The Real Robin Hood by James Bacon

The Real Robin Hood James Bacon

Crisis was a concerted attempt to bring politically conscious and socially aware stories to

comics, making use of the near future, superheroes, and other comic aspects of the time, working to present well-thought-through and mature stories that could then be packaged neatly for the U.S. market. Crisis was published by Fleetway and was a spin off from 2000AD. There was a boom in the late eighties of mature comics in the UK, readers got Deadline, Strip, Toxic, Blast, and Revolver, which merged into Crisis, and there were some great stories in these comics. The anthology format allowed for experiments, bringing new or different art and styles to the reader, but the stories quickly developed from the SFnal to include current affairs. It had created a home for some more unusual concepts or unexplored ideas and issues but also a place to take government and corporate aspects to task. A whole issue was dedicated to Tiananmen Square, and the breakout work Troubled Souls by Garth Ennis, which brought the Troubles to comics in their most realistic form, remains seminal. Today the stories resonate more strongly than ever while also making one consider where such issues get aired now in comics, these were ground breaking stories from a comic publisher that had 2000AD in it’s stable. The Real Robin Hood began in issue 56 in March 1991, and ran for six episodes, written by Michael Cook and with art by Gary Erskine and Bernie Jaye. Set in the then current time of 1990, it sees the Nottingham Tory Council deciding to support the building of a highly commercialized-for-the-time, Robin Hood theme park, where health and safety is a notion in a file. It includes some utilization of the terrible Youth Training Scheme which took young school leavers of 16 and 17, who were unemployed and on the dole, and made them cheap labor for employers We meet carefree Danny, getting by with his mates, on the dole, but living, and despite being on a campsite, the government gets a letter to him. He has to go report to Legend Holdings PLC as a trainee leisure transport mechanic…but as Robin has broken his leg falling out a tree that morning, Danny gets the job. One of the best parts is the introduction to each episode. O gather all ye round about and hear my tale of good. The legend and the history of mighty Robin Hood. The year is 1991 and Nottingham the place, Where rich men built a theme park, men with more cash than taste. For Hood’s the local legend a chap with fire and dash And most of all, potential, for generating cash. But though the site was ready bad luck was due to call. One week before the park’s doors opener Robin had a fall. And so the search was started for a brand new hero, Which led to Danny Campbell whose job prospects were zero. Summoned back from holiday by the feared D.S.S., Our Danny reached the theme park and promptly passed the test. So now the tale is up to date and off to work Dan’s gone. It’s the week before the opening, what happens next? Read on… This is a gift as Danny wants to be an actor but has no equity card, and this might be a route to one. He meets Claire, a very conscientious and strong spoken Maid Marian, Stew, who has a reputation as the most loyal employee while also syphoning off fuel, and Mr Windishmann, who with his little moustache is very corporate. The language does date the comic but only in a fascinating way, the concern of Acid Rain, seems not of the now, while a bully at the theme park calls Claire “Pinko Pants,” pinko being a pejorative of the time, indicating a leftist, socialist, or communist supporter.

It’s a lovely story. Danny is naive and youthful and Claire, who he likes, is strong and energetic. There is a lot of humor, small and realistic, how people are gits, yet human, and the inconsistencies that we all have, are threaded neatly through it. Out for a few beers, Danny mentions he is a pacifist, but then is challenged about his ANC shirt, as the African National Congress had been fighting a 30-year armed struggle, and he says “I only bought it cos I liked the colours.” and the retort from Claire is “you should join the Labour party with principles like that.” and it’s a beautiful sequence. The political figure who opens the theme park is quickly asking how long it will be for the first performance to be done, as he is bored, having seen the story of Robin Hood so often and working with the public is very, very hard. Into this, Danny queries why there is such an inconsistency with the actual legend of Robin Hood, and when he gets a moment on the radio, says that the company intends to research the historical aspects. Mr. Windershmann heads to London for an emergency meeting and Danny worries about his job a little, but luck is at hand and the company decides to send him off to do the research, which will be cheap and create more press coverage. This leads Danny to Oxford and the students greet him as one would expect such an exclusive hole of the wealthy and privileged would. Danny meets an expert, an academic who is a bit wild and enthusiastic, and leads Danny to all the works on Robin Hood. While Danny learns a little, the academic explains that what is actually known is a blank page and a mass of half-truths and contradictions which above all else, is good versus evil, and stealing from the reach to help the poor. Back at the theme park, safety matters come to a head, in a very bad way. As the press head to the park to see how bad safety really is, Danny enlists help from the other employees and comes up with a plan. It was so relevant, so of the time and of the moment. The YTS scheme was continually criticized, saw discrimination towards black people and women, and was a way to force those on benefits to work, or lose the benefits. Meanwhile capitalism was unpleasant in its pursuit of money, greed and profit being everything, and championed and cherished in Britain over all other considerations by many. It resonates with the now, where the corporate look has not only become so normal, but the company polo shirt has permeated through society, the importance of uniformity and blandness trampling on uniqueness and ingenuity. While one of the concepts of Robin Hood could be said to be a form of anarchic socialism, this story approaches the legend very differently. In that, there is a lovely freshness and unusualness to it, set in Nottingham and using real life issues of the time, there is a real effort to make this a fun and humorous story, if dealing with unfortunate situations and ordinary people.