I got this from Netgalley, with no promise to write a positive review.

I think it was more of a didn't mesh with me than anything.  There was... a lot of romantic angst, for one thing, and I'm not a huge fan of that.  At least not the way it was done in this book: hurt/comfort I like, but this was not that.   Also, the whole wishy-washy, 'I should tell him, I can't tell him,' just got under my skin. 

Which is a shame.   The magic, the world, I wanted to know more about those.   I liked the world, I like the fact that characters that seemed one dimensional at first were fleshed out so skillfully.   Not much time was given to them, or at least their past, but it was enough to feel sympathy for them where I'd once felt disgust.   I also got the general gist of what had happened in previous volumes, so it was nice that this stood alone quite well for me.

That being said, I felt like this was well written and well illustrated.   I think the problem might have been that I went into it looking for something that this wasn't intended to be.  Since my enjoyment is part of the star rating, I did knock it down a little for some eye-rolling angsty moments.   

Grimm Fairy Tales: Robyn Hood Legend continues the story of our female Robyn Hood who has escaped from a dark, brutal Nottingham into the modern times. Once in the big city, our heroine turns herself into a Green Arrow type vigilante, patrolling the city and taking from the criminal rich and giving to the poor. But, even though she is trying to let the past go and embrace her new life, she can’t seem to escape it. Her old choices and her old mistakes haunt her dreams, making her shun companionship, and keeping her sealed tight in a world of self-imposed despair. And then things suddenly get even worse!

For one night, Robyn’s past literally comes to life. Maid Marian, Guy of Gisbourne and Will Scarlett, who she thought was dead, appearing in this world. And they have come in search of her, to take her back to Nottingham, so she can help their ragged tag group of former enemies defeat the Dark Horde that she left behind.

From reading a few comic collections from the Grimm Universe, I generally expect these stories to have two essential features: really hot chicks and incredibly dark stories. Here there is definitely the former (Robyn is a scantily clad vigilante, of course), but the creative team has toned down the darkness and gore, making this comic story more about the character’s relationships with one another. And that actually works, because the narrative about Will’s love for Robyn (especially our female archer’s reluctance to embrace that love and why) and the flashbacks about Sir Guy of Gisbourne’s past were both well handled, turning what could have been ho-hum plot lines into something a bit deeper and more meaningful. Hell, the creative team even transformed Maid Marian into more than just a damsel in distress.

Overall, Robyn Hood Legends was a well written and illustrated comic collection. Patrick Shand did a really good job of creating a new wrinkle in the Robyn Hood mythos while tidying up the past storylines. The art was very nice, if not spectacular, and the covers were stellar as always. You might not find anything earth shattering here, but it is still a fun comic collection to try out.

This one is recommended for people who like fairy tale re-imagining, Zenescope, masked vigilantes, bows and arrows, and really hot chicks.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them both for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.