A Murder of Scarecrows: Rebellion in the American Colonies

by Gary Reed, Wayne Reid (Illustrator)

Think a Batman-style story set in the Americas 1760s. A Tale of Rebellion! From the dark mist of Raven Cove, the mysterious figure of the Scarecrow owns the night, terrorizing the British soldiers who reign with a tight fist on a small seaport village in the American Colonies. Set in the dramatic days before the American Revolution, a masked avenger seeks to maintain justice in the small town of Seaton. As the British seek to clamp down on a group of smugglers, only the Scarecrow and his "freedom riders" can stand against the tyranny of the new commandant of the town...one who threatens to destroy the entire town in order to catch the elusive Scarecrow. Collects comic book issues 1-3.

Genres: Comics

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Gary Reed was a prolific comic book writer and publisher. He was formerly the publisher of Caliber Comics and Vice President of McFarlane Toys.

Also wrote under assumed names (including Brent Truax, Kyle Garrett, Randall Thayer).

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad at all. This is set just before the American Revolution and a group of masked freedom fighters have formed led by a mysterious being known as the Scarecrow. He's attempting to save the people of his town from the oppression of the British, and the British are determined to stomp him out.

The story does feel a little familiar as I was reminded of Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel among others, but it's still a very entertaining trope. The black and white art fits the story well. Overall this is was a very entertaining read in the vein of classic literature. If like stories about the American Revolution and/or enjoyed the TV series Turn: Washington's Spies (one of my all time favorites) then this should appeal to you.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at Gary Reed's table at the Detroit FanFare last September, and it's one of those 'real world' moments where I likely never would've stumbled across this had I not been there. It's a decent read, and if it only had a costumed antagonist it would've felt similar to Marvel's Bronze Age monster/Horror output. Good stuff for those into Horror and Horror-tinged comic books.

[Shawn Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic book. As a massive fan of Dr. Syn, I was interested in seeing how well this played out and was quite pleased with the results. There are, however, a few unresolved plot points, so hopefully there will be more to come.