Mad Cave Studios
Writer: David Hazan
Artist: Shane Connery Volk
Colorist: Luca Romano
Letterer: Justin Birch
Editor: Brian Hawkins
Book Designer: Diana Bermudez
If you missed out on one of the best books of 2021, don't worry, it's coming back and just in time for YOU to jump in!
Nottingham is a fantastic and brutal re-imagining of the classic Robin Hood tale. It demands that the reader see the darkness on both and ALL sides of the equation with a clever and refreshing plot and art that stuns! If you want to know how great earlier issues were, check out my reviews of issues 1 and 2!
I've always found that it's not usually the hardest for a new story to have an amazing first arc. In fact, I think the first arc is usually the easiest to write. But how do you follow it up? Can the next arc be as good as or even better than the first arc?
Well...
Issue 6 does NOT disappoint!
This new arc immediately begins right where the action left off in issue 5. Chaos is still rampant and the lines between slides blur more and more by the moment!
Reading this beginning issue of the second arc, I can tell this next arc is going to delve more into the Robin Hood lore. And honestly? I'm here for it! It's fascinating to see a series that delves into the brutality and politics of a world like this. It makes it feel more authentic, especially with the way things in our own real world are going lately.
A Reversal Becomes A Parallel
In the first few issues of Nottingham, Hazan gets us as readers to empathize with the Sheriff of Nottingham. How wild is that?? A character who, to the best of my knowledge, has always been written as a 100% evil being is... well, human? Relatable? That in of itself is quite the feat achieved. Hazan takes a giant leap forward and corrects what other readers and I thought incorrectly in the first arc....
This isn't a reversal where Robin Hood is evil and the Sheriff is good. This is a brutal examination of both sides. Instead of trying to place who is good and who is bad, this issue has me simply trying to guess what will happen next and WHY it will happen. The further addition of examining the politics of this world and war only furthers my investment. Hazan's microscopic look at this world is truly unmatched. Each page and each panel is deadly and I couldn't stop turning the pages!
Deadly Panels You Can't Stop Looking At
Volk's art is dark, brutal, cruel, and unforgiving- much like the world of Nottingham is. After the first 5 issues, I didn't think it could get any more brutal, but it DID and it is GLORIOUS! I mean, one moment you think everything is calm, and the next second you realize there's something in the shadows you almost missed!
Volk never shies away from making any face look grotesque and as cruel as the individual character's heart, not even with Maid Marian. It's fantastic to see every character given the same treatment physically. It shows the real impacts and effects of Nottingham magnificently.
Mad Cave Studios' Biggest Hit For A Reason
Nottingham is one of the best examples of why comics are the perfect medium for retelling stories. The entire creative team continues to make Nottingham shine in its own darkness and I can't stop eating it up! If you missed out on Nottingham before, jump on here because this ship is still sailing at full speed!
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