Writer: Joe Brusha
Art: Alessandro Uezu and Juan Manuel Rodriguez
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Price: $5.99
Release Date: May 19th, 2021
Reviewer: ClaireCHammy
Robyn Hood: Voodoo Dawn #1, written by Joe Brusha, with art by Alessandro Uezu and Juan Manuel Rodriguez, is a comic that reads like a 90’s action movie, with the writing, dialogue, and overall story. If you like the cheesy action genre, an excessive amount of midriff, and voodoo rituals, this issue will be for you. If not, it might be best to skip this comic entirely.
Story Review
The comic follows the beats of a generic action movie. Robyn Hood: Voodoo Dawn #1 starts with the big bad performing voodoo ritual, the heroine fights the villain with a crew of friends, a brief mind control sequence, and the good guys winning in the end. There are a lot of plot points that could have been broken down into their own issue to allow more time to expand the ideas and the story the creators are trying to tell. For example, the zombies take a small amount of page time. The idea of building up the mystery of where these zombies are coming from and then meeting the big bad at the end (or at the halfway point), would have made a more compelling story that isn’t rushed.
While reading through the narrative, it’s easy to predict what is going to happen, as it follows the beats of a typical action movie. The story could have benefitted from either a few more pages or more panels to fully set up a handful of surprising reveals that were a little jarring. Overall the story is predictable, but still, a decent read.
Art
The art in this issue does not try to do anything new or different than the typical cel-shading and ink hatching, thus adding to the ’90s feel. The character designs in Robyn Hood: Voodoo Dawn #1 are generic in comparison to what characters are being created today. However, the way the artists rendered fire and the appearance of the spirits is visually interesting.
Robyn and Mystere basically have the same costume design with different colors. Pulling inspiration from Voodoo and the classic tale of Robin Hood, the costume designs could have been really interesting and unique However, we have midriff, sports bras with cleavage, and skin-tight leggings. There is nothing wrong with having costumes like this, but these are overdone and they could have been a lot more visually interesting with the subject matter at hand. The art in this issue was fairly run-of-the-mill in comparison to other comics. There could have been some exploration of different costume designs and rendering styles that could have made a visual impact on the comic.
Final Thoughts
Robyn Hood: Voodoo Dawn #1 was fairly predictable and it doesn’t try to do anything that hasn’t been done before. Not every comic needs to try to do something different, but it can be more interesting if creators attempt to. With the popularity of comics, and how many are released every week, it is easy to get lost in the sea of other publications. If you are looking for a simple fun comic, this is for you. Otherwise, you may have to pass this week.
7/10