Review: SHERWOOD, TX #1 (of 5)

“SHERWOOD, TX,” is a comic high on quirk and action, part of an intriguing line up of hard boiled and gritty titles from 12 Gauge Comics. The premise gets right to the point early on: Imagine if we had contemporary versions of Robin Hood and his merry men and they were a biker gang at war with Prince John (now John Prince) and his biker gang. The Nobles are going to have hell to pay for what they have done to Rob Hood and the Jesters! And the crooked sheriff of the City of Nottingham isn’t going to slip away either!

This comic comes as a surprise and I’m glad to be in on it. I’m hooked. With so many options in comics today, and with more and more emerging, it’s essential to grab your reader. I think gone are the days when anyone can expect to last long with subpar stories. Sure, that will always be around. At least, judging by this title’s script by Shane Berryhill, 12 Gauge Comics are here to stay. There’s a tight narrative right out of the gate as we quickly establish the push/pull relationship between half-brothers, Rob, the family hero, and Will, the bastard Native American. We jump right into it with the first clash between the Jesters and the Nobles. The first panel, set later that day, clues us in to powder keg ready to blow.

“Sherwood, TX” does not disappoint with the art either. Daniel Hillyard has a distinctive energetic fresh look. Characters have a rough edge, as if having emerged from a storyboard, and yet with a smooth layer of refinement. So, a sketchy but not too sketchy quality. And I just love the play with colors by Charlie Kirchoff. He is in tune with the high energy of the script and art and delivers nicely punched up purples, reds, and oranges, whatever the action requires.

Overall, this is an impressive debut. I can’t wait to see the rest. “SHERWOOD, TX #1” is available in stores as July 16, 2014. Be sure to visit 12 Gauge Comics right here.

And consider supporting the Comics Grinder fundraiser going on at GoFundMe right here. We’re trying to offset the expenses for our upcoming trip to Comic-Con and hopefully make some upgrades.