Indie Comix Dispatch: Blood in the Water

3.76/5.0 StarsRating if the Book Were a Movie: PG

Creative Team:

Writer: Joe BrushaArtist: Alessio MarianiColors: Juan Manuel RodriguezLetters: Taylor EspositoCover: Geebo Vigonte & Robby BevardEditor: David WohlPublisher: Zenescope Entertainment

Ratings:

Story: 3.85 StarsArtwork: 3.8 StarsCover Artwork: 3.8 StarsDialogue: 3.5 StarsMechanics: 3.8 StarsEditing: 3.8 Stars

About the Book:

After having a hectic couple of months Robyn takes some time for a little R and R with her cousin. They find themselves on the shores of Lake Michigan when they learn a water monster has been attacking and sinking yachts in the middle of the lake. Robyn finds herself working with some familiar faces to solve this mystery.

Reader’s Notes:

I like Robyn Locksley, AKA Robyn Hood. She isn’t my favorite character in the Zenescope Universe. For that reason she isn’t on my pull list. She is high enough in the rankings that whenever I see new content with her in it that book gets added to the stack. It makes for a fun surprise on my trips to the comic book store.

“Robyn Hood: Blood in the Water” was my surprise this week when I picked up my pulls. It’s been a while since I have gotten to cover a book with Robyn in it, so this one skipped to the top of the reading queue.

The first thing I noticed is how the pace of this issue isn’t the normal intensity that comes with a Robyn story. This story is a touch more low key. Robyn is on vacation and trying to take it easy.

Of course, that doesn’t last long. Heroes never get a true vacation! Robyn does find herself helping resolve the issue with the sea monster. She’s not the focal point of the story though. It seems that there’s a group of kids with a dog that have a pretty good grasp on the situation and how to proceed.

I tend to be wary of crossovers. They’re a thing of beauty when it works out. The thing is, it doesn’t work out as often as it should. When things don’t work out the story feels forced. There can be issues with characters from each franchise not getting enough time in the limelight.

The creative team did an outstanding job of balancing time for all of the different characters in this crossover that wasn’t. It was nice to see that the gang from that particular franchise doesn’t always get along, or even like each other. I don’t blame them. I’m fairly certain that after spending that much time on the road with three other people and a dog I would be somewhat irritable as well.

I liked the way the scene was set by the artwork on this cover. We get Robyn on the bow of a boat enjoying the sunshine on her vacation. We can also clearly see that something in water isn’t going to allow that to carry on for long.

The artwork on the interior pages is fun. I enjoyed how well it meshed with the pace and tone of a story involving Mystery, Incorporated. This is what we should have been getting for the better part of the past 50 years. Better late than never.

As a geek on a budget I believe that “Robyn Hood: Blood in the Water” is well worth the price of admission. This story has much more of an all ages theme than some of the other content we get from this publisher. I found the change of pace to be rather entertaining. I’m very eager to see the next group of characters we’ll have an unofficial crossover with!