Robyn Hood: Goldilocks

Robyn Hood: Goldilocks

Zenescope Entertainment 2021

Written by Joe Brusha

Illustrated by Babisu Kourtis

Coloured by Juan Manuel Rodriguez

Lettered by Taylor Esposito

All of Robyn’s skills are put to the test as she tries to survive Goldy’s carnival of terror. Not only does she have to defeat an endless string of murderous circus freaks, she also has to find the strength to face down her own inner demons if she plans to survive.

This has all the earmarks for a great story but once again it all depends on which Joe shows up, the idea guy or the one who’s able write a halfway decent story. I get the opening which goes back to her days as a kid where she grew up dirt poor and was a sensitive child whose mother did the best she could. It is kind of where she gets this hard nosed attitude she carries with her. Now with Smitty becoming more prominent in these stories I think it’s past due we had some more background information on him because even if the reader learns it before Robyn it would make his appearances seem more natural than simply by way of Peyton vouching for him.

The training we’re seeing is a bit too on the nose convenient for the story and by Robyn being distracted by her memories and Smitty she’s easily caught off guard. The story & plot development are very formulaic for me but it is what it is. The character development we see through the narration, the dialogue and how she acts and reacts to situations and circumstances she encounters is used as a growing experience for her. The pacing is a bit off for me as it jumps around too much without smooth transitions and this is my first exposure to Goldilocks I want to say so it would be nice if there were something about her and who she is and what she’s about in the story itself.

The structure to me says the idea guy showed up. The Killer Clowns From Outer Space was the best reference the book holds and even then that film was kind of a joke even to me as a kid back then. It kills me because I like the idea that she’s being put through the ringer and making to perform like a circus monkey but it’s just so choppy.

Thank goodness for Babisu and the amazing work he does on the interiors here. The linework is incredible and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to show off this sensational detail work is astounding. The range of emotions we see flicker through Robyn’s facial expressions are golden and really enhances the characterisation. That backgrounds are utilised as often as they are is great, we could use more that’s for sure, but with how we see the composition within the panels creating the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story makes up for that. The creativity and imagination is on fire throughout as these clowns and other circus members show up and we get to see how nightmarish they can truly be. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panel show such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is brilliantly rendered as well. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is stunning.

​

There are so many question marks surrounding this issue and not one single answer to be found. Sure we get a woman who looks like Robyn, mother much?, and this Goldilocks who I now want to know more about and where the circus theme comes from. From the standpoint of proving Smitty’s point is really what we saw here and that the other two women in the book will be seen sums it all up. It’s the artwork here that really makes you want to read this and I’m hoping that the next Robyn issue that comes out has more rhyme and reason to it.