OUTLAW

The legend of Robin Hood is ever evolving, reinvented by each generation in its own likeness. Thus, it follows that this is not your mother’s Robin Hood, i.e. Kevin Costner in tights. Instead, Lee infuses the age-old tale with snarky dialogue and a whiplash-inducing pace tailored to today’s overstimulated youth. The plot is familiar: Robin and his band of merry men rob from the rich and give to the poor as they work to depose the Sheriff of Nottingham and ransom King Richard, held hostage in the Holy Land as the Crusades drag on. It’s Hart’s drawings and Fujita’s coloring that elevate this 21st-century version head and shoulders above the rest. The artist’s shadowy figures and chiseled faces give depth to both the characters and the medieval castles and forest landscapes they inhabit. The monochromatic panels set the tone of the story, glowing brilliantly as they propel the action straight off the page into the reader’s imagination. This modern reincarnation of one of history’s most beloved outlaws is sure to become the stuff of legend. (Graphic fiction. 10 & up)