If you watched my recent interview with Matt Stevens you will have heard about my next comics project. I’m still pinching myself that I have the opportunity to write an official Robin of Sherwood story.
Growing up we were spoilt for choice with so many action-adventure shows on TV and like most kids my age I devoured them all. Those shows totally dominated pop culture in the 80s and they definitely occupied a lot of my time. I had Airwolf pyjamas, I sang the theme tune to The Fall Guy in a class assembly and I used to read all The A-Team novels. I also wrote a script for an A-Team episode which would qualify as fan fiction these days.
Along with Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider and Street Hawk I never missed an episode of these shows. One series however transcended the others and continues to occupy a very special place in my heart. Robin of Sherwood had the distinction of being a new British adventure show. It played into my love of history, it had a brilliant ensemble cast and the story was set in a place that seemed very familiar to me. It looked like what was outside my window.
I grew up in rural Dorset, so it was easy to head into the woods to pretend I was in Sherwood Forest. To this day whenever I’m in a woodland area, the distinctive theme to the show starts to play in my head. That was another big part of the show’s appeal, the groundbreaking soundtrack by Clannad.
The third and sadly final season of the show featured Jason Connery as a new Robin. Unlike his predecessor, Michael Praed, he never had an Annual to accompany his tenure on the show. So Barnaby Eaton-Jones, who has done such a great job with the full cast audio adventures and books, is creating one. And I have the immense privilege to have written a short comic story which will be appearing in it. Pre-order information will follow very soon!
My research involved picking out some episodes to rewatch on blu-ray, though I didn’t need an excuse to dive into the third season again. I also bought a copy of the original annual on EBay, so I could get a feel for how the comic story in it was done. When I was writing the story I dug out my vinyl copy of Legend and let Clannad’s music transport me to Sherwood Forest, Nottingham and Wickham. Being part of Robin of Sherwood, even in a small way, is as big a deal for me as if I’d been able to write Spider-Man or Batman. I can’t wait for it to be illustrated and then available to have on my shelf.
Annual Mock-Up Cover by Colin Brockhurst for Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse crowdfunding in 2016.