Robyn is plucked from one world into the next and there is action in both. Great beginning to the tale.
Robin Hood is a very well known tale, subject of movies, books, poems and probably plays and songs. I gave a quick read about its history online and found that it has evolved and changed here and there over time, beginning in medieval England but the basics are the same. So in that spirit, this tale is pretty much the one I grew up seeing in movies and TV but applied to the Zenoscope universe in cool ways.
Here, Robyn (the "y" is used to make it more feminine but an "I" would work as well) is not from the world that she is destined to serve. She is of our world, in a corrupt small town run by an over lording bully that uses his economic might to get his way and fix the system to his need. But this villain is not the first such villain she is destined to fight. Sure, he is sort of like Prince John. He wields his influence to make a mockery of the law and the rights of others. He has a local sheriff that is weak and carries out the bosses corrupt orders. And you think, here we go. But no.
All the while, other forces are at work. They start with Robyn's birth, not in our world but in Myst. Robin's skill set is needed there to help the locals so just when you think Robyn's destiny is at hand, a kindly woman of magic and power redirects Robyn to her home world, where it appears she was supposed to return from the very beginning. And there, it appears she will be set against the more traditional villains of the tale. However, you do get the sense that she is not done with our world either.
Robyn herself is a great character. She is young and carefully portrayed to be of a good heart but very pragmatic in her approach to helping others. The issue covers her childhood in episodes that show her cunning and daring as a young girl, but only for causes that she feels are just. She steals from the rich to help her family, and the poor. But she is not pure and will not hesitate to defend herself or to recklessly answer an insult.
But the writers carefully make her not only sympathetic but a hero. Sure, she is rough and may not live by our code, but her heart is in the right place and has the ability and daring to address the wrongs she sees. She is well drawn, her character solidly conveying the goodness but also the penchant for chaos and the willingness to not take crap. So she is taken back to Myst, the world where she was born, to put these skills and character to work.
This book arises in Zenoscopes vein of folktales, like Sinbad. While violent and full of evil, it is not the abject horror that the Wonderland books convey. As we read it, we suspect that Robyn is going to take care of business and we can't wait to see it. Sure, she has the requisite tragic background including the lack of family, friends and people on whom she can rely, but we see a world that needs her and we think where she may find a home and belonging.
And most of all, the issue is fun. Robyn's heart of gold but willingness to spill blood, her willingness to break the law to get her way or to serve a greater good, and her nerve and unwillingness to bow to others, makes for a great hero. She is the person we all see ourselves as or would hope to be in that situation. Of course, it would also fun to have her skills, quickness and steel nerves. We read comics for this story. And this starts off as a good one.
