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ellelainey 's review for:
Merry Men
by Robert Rodi
** 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.