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mogojojo1013's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this re-imagining of the tale of Robin Hood. His story has been told a million times in as many ways, and it is always nice to get a fresh take.
The members of Robin's band of Merry Men are re-imagined as people of the LGBTQ+ community who are being persecuted throughout Nottinghamshire for their "un-christian" actions. "Merry Men" becomes a term synonymous with queer. With the King away waging war, his younger brother has been persecuting those who identify as LGBTQ+ like his brother in hopes that it will topple his brother's throne. Robin and his band of Merry Men are going to do everything in their power to stop him, and make all of England safe for people like them again.
This was a good read, a great plot and good characters who were well developed through the story. There is a good amount of action and suspense, and there is a great amount of diversity as well. The illustration was alright, I felt it was a little too inconsistent, and it made characters look significantly different from one panel to the next. Not so much so that they weren't recognizable, but different nonetheless. I did enjoy the colors used, they were vibrant and helped to emphasize the action taking place.
WARNING: there are mentions of rape throughout the book, as well as quite a bit of violence, and mentions of religious persecution as well as LGBTQ persecution.
The members of Robin's band of Merry Men are re-imagined as people of the LGBTQ+ community who are being persecuted throughout Nottinghamshire for their "un-christian" actions. "Merry Men" becomes a term synonymous with queer. With the King away waging war, his younger brother has been persecuting those who identify as LGBTQ+ like his brother in hopes that it will topple his brother's throne. Robin and his band of Merry Men are going to do everything in their power to stop him, and make all of England safe for people like them again.
This was a good read, a great plot and good characters who were well developed through the story. There is a good amount of action and suspense, and there is a great amount of diversity as well. The illustration was alright, I felt it was a little too inconsistent, and it made characters look significantly different from one panel to the next. Not so much so that they weren't recognizable, but different nonetheless. I did enjoy the colors used, they were vibrant and helped to emphasize the action taking place.
WARNING: there are mentions of rape throughout the book, as well as quite a bit of violence, and mentions of religious persecution as well as LGBTQ persecution.
queerloras's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Hate crime, Violence, War, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Homophobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia
libeerian's review against another edition
3.0
Fun concept, but lacking in execution. Too much talk, not enough action - especially the parts that dip into character's backstories. The art is just okay and some of the plot points are a little too hard to believe.
gloriabyrd's review against another edition
3.0
The representation was great. I had trouble reading some of the text because it was so small. I did not particularly like the art style. The story ended on a cliffhanger, and it was slow for most of the book.
ellelainey's review against another edition
4.0
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Merry Men, by Robert Rodi
★★★★☆
152 Pages
Would I read it again?: Yes
Genre: Comic, Graphic Novel, Historical, LGBT
I have to admit, when I first saw the concept for this comic/graphic novel, I was intrigued. I've always thought that Robin Hood and His Merry Men had an MM/LGBT context that no one had uncovered before. And as a conspiracy/history buff, I could smell the hidden story, but didn't have the qualifications to go digging for the proof or historical facts.
Merry Men is beautifully illustrated, and amazingly accurate for the time period. The presentation and the realism of the plot is incredible. I love that there are a full spectrum of characters present – trans, queer, gay, lesbian. There was a bit of a “free love” aspect that was disappointing. I would have liked to have seen at least one solid relationship, where eyes didn't wander and they didn't turn to someone else without thought of the other person. Monogamy this was not.
And while I loved the adventure, the storyline, how it was shown, and all the individual characters, I did feel disappointed to get to the last page and find that it just...stopped. That was it. It introduced “Friar Tuck” as a villain, and the entire story came to an end. There was no mention of this being Volume 1, Issue 1-4 or anything. I find that disappointing. If it had been clearly marked, it could have been a 5 star, because I would have expected the abrupt ending, with the cliffhanger of living to fight another day, but I didn't. So I marked it down to a 4 star. I did appreciate the historical LGBT characters section at the back, though.
I would read more, but even searching for the book online didn't provide any information as to whether there would be further volumes, issues, or if this would be it. So, right now, I'm marking it on the information available which is that this is the end of the story. And I find that confusing and disappointing.
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Merry Men, by Robert Rodi
★★★★☆
152 Pages
Would I read it again?: Yes
Genre: Comic, Graphic Novel, Historical, LGBT
I have to admit, when I first saw the concept for this comic/graphic novel, I was intrigued. I've always thought that Robin Hood and His Merry Men had an MM/LGBT context that no one had uncovered before. And as a conspiracy/history buff, I could smell the hidden story, but didn't have the qualifications to go digging for the proof or historical facts.
Merry Men is beautifully illustrated, and amazingly accurate for the time period. The presentation and the realism of the plot is incredible. I love that there are a full spectrum of characters present – trans, queer, gay, lesbian. There was a bit of a “free love” aspect that was disappointing. I would have liked to have seen at least one solid relationship, where eyes didn't wander and they didn't turn to someone else without thought of the other person. Monogamy this was not.
And while I loved the adventure, the storyline, how it was shown, and all the individual characters, I did feel disappointed to get to the last page and find that it just...stopped. That was it. It introduced “Friar Tuck” as a villain, and the entire story came to an end. There was no mention of this being Volume 1, Issue 1-4 or anything. I find that disappointing. If it had been clearly marked, it could have been a 5 star, because I would have expected the abrupt ending, with the cliffhanger of living to fight another day, but I didn't. So I marked it down to a 4 star. I did appreciate the historical LGBT characters section at the back, though.
I would read more, but even searching for the book online didn't provide any information as to whether there would be further volumes, issues, or if this would be it. So, right now, I'm marking it on the information available which is that this is the end of the story. And I find that confusing and disappointing.
garibae's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
raynestorm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
3.0
This is not the version of Robin Hood you are used to. And the author makes it very clear in the opening page, what to expect as you read along.
This is the world of Robin Hood and that point in England, during and after the crusades, but with a gay twist. All the Merry Men are sleeping with each other.
And that is central to the plot, as Robin was once lovers with Richard the Lion Hearted.
And the author shows, at the end of the book, how homosexuality was known in those times, and men, at least, engaged in it.
However, be warned, the book is not a gay romp, but has twists and turns, and a lot of palace politics. It is a dense read, and not something to be read quickly, if you want to pick up on everything that is going on.
For me, a little too much hanky-panky, and a bit too much politics.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
This is the world of Robin Hood and that point in England, during and after the crusades, but with a gay twist. All the Merry Men are sleeping with each other.
And that is central to the plot, as Robin was once lovers with Richard the Lion Hearted.
And the author shows, at the end of the book, how homosexuality was known in those times, and men, at least, engaged in it.
However, be warned, the book is not a gay romp, but has twists and turns, and a lot of palace politics. It is a dense read, and not something to be read quickly, if you want to pick up on everything that is going on.
For me, a little too much hanky-panky, and a bit too much politics.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
shanaqui's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
An LGBT+ retelling of Robin Hood, based on the hypothesis that the persecution of Robin and his men was based on unearthing Leviticus and using it as an excuse to hound Prince John's political enemies.
I didn't love the art, but it was clear and pretty easy to follow -- I didn't feel some of Robin's men were quite well differentiated enough, but it worked in general.
I didn't love the art, but it was clear and pretty easy to follow -- I didn't feel some of Robin's men were quite well differentiated enough, but it worked in general.