Maid Marian And Her Merry Men ...

is a children's tv series about the adventures of Maid Marian as the leader of the Merry Men instead of Robin Hood who is portrayed as an inept ex-tailor rather than the valiant leader of the band of outlaws known as the Merry Men.

 The series is historical in a tongue and cheek sort of way and is genuinely very funny as it follows the escapades of The Merry Men lead by Marian against King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. 

The series stars Tony Robinson Of Time Team and Black Adder Fame, so it is interesting to see how well the history is portrayed and parodied like in Black Adder where where he played a character called Baldrick. Robinson has expressed interest in continuing the series beyond series four and one Christmas special. Interestingly the series was adapted into a series of comics By Paul Cemmick for The Daily Telegraph Newspaper's children's newspaper, The Young Telegraph.

 

Here is a link to the series on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maid-Marian-Her-Merry-Men/dp/B001BDF7DA

 The Legend of Zelda...

Echoes of Wisdom is a Zelda game made by Nintendo that uses the same aesthetic as a previous Zelda game called The Legend Of Zelda Link's Awakening, which is itself a remake of an earlier Zelda Game. You can read more about it in one of my previous blogs.                         

                                       

It is interesting for two main reasons; the first and foremost is it is actually the first Zelda game where the main character you play as, is Zelda Herself and not Link who usually has to rescue Zelda in previous games. Ironic since the entire franchise is called The Legend of Zelda and not The Legend of Link.

The other of the two reasons is that you can play the game by learning and creating copies of most things in the game, even enemies, very much in the vein of Nintendo's Mario Maker 1 & 2.

Zelda

Link & Zelda

Here is a link to the game on Amazon, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Legend-Zelda-Standard-Nintendo-Download/dp/B0DG3S4RQ1?th=1

 THE ISLAND...

Is a picture book by renowned Swiss artist Armin Greder. He works mainly in compressed charcoal and pastels for his bold and minimalist illustrations. His work is often about serious topics like immigration, and prejudice conveyed in an accessible and impactful way without the usual bombast of other fables in similar picture books. his work reminds me of Henry Moore the sculptor and Edvard Munch's the scream in it's intensity, while the plot and tone feel more like a Raymond Briggs picture book. 

©Armin Greder

©Armin Greder

©Armin Greder

©Armin Greder    ©Armin Greder

Greder has published many other picture books such as; diamonds, the mediterranean and The Inheritance etc. His work has been nominated for multiple awards; such as the Hans Christian Andersen award and the CBCA Picture Book Of The Year Awards. 

He currently lives in Peru after previously migrating to Australia. Here is a link to The Island on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Armin-Greder/dp/1741752663