Read it. Enjoyed it and was simply overwhelmed by the real characterization of all involved. I am now a History nut and find that no matter how much time goes on people remain essentially the same. Most are just underlings simply going on with life... There are some people who want power and play politics to the hilt. Others try to stop them. That is the essential story of Robin Hood. It was told in an excellent manner and I was amazed how much more of Robin Hood I could learn from this graphic novel!

Robin of Loxley has never understood his father. Ever since the day when his father killed a man--a friend--because he could not save him from the hangman's noose, Robin has sworn to be better than that. If the time comes, he wants to be able to save, not to be forced to kill. Now a grown man, Robin is away fighting in the Crusades when he gets word that his father, Patrick, Earl of Huntington, has been murdered. Returning home to seek vengeance for the death of the man who taught him to fight, Robin soon finds out that his hardships have been nothing compared to those of the peasants in the poor villages of Nottingham. The local sheriff rules the district with harsh justice that favors his friends and his chosen ruler, the regent Prince John, more than it helps those he is supposed to protect. With the rightful ruler, Richard the Lionheart, being held captive in Austria, Robin has no one of power on his side, so he makes his own choice to rally the outlaws living in Sherwood Forest and fight for the right to live free from tyranny.

Lee's addition to the mythology of Robin Hood takes bits and pieces from the many stories, poems, songs, television shows, and movies about the famous archer and mixes them into a tale that is sharp, snappy, and fun. Readers who know the Robin Hood stories will find themselves looking for those bits and pieces as they read, but they will also appreciate how Lee's tale is still its own being. Lee sets his tale during the Crusades, making Robin the Earl come home from the fighting to save his lands and people. He has the intelligence, charisma, and leadership qualities of a landed gentry, but his heart is moved by justice, not by the fierce grasping for power of some nobles. Setting this tale during the struggles between Richard the Lionheart and his brother, Prince John, gives Robin's fights with the Sheriff of Nottingham a new sense of urgency.

Lee also makes sure to add many of the characters familiar to those who love the Robin Hood tales: Maid Marian, here a recently widowed woman whose husband's death is intricately linked with that of Robin's father; Little John; Will Scarlet; Friar Tuck; Much the miller's son; etc. The large number of characters and the intricate details about politics during the 1100s means that readers must pay attention and read carefully, but after the first few sections, the story is gripping enough where details and characters flow smoothly together. Luckily, Lee's writing is strong enough that each character has a clear voice, which helps readers connect with the story.

One small quibble is with Hart's artwork, especially as colored by Artur Fujita. Hart's drawings are realistic and take their material seriously. People and settings look the way they probably would have looked in the Middle Ages, and he's careful not to make things too clean or too orderly. On top of that, the action scenes are exciting and easy to follow, deadly without being too gory. But the shading is so heavy that faces are at times almost obscured, limiting the reader's ability to decipher facial expressions or sometimes even tell characters apart. As with the numerous characters and detailed plot, this trouble lessens as the story continues and readers are sucked into the tale. This adventurous, romantic, and at times even funny story is a great choice for readers in middle school and older.


-- Snow Wildsmith

I realise that today's Young Reader finds archaic language challenging and that this work is Robin Hood seen with New Eyes, but I found the trendy now-speak to be distracting. Plus, the book will be dated soon. Teenagers used to utter "he goes X". Now I think the usage is: "he's like X."

I also find the cover image difficult to believe--pulling a bow requires the muscles of the back and shoulders, not just the arms. From what I have seen on YouTube, you don't spend a lot of time thinking when pulling back the bowstring, you just step into it and let fly.

Something that might have been really interesting, might have been to do something like what Matt Wagner did in Mage and make it Robin Hood in modern clothes.

I liked the author's interesting take on King Arthur much better than I do this. I continued reading mostly out of a sense of duty and of completeness.

There was one bit I did like, however. The notion that King Richard was quite likely to be as bad as his brother John, since they were both Norman overlords of the native Saxon stock. Like the Bard says: "Meet the new boss.
Same as the old boss."

Having read many different versions of the tale of Robin Hood, I was interested to see how a graphic novel version would take it on. The tale was very classic to the most popular version of the story and took in Robin's time in the Crusades, his return to find his father deceased, his conflict with the sheriff, and his love for Marianne. I can't say that it departed much from the original, but I will say that I wanted even more of his time with his outlaw friends. I suppose I just wanted to see the relationships developed a bit more. I'll admit though that I love this tale and seem to piece together the bits of the story I'm given with all the parts that I enjoy.

One drawback to this graphic version is the darkness of the pictures. I'm not quite sure why they came out so dark, but they made it feel like it was all set at night or in a dark castle or lodge. I can see that the darker pictures, with sharp angles might be trying to set the tone and give it a slightly comic feel perhaps? I'm not sure, but I did wish at times that I could reach for a button to turn up the light a little. The focus in this tale was on the conflicts with the sheriff and less on character relationships (as the title suggests), but it was still the story I remember. Overall though, I thought this graphic novel made the story its own in tone and style. In classic graphic novel style, it clips along through the story, drawing on pictures to propel the story, and was a quick, fun read.

Terrible waste of trees. The art is so dark - in every single panel - you can barely see what's going on. And the answer is, Not much. People stand around and talk in modern English. There's no attempt at even pseudo-Medieval speech. The characters are also identical, so you never know who's who. And, again, they don't do much. There are maybe four action pages in this dreary mess. How bad is it? I try to collect every Robin Hood comic and graphic novel ever, and I threw this one away!

Tying together bits and pieces from all kinds of different Robin Hood stories, OUTLAW is a graphic novel that provides an origin of the famous hero from the wealthy son of an Earl, Robin of Loxley to the man who steals from the rich to give to the poor, Robin the Hood. In Lee's interpretation of the legend, Robin has never had a very good relationship with his father. He is a witness to when his father makes a difficult decision that Robin believes is a terrible mistake. This event leads to a falling-out between the two. When Robin reaches adulthood he leaves everything behind to fight for King Richard in the Crusades and win Jerusalem back from infidel Muslims.

During the Crusades, Robin learns that his father has been murdered and he returns home seeking revenge. But, the people of Nottingham have had it hard during Robin's long absence. The sheriff is cruel and punishes the people he's supposed to be protecting. He uses his power and wealth to support the regent and steward, Prince John. Since King Richard is being held captive in Austria, John seeks the crown. However, Robin resolves to stop him and gathers the outlaws of Sherwood Forest into a small band of fighting, merry men to oppose the sheriff and John. Along the way, Robin falls in love with the widowed Maid Marian (this is the first time I recall Maid Marian being a widow) whose husband's death is tied to the death of Robin's own father.

Besides Robin, Marian, the Sheriff, and John other familiar characters from Robin Hood lore make appearances, including Little John, Friar Tuck, and Will Scarlet. Like Robin and Marian, they are true to the spirit of much of Robin Hood folklore, but have distinctive characteristics that Lee adds, making them more three-dimensional characters.

The overall story is entertaining enough, but I really didn't like the artwork. I realize that Robin is an outlaw and hides in the forest and all of that, but there was just way too much black in the illustrations. In every graphic novel there are shadows and such, but it seemed that if the illustrators of OUTLAW weren't sure what to color something, they just filled it in with black. This prevents readers from getting a full view of settings, expressions of people's faces, and sometimes important background details. This dark shading ends up distracting from the pacing, action, and plotting of the story.

Overall, OUTLAW is a good story. It has a solid mixture of adventure, humor, and romance. Probably is a book that older elementary students and middle school students will enjoy most.

The story is classic but the artwork did not grab me. I wish N. Adams had done the artwork then it would have been a five star.