Wasn't bad but also...I guess I don't really get it?

Basically using Robin Hood stories but in a medieval type setting. Which I guess if DC can do it now, why can't others. But this series seems to be well loved, and maybe I shouldn't just read "Tales from Nottingham" and instead start from a main book. However, these were good, mostly. It's a bunch of individual stories, my favorite probably being the the fable one, took ideas from the old, and gave it a fresh spin. the first one felt a bit long, and maybe that's why couldn't fully invest myself in it. But overall not bad for fans of the genre!

A 3 out of 5.

Some ancillary stories set in the Nottingham universe. None of them are essential. I may have liked this more had it come out sooner after volumes 1 and 2 as it may have connected to those stories more then my memory did. Still these are fine.

Having found little in the first book in this series, it's only fair to report there is just as little in this spin-off collection of bit-bots, acting as filler leading up to Book Three, apparently. It really doesn't do as much with the story mythos as it thinks it does – and one of the later stories here has the most shonkingly gaudy art. Two and a half stars.

The Robin Hood stories are reimagined as medieval history in the graphic novel, Tales from Nottingham Vol. 1.

The artwork is detailed and colorful. It has the mood of the old Classics Illustrated comics or the pictures in an old history book.

The plot takes real, but long dead, royalty and sets them in a modern terrorist storyline. That part works well. However, all the jumping around in time and point-of-view had me frequently turning back trying to understand what was happening chronologically.

Tales from Nottingham Vol. 1 is an intriguing mashup of real history, a famous fable, and a modern terrorist cell thriller. I am looking forward to reading the next volume in this historical fiction graphic novel series. 4 stars!

Thanks to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

This was my first foray into the Nottingham universe and I found it dark, grim, and a very different take on the Robin Hood milieu. There are short stories of Robin of Locksley, Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, and Sheriff Everard Blackthorne in the volume that add details or background to the characters. An interesting collection that will aid your slide into the Nottingham series.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title.

Thanks to David Hazan, NetGalley, and Mad Cave for this ARC...

Not my type of GN, but I can appreciate it for a great twisted retelling of a classic. Definitely grisly and at times hard to follow... I wonder if it would have been easier with more prior knowledge of the original source material.

This is the first time I read David Hazan. This was a wild ride from beginning to end in this Graphic Novel. The artwork was great. The story was fantastic. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Tales from Nottingham by Various Authors - 4/5
Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga - Mystery & Thrillers - Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Available for purchase October 2023

Tales from Nottingham is an imaginative collection of dark comic book-style stories from various characters from Robin Hood. I love the illustrations and comic book-style layout. The illustrations really bring the story to life with the character's expressions and actions.

Someone who loves the dark and gritty is going to have a high appreciation for the graphic novelization. This was beautifully done and was quite a ride to read. Lots of different styles of art to appreciate and I greatly appreciated the dark take on a well-known tale.

A very imaginative collection of background stories of several different characters from the tales of Robin Hood. This collection reads as a series of stories and it is a new look at these classic characters. Despite the beautiful illustrations the story itself leaves something to be desired.

This wasn't really for me. The artwork was great and I felt like the content should have made me like it, but for some reason it didn't resonate with me.

Many thanks to David Hazan, NetGalley, and Mad Cave for this copy.

Not for me, I'm afraid--lots of telling rather than showing, exoticist tropes, fan-service (god, the male gaze in this book--ugh), grotesquerie, and graphic violence. Not so much tales as just solving problems with swords.

Thanks to Mad Cave Studios, Mad Cave Studios Inc, & NetGalley for the ARC.

The graphic novel is a collection of Other Tales of Robin Hood and other characters known in the folktale. Each
story focuses on a differing individual person adding flesh to the myth at large. Maid Marion, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Friar Tuck, the two assassins of the Would Be, Elected King of Jerusalem, and the beginning of the Merry Men are the characters at play in the stories.

I personally found the art work to be lacking in various ways (namely that the composition was often too busy and character faces were not distinctive enough at different perspectives), and the writing did not have enough oomph to carry weight. There were also two social issues that both mediums failed at furthering a negative opinion from me.

I was not impressed that Orientalism was of influence, it seems, in the first story as the female assassin was heavily sexualized unnecessarily (she's Arab; her breasts would not be exposed unnecessarily to anyone but her partner to the degree that they were), and I found the harassment towards the notable trans woman character to out herself to be dated and unnecessary. There are better ways to convey that the character is trans without subjecting her, and the trans people reading the novel, to transphobia.

All said and done, it will likely appeal to many others (it's simply not to my taste).

First, it is important to note that I accessed this graphic anthology on NetGalley, so the issues I had may be addressed in the actual publication.

Tales from Nottingham is not a single unified text, but rather an anthology of stories intersecting around Nottingham; these include Maid Marion’s backstory, an explanation of what happened to Richard the Lionhearted, and how Friar Tuck found himself among the Merry Men (or did he…?).

As an anthology, each individual tale was interesting. However, it was difficult to follow as the narrative lines were not as fully integrated as I would like. This may have been impacted by some significant stylistic shifts in the art of the anthology (again, this may be addressed in the final presentation), which made character identification extremely difficult.

I did very much appreciate the diversity represented in the collected tales, adding in voices from the Holy Land, a greater role for women, and a gender queer character.

The opening tale included a self-contained, clear narrative; it’s artistic style, aside from the graphic violence, weirdly reminded me of the Prince Valiant comic strip (which makes a certain amount of sense, really). This extraordinary level of artistic detail (the folds of fabric we’re almost touchable) does not carry through the anthology which added some frustration as it set my visual expectations.

Overall, I am glad I read it, but it is quite violent and not as polished as I would have liked expected.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for this Arc.

The first thing to draw me to this graphic novel was the cover - I thought it was chilling and dark. Which is a very accurate representation of the tales told within. A darker, grittier take on the stories of Robin Hood had me flipping through these pages pretty quickly and lingering on some of the more haunting depictions. Not that those were a negative for me - it was probably what I enjoyed the most. The stories themselves didn't do anything groundbreaking for me personally but I did enjoy most of the art and they helped carry me through to the end.

I'd love to delve deeper into this grittier universe in the future.

Thank you again for this Arc!

My thanks to both Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this graphic novels that tells tales about a masked man and his merry men, in the forests of England, that seems far darker than the stories we have heard of him before.

Robin Hood is a character of his time, but really of everytime. People love outlaws and an outlaw that thumbs his nose at "The Man", robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Or defends the downtrodden from those who abuse them, people hunger for that. One could move Robin Hood to Ancient Egypt, maybe give him the name of Moses, and see what happens, or even the future fighting alien invaders as many science fiction stories have. Even a modern day Robin Hood would work, Occupy and ANTIFA group would have a new patron and legend. James Bond is to much a government lackey to become a people's hero, though after 60 years one could say that he has. Robin Hood though, his blood runs through Zorro, the Lone Ranger, even Batman. Though in this telling the stories are a little more darker, a lot more violent, and Robin Hood is a lot more masked. Tales from Nottingham Vol. 1 is written by lead writer David Hazan, with Magdalene Visaggio, Anna Everts, Sabs Cooper, Dylan Essex, Damien Becton and joined by artists Shane Connery Volk, Victor Santos, Gabriel Serra, Federico Bertoni, Miguel Puerta, Rafael Romeo Magat, and is a collection of prequels and preludes for the Nottingham comic series, introducing new storylines, or answering questions.

The story begin with an assassination deep in the Middle East one that will have repercussions for many characters in the storyline. We than move back to England and a tale about a poacher and a Sheriff who is hot on his trail, only to have him escape before the gallows claim him. Maid Marion makes an appearance in the third story, a story told from conflicting points of view which fills out her back story and her ties to Robin of Locksley. Friar Tuck is looking for a stolen tithe to the church, a tithe the church demands and will destroy the people to save their souls, and get their tithe. This also features a meeting with Robin Hood and his merry men, and a deep spiritual problem for Tuck, who finds himself even more confused about who he should be helping. And finally the first meeting of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and the importance of the masks they all wear.

As this is a companion piece to the Nottingham comics, a certain amount of familiarity with the ongoing stories would be helpful. Without that there might be some small confusion as not much is explained for new readers. For fans this will help explain some things, and advance new story ideas that should be occurring in the comics. The writing is good, and there is a surprising amount of humor which I did not expect, especially with the Sheriff character. The comic is violent, but not excessive, and pretty well fits the stories. There are twists and turns in the tales, some seem obvious, some seem quite clever. The art is good, the first issue has a Kelley Jones, artist on Batman and Sandman, kind of feel to it. The character seem consistent, the fighting is shown well and the backgrounds are nice, and help he story move along.

Recommended for fans, as this might be a little confusing for first time readers. Though it might make first time readers pick up the other traders, and that is always a good thing.

I did not finish. It was incredibly hard to read on my phone. But wasn’t what I was expecting either. Someone who wants something dark and gritty would be joy this though.

This is a very dark, different take on the tales of Robin Hood of Locksley, to be sure. Not that that is a bad thing in any way, shape, or form, but I found it to be a little too violent and bleak for my taste. The stories are told with vivid art work, plenty of death and mayhem, and not much merriment for the Merry Men or those that surround them in Nottingham, from monks to assassins, and while I did find Maid Marian’s more active role in the activism against Prince John’s tyranny, I can’t say I much enjoyed this collection to be honest. Again, it was overall focused on violence more than storytelling and every character has a rather nasty intention whether ultimately for the greater good or not. The dark ages are very dark in this collection of stories.

Tales from a Grimdark Robin Hood World.

If you've fallen in love with the Nottingham series, get ready to explore more of these beloved characters' pasts in this collection of flashback issues. Here we'll get flashbacks about The Sherriff, Friar Tuck, Lady Mariam, Robin Hood, and the Assassin. That said I wish to put a disclaimer that unless you read Nottingham Vol. 1 and Vol.2, you will be utterly lost in 2-3 of the issues.

This is different from the Nottingham series in a variety of ways. For one the original team only participated in a single issue. The rest is made by a collection of different writers and artists. Secondly, almost all of these are flashback issues, there's only one issue that takes place in the present. This issue will tie into the forthcoming Nottingham Vol.3. But even with all of these different teams of writers and artists this volume still felt like a Nottingham story. It was dark, gritty, bloody, and all-around fun to read.

While there were lots of different art styles in this volume, not one of them seemed bad to me. I will say that I still prefer Shane Connery Volk's art due to him being the original artist that made me appreciate this grim dark take on a well-known tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studies for the e-ARC version of Tales from Nottingham.

*3.5 stars rounded to 4*

Once I got into this, I realized that it was somewhat akin to a novella - Tales from Nottingham is designed to provide background stories for several of the main characters from the Nottingham series. Since I hadn't read any of the previous series, I actually purchased Nottingham, Vol. 1 and Nottingham, Vol.2 so that I might have some insight into what was being presented in this graphic novel. I'm glad that I did, otherwise, I most certainly would have been lost.

Within the context of Nottingham Vol. 1 and 2, Tales from Nottingham does provide interesting backstories to many of the characters. For example, you learn how Robert Locksley meets up with the Merry Men and becomes Robin Hood. You'll also get perspectives from Friar Tuck, Maid Marion, and Sheriff Everard Blackthorne (among others). I really appreciated the new information provided and I think that it goes a long way to clearing up some of my confusion in the original two volumes.

I think the graphics in the novel are great. I would say they are not for everyone, as there is a good deal of gore depicted. However, I found the illustrations continue to be the strength of this series.

While I didn't have a problem with the dialogue/writing per se, I did find the overall story/stories to be somewhat lackluster. I'm not sure if it's because the concept of Robin Hood has been done so often or if it's just the general pace of this series, but I did feel as though there is something keeping me from thoroughly enjoying them. As such, I am honestly on the fence about whether or not I will continue readings anything from this series in the future.