ROBYN HOOD ANNUAL: THE SWARM – Review

In ROBYN HOOD ANNUAL: THE SWARM, available from Zenescope Entertainment on September 1st, 2021, Robyn Hood and nearly all Zenescope heroes band together to fight off the Dark Princess and her collection of beastly generals.

The Details

• Written By: Joe Brusha
• Art By: Ismael Canales, Juan Francisco Mota
• Colors By: Maxflan Araujo, Walter Pereyra
• Letters By: Taylor Esposito
• Cover Art By: Al Barrionuevo, Ivan Nunes (cover A)
• Cover Price: $7.99
• Release Date: September 1, 2021

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Was It Good?

This is an excellent use case for the old saying “you reap what you sow.” Zenescope has been planting little seeds throughout its one-shot issues for months now, building toward some major crossover-style event. This Annual is a type of crossover of sorts, but not quite the big event you might expect. In the realm of major happenings, this Annual is akin to Avengers: Infinity War where it’s the first big battle before the final battle. Zenescope is ramping up the scope, and I was pleased to see how they took their time building the crossover over time to make the payoff worth the buildup.

Therefore, the key question is — was it big enough to be worth it? Mostly, yes. Each character joined the fight at just the right time to add their abilities for something cool to happen. Each character had their moment to shine, despite the fact this is a Robyn Hood title. We get a new character (re)introduced in a manner fitting for a multiverse mashup. And one of the key characters gets an unexpected upgrade to open the door for more storytelling potential.

In short, a lot happens, the story is never dull or slows down, and the open-ended conclusion promises the bigger fight is still to come.

The one down point is the overall lack of stakes for the big threat. We’re told about what happened in other worlds, and Robyn certainly gets into some hot water, but the overall conflict is kept away from the general Earth population. You’re told about the threat rather than shown through action. The net effect is a threat that feels serious but somehow small and isolated.

There’s a small “league” of artists who worked on this book, and thankfully, it looks awesome. This book is firmly grounded in the typical Zenescope house style, but it’s clean, dramatic art, and you can’t reasonably tell where one artist stops and the other starts. On top of portraying exciting action scenes, the artists have the chance to render some new characters (both good and evil) and they all look great.

In terms of Annuals, this is one of the best ones Zenescope has put out in recent memory.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We begin with Robyn having nightmares where she’s become a wicked villain, killing her friends and causing all kinds of chaos. The dreams are too vivid, and she suspects her encounter with a doppelganger and beastly villains over the series of months may somehow be connected.

Robyn reaches out to her hero colleagues, such as the Black Knight and Van Helsing, to get their interpretations of what’s happened lately. All signs point to someone coming through the multiverse portal with Dracula before he was defeated.

When the heroes gather to investigate further, they’re soon attacked and captured by the Dark Princess and her generals. Robyn is kept in chains for some dark purpose while the others are cast into the Abyss realm to fend for themselves. There they meet a new -ish hero who helps them escape – the Queen of Hearts.

Back on Earth, we conclude the last act with a team vs. team battle, a transference of power Robyn didn’t know she had, and a promise from the Dark Princess nobody wants her to keep.

Final Thoughts

ROBYN HOOD ANNUAL: THE SWARM is a pristine example of building toward an event done the right way. The art is high-quality, characters grow, and the ending promises an even bigger event to come.

Score: 9/10