PAUL
D. STORRIE
Conducted
and transcribed by Allen W. Wright
Paul
Storrie, a lifelong Robin Hood fan, was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.
He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. He began his professional
comic book writing career with the series Robyn of Sherwood from
Caliber Comics in 1998. Since then he has contributed to the Moonstone
Monsters: Werewolves! anthology, developed a light-hearted superhero
series for Lone Star Press, and created a new Robin Hood title for
Moonstone Books that debuted in October of 2001. He has also written
several stories for DC Comics, the first of which was published at
the end of July 2001. He also serves as copy editor on Hurricane
Entertainment's Violent Messiahs comic book, published by Image
Comics. In 2004, Robin Hood and the Minstrel, Robin Hood and the Jailer and the script for Robin Hood and the Knight were published in a new trade paperback collection.
This
interview was conducted via e-mail on July 12, 2001.
AWW:
So, how did the idea for Robyn of Sherwood come about? Was it initiated
by you or Caliber Comics?
 PDS:
Robyn of Sherwood has a somewhat tangled genesis. Caliber
publisher Gary Reed was looking to do a Robin Hood title, and I was in
the right place at the right time to pitch him a couple ideas. The
first was to do a "From Day One" retelling of the Robin Hood legends, leaning
heavily on the ballads. The second was much more radical, an alternate
history version of Robin Hood in the modern age. Gary liked both
ideas, but didn't feel either was quite what he wanted to try. He
suggested doing a son or daughter of Robin Hood. My thought on that
was that a son of Robin Hood story has two basic directions it can go.
1) He's very into the role and the legacy. 2) He's a
reluctant hero, following in Dad's footsteps out of obligation. There
are other permutations, of course, but those seemed the two big directions
you can take the concept. With the DAUGHTER of Robin Hood, however,
there is much more that you can play with, including the attitudes towards
women in the middle ages. After writing up a new proposal with Robin
and Marian's daughter, Gary Reed gave me the go-ahead and Robyn of Sherwood
was born.
AWW:
What was your first exposure to the Robin Hood legend?
PDS:
Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Great stuff.
The language is a bit tough to get through, particularly for a young, young
kid, but the illustrations and the stories were terrific. It is still
my touchstone for Robin Hood to this day.
AWW:
What are your favourite Robin Hood tales (books, ballads, movies, etc.)
and why?
PDS:
As far as *versions* of the story, Pyle is a big one, of course.
The Errol Flynn movie. I found the Richard Carpenter series interesting,
but never got to see as many episodes as I would have liked. When
I started researching for Robyn, I found it fascinating to actually
read the ballads and compare them to the stories as they have filtered
down to us. Oh, and Robin and Marian with Sean Connery, Audrey
Hepburn and Robert Shaw was an excellent flick.
AWW:
What do you feel is at the heart of the legend?
PDS:
Not an easy question, since there have been so many iterations of the legend
and of Robin Hood himself, but for me the heart of the legend is Justice
and Injustice. Robin Hood is the prototypical Outlaw Hero, the guy
who stood up rather than roll over when the society he was living in proved
to be unjust. I think that thread has been fairly constant, down through
the ages. Robin Hood is really about standing up for what's right,
even if that means you have to go outside "the system" to do it.
I
hope that doesn't sound too simplistic!
AWW:
The protagonist of Robyn of Sherwood, of course, is Robin Hood's
daughter. The Friends of Lulu [a non-profit organization which encourages
female readership and participation in the comic book industry] said of
the series: "you can't do much better in terms of strong and complex female
characters
against an interesting backdrop." What are your thoughts on creating such
a strong heroine?
 PDS:
To paraphrase a pal of mine who has been writing comics almost as long
as I've been reading them, I don't worry about writing a strong woman as
I do about writing a strong person. I focused on Robyn's background
and feelings as a person. Obviously her gender plays into that on
some levels, but I think that men and women are motivated by the same sort
of things -- family, experience, exposure to certain philosophies / ways
of thinking, that sort of stuff.
I
really appreciate that readers in general and women readers in particular
have responded so strongly and so positively to Robyn. It tells me
that I've done my job. Now, if only MORE readers had found the series!
AWW:
Although Marian's often been softened in the last century or so, for the
traditional adventure genre, she was a very strong figure. How does Robyn
differ from both her parents?
 PDS:
The softening of Marian sort of irks me. In fact, because my main
exposure was through Pyle and the Flynn movie as a kid, I wasn't even AWARE
as a kid of the legend of Marian coming to Sherwood disguised as a page
and fighting Robin to a standstill with a sword! Of course, Marian
was an add on to the legend, so it's probably not surprising that she has
fluctuated more over the years.
How
does Robyn differ from her parents? That's a tough one. To
start with, she had to deal with losing both her parents at an early age.
She actually saw her mother die violently. That affects you deeply
and forever. She also had to keep her heritage secret most of her
life. That's a hard thing to deal with -- keeping a background you're
proud of to yourself. Plus, she has to live up to that heritage that
she's so proud of. Robin and Marian ended up as outlaws, struggling
against oppression as a result of circumstances that happened to them.
Robyn ended up fighting the good fight as a matter of pride, duty, and
responsibility. She is carrying on a brave tradition and is acutely
aware of that.
AWW:
Robin Hood's daughter Deering was the main character in the 1950s B-movie
The Son of Robin Hood. And two TV projects have come out since
the first issue of Robyn of Sherwood was published. Back to Sherwood
features Robin Hood's modern-day descendant Robyn travelling back in time
to team up with the children of the Merry Men. And this year, the Wonderful
World of Disney aired a TV movie called Princess of Thieves which
featured Robin's daughter, Gwyn. Have you seen any of these? If so, what
do you think of them?
 PDS:
I would REALLY like to see The Son of Robin Hood! Haven't
ever run across it. In fact, I wasn't even aware of it until I started
research for Robyn. I saw an episode or two of Back to Sherwood
and was a little disappointed. It came across a bit too much as Xena-lite
to me. In other words, the period was treated very casually / history
didn't figure much into things (like Xena), and the character development
wasn't as strong as I would have cared for (that's the "lite" part -- Xena
was a lot better on that score). As for Princess of Thieves
... I very, very much wanted to like that film. Unfortunately, Gwyn seemed
really ineffective to me. The fictional son of King Richard ended
up being as much or more the hero of the piece. In fact, the "princess"
took a back seat to almost everyone. The real shame is that I think
Keira Knightley is a terrific actress and could have done a great job portraying
a tougher, more competent character.
Then
again, maybe I'm not in the best position to judge. After all, I'd
love to see a Robyn of Sherwood movie or series.
AWW:
I gather that Robyn of Sherwood was originally intended to be an ongoing
series. Why did you stop doing the series?
PDS:
Let's just chalk that up to the state of the comics industry. Unfortunately,
there's not much room for smaller publishers doing black & white books
in this day and age. The general comics readership is looking for
modern day action/adventure in full color, not historical adventure in
black & white. Sales just weren't there.
AWW:
Is there a chance that you will return to chronicle Robyn's adventures
some
day? Who owns the rights to the character?
PDS:
I would LOVE to write Robyn again someday. As things stand now, Caliber
and I share the rights to the character.
 AWW:
Now you're working on a new series of Robin Hood adventures for
Moonstone Books. The first is due out in October and is billed as a "director's
cut" of Robin Hood and Alan a Dale. What sorts of things go into making
a "director's cut" of a ballad?
PDS:
The reason Robin Hood & the Minstrel is billed as a "director's
cut" is because the actual ballad is a pretty sparse story. Plus,
there isn't any real danger involved. Robin meets Allan. Allan
tells his plight. Robin and the Merry Men intervene in Ellen's wedding
and the young lovers are reunited. To make it into an interesting
comic, I had to expand the background and introduce a bit more action and
danger. Readers expect adventure and daring deeds when reading a
Robin Hood story .
AWW:
Will the other volumes in the series follow this format?
PDS:
Somewhat. A lot of the stories will be based on ballads, but there
will be "Storrie originals" (as my editor calls them) in the mix.
Also, when I tell the various tales of how the main characters come to
be outlaws, there's LOTS of room for expansion. Who were these people
before they were outlawed? What was their family situation?
Who did they have to leave behind? That kind of thing.
AWW:
What are some of the "Storrie originals" stories coming in the Moonstone
run? What do you think are the ingredients of a good, original Robin
Hood story?
PDS:
Oh, wait. I didn't mean you should ask me the TOUGH questions!
Sorry,
I'm a chronic smart aleck.
The
first "Storrie original" is the third issue, a tale I call Robin Hood &
the Jailer. It focuses on a new Jailer the Sheriff appoints to the
Nottingham dungeon, deals an awful, awful lot with Marian, and also serves
to show the downside of Robin's occasionally cavalier attitude towards
the persons he robs. (By the by, it occurs to me that "cavalier"
attitude is anachronistic when applied to Robin Hood, but it's the right
phrase to describe what I mean. It's sometimes strange to write historical
fiction!)
Since
the books are coming out quarterly (every three months), I haven't gone
too far ahead in my writing and planning. Thus, I can't tell you
too much else about other original stories I'm cooking up. The next
one, which may be issue four, will deal extensively with the Sheriff, his
background, his motivations and his role as Robin's primary antagonist.
[Robin Hood and the Jailer was packaged with a black-and-white reprint of the Minstrel story and the script to Robin Hood and the Knight in 2004. Future publications are uncertain at this time.]
As
to the ingredients of a good, original Robin Hood story --
There
has to be high adventure. Action, excitement, intrigue. As
I mentioned earlier, Robin Hood is, to me, primarily about Justice vs.
Injustice. Ultimately, I think a good Robin story has to be about
making someone's life better. Evening up the scales of justice to
aid someone who has been dealt a bad hand.
AWW:
Women have few roles in the ballads. And while Marian is prominent in most
versions of the legend, she only appears in a few ballads. What roles will
women play in your "director's cut"?
 PDS:
Women will have a role in the new series, though the most prominent to
start will be Marian. We introduce Allan-a-Dale's sweetheart Ellen
in the first story, but she will only appear occasionally thereafter.
I'll
try to be a bit more even-handed than the ballads in including women and
making their roles and actions integral to the stories. I'll also
be trying to avoid relegating them to the status of hostages (or at least
no more so than the occasional Merry Man or Robin himself).
While
Marian isn't an original part of the legends, I think she has become an
essential part. I'll be trying to portray her as a strong, competent,
vibrant character who is inspirational to the men around her, both in spirit
and in deeds. Also, I'll be showing her as the woman who could (and
did) give birth and raise an exceptional child like Robyn of Sherwood.
While the two series aren't quite linked, I'll be trying not to contradict
the backstory I laid down in Robyn. In my mind, the Moonstone
series could very well be the history of the Caliber one.
AWW:
What special challenges exist in doing Robin Hood in comic book form?
What traditional elements do you think work well as a comic? And which
elements don't work as well in this medium?
PDS:
I don't know that there are any special challenges to doing Robin Hood
in a comic. It's a legend that cries out to be visualized.
Although, as I mentioned, a direct retelling of most of the ballads would
be fairly short and lacking in action.
AWW:
Robin Hood comics have been appearing for decades, but none of them seems
to have a lasting success. Most seem to boom around famous non-comic
works, such as the 1950s TV series and the 1991 Kevin Costner movie, and
fade away when those works are gone. Have you read any of those comics?
If so, what did you think of them? And do you have any thoughts on
why Robin Hood doesn't seem to have a regularly published comic?
 PDS:
To answer your last question first, these days most non-superhero comics
have a tough time maintaining any kind of following. As for the lack
of long-term success for earlier Robin Hood comics, that's a tough, tough
call. Perhaps the problem comes in because there are so many versions
of the character and everyone has a favorite, a definitive version.
If the Flynn movie is your touchstone, then anything that deviates from
it isn't going to satisfy. Likewise for the Richard Greene TV series.
As for the Costner movie ... what? There was a Costner movie?
(I kid. I think that they tried really hard, but that the comedic
touches spoiled the film in general. Frankly, I would have rather
seen Alan Rickman play a straight-forward villainous sheriff, rather than
the "cancel Christmas" guy.) Then there are the devoted fans of the
Richard Carpenter series. They'd love to see a Robin of Sherwood
comic, I'm sure, but aren't necessarily going to be accepting of something
very different. To the credit of the Robin of Sherwood fans,
they were very accepting and supportive of Robyn when I attended
the "Weekend in Sherwood" convention. Then again, it wasn't about
Robin, but his daughter. Thus, it doesn't contradict their favorite
version per se.
When
I first pitched Robin Hood to Gary Reed at Caliber, I said, "People don't
know the real story of Robin Hood." Gary replied, "But everyone THINKS
they do." I think that's what you fight against when you do a Robin
Hood comic book -- the expectations of the readers.
AWW:
Robin Hood is an iconic figure, but you've also worked on another iconic
hero -- Batman? What's it like to write an icon? And what are the differences
between working on a comic book hero like Batman and working on a character
like Robin Hood who began life outside of comics?
PDS:
I don't really think there are all that many differences between working
on a comic book hero vs. one who began life outside of comics. At
least as far as how I approach them. In both instances, it's a matter
of thinking, "What kind of story would be appropriate to this character?"
There is one MAJOR difference -- with a character like Batman you have
to worry more about the other stories that have been told about him recently.
How does what you want to do fit into what other writers have done?
With Robin Hood, since there aren't multiple comics coming out about him,
you don't have those kinds of concerns.
AWW:
Robyn of Sherwood uses some lesser known characters from the legend
(like Red Roger of Doncaster) and some elements from real history (a reference
to King John making England a papal fiefdom). How do you feel about incorporating
history and legend into your tales? Will we see more historical references
in the new series?
PDS:
Since the legends were originally contemporary stories, I think that a
solid grounding in the time period is pretty essential. Of course,
the generally accepted time for the Robin Hood stories now, the time of
King Richard, is a fairly recent development. A king is only referenced
by name once in the ballads, and that's Edward ("our comely king").
If I remember correctly, Sir Walter Scott first placed Robin in the period
of King Richard, in Ivanhoe. Pyle, of course, followed that
in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.
I'm
going to try to make historical references in the Moonstone Robin Hood
series, as appropriate. I think it lends an extra touch of verisimilitude.
AWW:
What sorts of research did you do for the series?
 PDS:
I started out by reading Pyle again. Might as well start with your
roots, right? Bought a copy of the Flynn movie for inspiration.
Picked up a few Robin Hood reference books -- Holt's Robin Hood
and Knight's Robin Hood: A Complete Study of the English Outlaw.
Also bought a fascinating book titled King John by Ralph V. Turner,
which helped a lot with gaining historical perspective. Then I read
a bunch of more recent versions of the legend, novels mostly, to try and
avoid covering territory that others had already explored. Along
with all that, I tracked down a lot of stuff on the web, including your
excellent site and the text versions and commentaries on the early ballads
(thank you Project Guttenberg!)
AWW:
How would you sum up your new series of Robin Hood adventures?
PDS:
Exciting new stories of Robin Hood and intriguing retellings of the traditional
tales, told with the passion of a lifelong Robin Hood fan. If you're
a Robin Hood aficionado or someone with only a passing interest in the
character or the time period, there's something here for you, including
some truly terrific sequential artwork.
Hopefully
that doesn't sound too much like hype.
AWW:
Is there anything else you feel we should cover?
PDS:
Offhand I can't think of anything! You were exceptionally thorough.
AWW:
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to these questions.
PDS:
My pleasure!
Interview
(c) Copyright 2001 -- Allen W. Wright
For
more information on these series, including ordering information, please
visit:
Moonstone
Books
If
you're interested about the role of women in comic books, visit The
Friends of Lulu website.
ROBIN HOOD TPB written by Paul Storrie, drawn by various artists. Moonstone Books re-issued Robin Hood and the Minstrel in black-and-white, also included is previously unpublished Robin Hood comic story, and the script to another.
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