Overall, while not being flat archetypes, the characters are painted with some broad, and violent, strokes. There is a clear progression to the story arc, and there is a definitive if not wholly satisfying ending, but it also feels like this story skims over a lot of its own established nuances, like the Sheriff’s own military history and how it’s affected him. Nottingham, vol 1 has some good moments, but it also feels unfinished, especially by the end of the volume. That does, however, benefit the noir tone of the story, since the shades-of-gray morality of this world gives the characters very little to smile about. While the masks of the Merry Men are exaggerated grins, the expressions of many of the book’s characters, while never descending into bad caricature, are either stoic or sneering. The amount of blood and bloody violence in this book is comparable to what one would find in a horror graphic novel. A lot of people die by various medieval weapons and in very graphic ways. Volk’s artwork reflects the gritty and violent tone of the story. In this story, the Sheriff attempts to maintain his moral center if not being downright heroic, while Robin Hood and his men, especially his companion Maid Marian, are villains who commit some very nefarious deeds. Indeed, Hazan’s tale totally flip-flops the dynamic of the Sheriff and Robin Hood. He’s also smart enough to see the shades of gray implied in the Merry Men’s activities. The Sheriff in this tale is also fleshed out beyond a one-dimensional villain he’s a grizzled veteran of the Crusades who has grown cynical of human nature. Hazan’s story reads at times like a police procedural, complete with the crime scene investigations and interrogations of suspects. What the Sheriff eventually finds is a conspiracy that soon grows, or perhaps metastasizes, into the legend everyone knows. They are led by a man known only as the Hood. He believes that these murders are the work of the Merry Men, terrorists who even wear masks with exaggerated grins. #Taxation and the sherriff of nottingham seriesWritten by David Hazan and illustrated by Shane Connery Volk, the story recasts the Sheriff as a principled investigator looking into a series of tax collector murders. 1: Death and Taxes, which retells the well-known story of Robin Hood as a medieval noir. However, there are reimaginings that get some mileage by turning the readers’ expectations on their heads. People are also familiar with the term “reimagining,” a word that might elicit groans from some as being a sign that an entity is creatively bereft. Many people are familiar with the story of Robin Hood, the hero who, according to nearly every Robin Hood story, “robs from the rich and gives to the poor.” They no doubt also remember his daring fights with the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham.
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