Robin Hood, no. 3

Robin Hood, no. 3

In the Cooper Collection, there are three Robin Hood series: Charlton's Robin Hood and His Merry Men, Quality's Robin Hood Tales, and this title, Magazine Enterprises' Robin Hood. Along with these titles, Robin Hood also appears on the cover of Brave and Bold #5, yet another comic in the Cooper Collection. While the character of Robin Hood appeared in folk ballads dating back to the 15th century, the version of Robin Hood in 1950s comics owes much to American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle's 1883 book The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. As Nick Rennison notes, "it is in Pyle's black-and-white illustrations that the outlines of the classic image of Robin Hood begin to emerge. Here is the hero in his forest attire and feathered cap. Here is the lithe and handsome athlete that later appears in the [Douglas] Fairbanks and [Errol] Flynn films. Reproduced time and again, often with additional colouring, Pyles illustrations embedded a particular vision of Robin in the American popular imagination" (117). Drawn by Frank Bolle, Magazine Enterprises' Robin Hood follows in this tradition. (Reference: Nick Rennison, Robin Hood: Myth, History, and Culture. Harpenden: Oldcastle Books, 2012.)

Krank, Raymond C. (Editor)

Bolle, Frank (Penciler & Inker)

English

Still image

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