Was Robin Hood really a good guy? The Sheriff thinks not! A dark and different take on the whole Merry Men tale that will grab you and not let go. For those that like twisted fairy tales, this will definitely hit the mark ...

This was an absolutely fascinating rendition of the Robin Hood tale. I can say I have never read one like it. And I have read many Robin Hood retellings.

I found the characters intriguing because they were the same and yet completely different.

I'm intrigued to continue the graphic novel series.

Nottingham is both exactly what I expected, and nothing like what I expected.

To be honest, I didn't look too much into before reading other than it was a graphic novel retelling of Robin Hood and at it's core, that is exactly what Nottingham is.

This first volume is dark, gritty, and pulls enough from the source material without being a rehashed/regurgitated version of the same old thing over and over.

The art style wasn't exactly my thing, but I did thoroughly enjoy the new take on such a well-known and recognisable tale.

I really liked this grimdark retelling of the Robin Hood legend. It's a very bloody tale and no one is a hero. I really hope there's a second volume.

Received via NetGalley.

This is a very gritty and dark retelling of Robin Hood. Very gruesome. Featuring an abundance of gore.

I really enjoyed the choices to portray the full cast as morally grey characters with no clear side set as 'good' or 'bad'. The art style is very harsh, with hard angles, dark lines, and aggressive shadows. It felt very appropriate for the general mood of the story. The splashes of color were appreciated to bring some vivid touches to the pages.

I really loved Marian in this re-telling. She had a bit more autonomy and ferocity than is often given to her character.

My thanks to Diamond Book Distributors Mad Cave Studios for a temporary review copy of ‘Nottingham’ written by David Hazan with art by Shane Connery Volk and Luca Romano. This volume contains Issues 1-5 of the individual comics.

This is another twist of the Robin Hood myth, this time trying to make it seem like Robin and his crew are more insane and murder driven than those that run the country. The Sheriff of Nottingham believes he is morally superior to the Merry Men because he followed orders but was upset that he had to murder innocent people (which, I mean, if you feel bad that's something? I guess?) This story ends on a cliffhanger and teases a second story. It's a violent and bloody story, but the twist isn't that great. The artwork is vibrant and fluid which is appreciated even if most of it blood covered.

Thank you Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for this copy of Nottingham, a dark retelling of Robin Hood.

This comic really took me by surprise---not just the artwork, but the dark macabre style of plot itself. While many maybe familiar with the classic tale of Robin Hood, a vigilante who stole from the rich and gave to the poor; this story is anything but hopeful and full or romance. In this world, the Merrymen are not only thieves but a cult-like group who believe that the world is full of corruption and greed. As they carry out their duties of ridding Nottingham of corrupt lords and tax holders, they repeat a haunting mantra, a vow to cleanse those full of greed from the land in the name of Richard the Lionhart (the one they believe should be king).

The story starts off with Sheriff Blackthorne as he investigates gruesome murders he believes are committed by The Merrymen. He knows all too well what it feels like to be used by those in power, and has a drive to reveal who Robin Hood truly is. While being haunted with his past, Blackthorne continues on the dark road, even at the risk of death. Forget everything you know about the traditional Robin Hood story, because this will show readers a hidden more cruel aspect of human nature; as proven by the demonic mask the Merrymen wear.

As wild and gory this graphic novel was, I absolutely loved it and can't wait to see Blackthorne and Robin Hood face off.

5/5 stars!

Nottingham, Vol. 1: Death and Taxes is a grimdark take on Robin Hood. This trade specifically covers what is usually what we see in the beginning of most Robin Hood retellings, Robin and his Merry Men running about; stealing from the rich to give to the poor all in the name of King Richard.

This take is definitely one of the grimmest I've seen, with the band not only stealing from the rich but also murdering at every turn. There's also more curse words in this than I've ever seen in any other retelling/adaptation and some of it seemed out of place and gratuitous. As with many a graphic novel, the sole woman character is shown in very thin garments outlining her chest. I'm not at all a prude, but while in our society we still consider the feminine form to be overtly sexual, it does bother me to see that outlined whilst the men were only ill clothed when being tortured.

For the good bits, I somewhat enjoyed the art style and didn't think it was too dialog heavy. The color palette was lovely and I wouldn't mind checking out the next volume to see where it goes from here. Grimdark is a lovely thing but seeing it married with the classic tale is a bit unsettling.

One more complaint: "f***ing ginger", really?

*I was given a copy of this title via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nottingham volume one graphic novel review
From writer David Hazan, artist Shane Connery Volk, colorist Luca Romano, letterer Joamette Gil, published by Mad Cave Studios.
This volume includes issues 1-5.
The classic tale of Robin Hood, but told as a police mystery from the perspective of the Sheriff of Nottingham. This is bloody, its dark, its thought provoking, and it is one of the most original takes on Robin Hood since a fox put on the costume.
At first I thought I knew the story, and why would I want to see the Sheriff as the protagonist of this story? I have no problem with anti-heroes but I’m not big on humanizing the wickedest of villains. A little too much Disney growing up. However, this comic breaks apart what I thought was true and comes at the legend from a logical and more realistic perspective. Everyone has an agenda and very few people are truly good, so what is the agenda of Hood (as he is called in this series) and the Merry Men? It takes a lot to gain the loyalty of so many. The Sheriff investigates the crimes of the Merry Men, interrogates, and attempts to solve a murder before his entire society crumbles.
The Sheriff, Everard Blackthorne, becomes a perfect fit to the noir detective trope despite hailing from a different location and time than the usual gumshoes. He seems massive yet small. A leader to some but beat down by others. Beat down by life too. His road has not been easy but that may be what makes him perfect for the role. Even in the way he’s drawn, he’s larger than life but stoops over. He’s intimidating yet pitiful. He’s strong when he needs to be but also tries to be fair.
Of course the most iconic image is the mask worn by Hood and his Merry Men. It immediately will bring to mind V for Vendetta, the Joker, even the Cheshire Cat. All of which are implying unreliable characters and secret agendas. Ironically, the only one without an agenda is Everard. He does his job, honors his code, and is fair - but you only get one shot.
Everard becomes such a compelling tragic hero in a way that it upended everything I thought about this book at the beginning. Everything I thought about Robin Hood too. The legend is nearly 700 years old and one would think every take has already been told. Yet Nottingham is so original it proves that good ideas are timeless. They just need good creators to work with.

This is a very gritty and dark retelling of Robin Hood. Very gruesome. Featuring an abundance of gore.

I really enjoyed the choices to portray the full cast as morally grey characters with no clear side set as 'good' or 'bad'. The art style is very harsh, with hard angles, dark lines, and aggressive shadows. It felt very appropriate for the general mood of the story. The splashes of color were appreciated to bring some vivid touches to the pages.

I really loved Marian in this re-telling. She had a bit more autonomy and ferocity than is often given to her character.

My thanks to Diamond Book Distributors Mad Cave Studios for a temporary review copy of ‘Nottingham’ written by David Hazan with art by Shane Connery Volk and Luca Romano. This volume contains Issues 1-5 of the individual comics.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, it can be difficult to rehash and old story and make it unique. I liked this, although it is not my usual style of read - the fact there are no 'goodies' and ultimately everyone is selfishly motivated, it felt apt for the modern times, where even the most philanthropic of acts is usually for some sort of self gain!
The characters are fairly rounded and you see a dark and gritty side to the robin Hood story!

I'll be honest and say that I found this completely unreadable due to the artwork. I'm a bit old-school and like my characters to look at least semi-realistic whereas these were ugly angular things. I didnt read more than 10 pages so this was firmly not for me. Thanks for the opportunity to be honest about this and t provide a free copy via Netgalley.

'Nottingham' by David Hazan with art by Shane Connery Volk is a dark take on the Robin Hood legend.

There is a serial killer in Nottingham killing the rich and robbing them. The killer wears a scary mask full of teeth. The Sheriff of Nottingham is narrowing down suspects, and the path leads to familiar characters we know from folklore.

As a fan of the Robin Hood legend, I enjoyed this bloody take on it, and I think the unique, angular art really helped contribute to it. The art is angular and caricatured and I really liked the character design.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Mad Cave Studios, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

While I liked the concept of this book, I think the illustrations were a little dark for me to thoroughly enjoy it. It was dark and moody though, and it was a fun twist on a classic tale. While it wasn't quite my thing, can definitely see the appeal!

Love the angular style of the illustrations. Really really liked how it's unclear who's the good guy in the famous story retelling.

I feel like there's a parallel to be drawn at famous masked vigilantes, as there's usually a point where the question is asked about how they fight their fights: is it doing more harm than good? Spinning this kind of questioning on the Robin Hood tale is new to me and highly intriguing.

There's also a bit of a rehabilitation for the Sheriff I would say and I don't dislike it, even though I grew up being totally into Robin Hood while despising Guysbourne and the Sheriff. The angle chosen here is really interesting, and I'm looking forward to see where it goes. I would say it's a bit unclear what are the real motivations of the Sheriff still, on top of the simple one of doing his job. There might be a small paradox there as he says he genuinely cares for the innocents or the common folk, but it is not clearly shown through his actions.

It's a good introduction to what is to be a series, however I wonder how much juice there's still left to continue it for more than another volume or 2. Hopefully enough to go on for a little more because I'm truly engaged.

There's a metaphor drawn between 2 tales of sheeps, shepherd and wolf, and the story unfolding. I'm still unsure if it's genius or messy. For me, it didn't further my comprehension of what was to be the meaning behind the comparison, but left everything covered with more confusion. Not sure if that was the purpose or not. However, I feel that it would have been wiser to maybe just use one and leave the reader unsure has to who played what part instead of using the wolf and sheep drinking from the river tale in the mix, who isn't as strong a metaphor as the other one.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself reading it and with the illustrations being super nice and dramatic, I feel like it's the kind of comic book one would like to own.

The Robin Hood mythos is so set in stone with our modern consciousness that we all know the entire story no matter how scant the reference might be. Many grew up with the antics of Errol Flynn in their childhood as he donned the feathered hat. WE all know it well – Robin, clad in a green tunic, flanked by a rag-tag group of do-gooders are trying their best to right the wrongs of the Evil Prince John whilst King Richard is off fighting the crusades. The sheriff of Nottingham grinds the populace under his thumb, and the land is filled with misery. There is only one hope, and that’s Robin of Locksley. But, what if this idea was flipped on it’s head? That’s exactly what happens here, as author David Hazan takes the known mythology and puts a dark edge to it. What if The Merry Men were actually somewhat of a terrorist organization?

As far as I can recall, the only real alterations to the story that I’ve seen up to now are the stereotypical iterations of any folklore story that proport to be “the real story of XXX”, which 99% of the time literally just means everything is brown and dreary and everyone frowns a lot in the mud. Look no further than the abysmal King Arthur movie from the early 2000s for an example. What we have here, is an honest alteration to the story, with everything practically flipped upside down. Rather than the noble cause of “stealing from the rich to give to the poor”, we can see that this version of The Merry Men are more attempting a militaristic coup on England itself, with the first phase being to push the citizenry against the Kingdom itself, seeing it as evil. What better way to do this than to literally kill all of the tax collectors? Once that’s done it’s time to try to take down the nobles themselves. Only one man can stop this, and it’s not who you expect.

For the longest time The Sheriff (named Everard Blackthorne here) has been a reviled man in almost every telling of the Robin Hood tales. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. In this version, he is a career man, perhaps the only man holding England together as corruption eats at the court from the inside and a terrorist organization threatens to push the Kingdom to it’s knees. In many ways, if one were to compare this story to the popular HBO TV series/book Game of Thrones (which this is clearly inspired by), he would be a tragic lead much in the same manner as Ed Stark in that show/book. Assuming this hasn’t ended after five issues represented in this graphic novel, Ev hasn’t died yet – but his life has been grim and who knows what will happen?

“In this twisted medieval noir, the Sheriff of Nottingham hunts a serial killer with a penchant for tax collectors. The Sheriff’s investigation leads him to target England’s most nefarious power-brokers. That’s to say nothing of the Merry Men, terrorists lurking amongst the trees of Sherwood, led by, an enigma known only as “Hood.” Mad Cave Studios presents: Nottingham, but not as you remember it…”

I enjoyed all of the alterations to the story that happened here. We all know of the archery tournament, a ruse created by Prince John in order to trick Robin Hood out of hiding, it’s flipped on it’s head here. The Merry Men crash said tournament and massacre many of the court Red Wedding-style. Many of the normal people of Nottinghamshire, who see Robin as a folk hero, are aghast when The Merry Men start wholesale massacring most of them. For some, the idea of winning such a prize meant a chance out of squalor or perpetual servitude. Next thing you know a band of insurgents are storming the castle wearing masks chanting mantras related to England being sick, and saving the poor. We soon realize that the gold in the tournament could not be further from the reason for the attack. Little ethical asides relating to what constitutes an outlaw/terrorist vs a freedom fighter are well done here and were far bigger than what I expected this book to go into.

I particularly liked the art style in this book, all characters are angular and shaded with almost grotesque pen strokes. It’s a style I’ve seen in barbarian books and such, and it works well here. I particularly liked the character designs of The Merry Men as some sort of medieval version of V from V for Vendetta with every bit of the same sort of gray morality in place.

This book has been in my backlog for a little bit, and I honestly was not expecting to like it as much as I did. However, this is easily one of the biggest surprises of the year for me, and I really hope the story continues on past where the book ends. I’m sure that some sort of story does similar stuff to this, but I have not seen a big media property try to tackle Robin Hood in this sort of way ever. I find this stuff VERY interesting, living in Western Missouri, as you have all sorts of mythology surrounding various members of Wild West outlaw gangs getting the same sort of treatment as Robin Hood, here – becoming folk heroes despite the atrocities they commit, being handed the Robin Hood moniker. But, what if Robin Hood was just as bad as they are? in that way everything would be coming full circle. I was not expecting the discussion of the philosophical conundrum of Robin Hood here, but my hats off to the author for doing it. Highly recommended book.

This is a noir style book set in medieval times. The Sheriff of Nottingham is hunting a serial killer. I really struggled with how to write this review. I am not sure how to describe this book. Was it bad? No! Was it great? No. I just didn't really have much of an opinion on the book. It was just ok. The art was ok. The story was ok. Definitely a slow burn kind of book. I did like that both sides were not good.

Creative Team:
Writer: David Hazan
Artist: Shane Connery Volk
Colorist: Luca Romano
Letterer: Joamette Gil

This will not download and it’s not showing up in my netgalley app.

I can’t read it or give it a real review. Hopefully this can be fixed so I can read it especially since I was very excited to get to this one.

It doesnt support or open after I download the protected pdf version of it.

It's also not showing in my shelf in netgalley and I cant open it to read

Please look into the issue and if you can send me the pdf in my mail ID- taniagungunsarkar@gmail.com

I cant read the book from here.

Please look into the issue and deliver me the book to review properly, moreover i was pretty excited about this book

This version of Robin Hood is gritty and violent. It packs a gory punch and does a good job of updating the folklore. Maid Marian is a badass which is refreshing and the Merry Men are masked and scary. Overall, this is a good read and definitely not one for younger readers.