Event Title
Once and Future Kings Revisited: The Theme of Arthur Redivivus in Recent Arthuriads of the Comics Medium
Location
Panel 17: Kearney 317
Start Date
27-10-2012 10:15 AM
End Date
27-10-2012 11:45 AM
Description
The motif of Arthur redivivus remains a popular subject with creative artists, and, as explored in my essay “Once and Future Kings: The Return of King Arthur in the Comics” (2004), it has inspired many comics writers and artists, working from the 1940s to the early 2000s, to create innovative accounts of King Arthur’s return through a variety of surrogate figures.1 This trend continues as the twenty-first century progresses, and a wealth of new texts have appeared since 2003, which need further attention by Arthurians. These comics are important for study because of their exploration both of the democratization of the legend of Arthur’s return and of contemporary reception of this seminal myth of the Matter of Britain in the post 9/11 world. Furthermore, by placing the figure of the returned king at center of these four-color Arthuriads, these comics become the vehicles to disseminating the Arthurian tradition to audiences of all ages. Comics to be discussed will include the following: Jamie Bautista’s The Cast, Meg Cabot’s Avalon High: Coronation, Frank Cammuso’s Knights of the Lunch Table, Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI:13, Dave Dorman’s The Wasted Land, Paul Gadzikowski’s Arthur, King of Time and Space, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, Michael McMillan’s Lucid, Martin T. Pierro’s Arthur: The Legend Continues, James Riot’s The Path, Sam Sarkar’s Caliber, Rick Veitch’s Aquaman, Greg Weisman’s Gargoyles, and Bill Willingham’s Fables.
1 “Once and Future Kings: The Return of King Arthur in the Comics,” Adapting the Arthurian Legends for Children: Essays on Arthurian Juvenilia, ed. Barbara Tepa Lupack, Studies in Arthurian and Courtly Cultures, series ed. Bonnie Wheeler (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), 243-262.
Additional Files
Once and Future Kings Revisited: The Theme of Arthur Redivivus in Recent Arthuriads of the Comics Medium
Panel 17: Kearney 317
The motif of Arthur redivivus remains a popular subject with creative artists, and, as explored in my essay “Once and Future Kings: The Return of King Arthur in the Comics” (2004), it has inspired many comics writers and artists, working from the 1940s to the early 2000s, to create innovative accounts of King Arthur’s return through a variety of surrogate figures.1 This trend continues as the twenty-first century progresses, and a wealth of new texts have appeared since 2003, which need further attention by Arthurians. These comics are important for study because of their exploration both of the democratization of the legend of Arthur’s return and of contemporary reception of this seminal myth of the Matter of Britain in the post 9/11 world. Furthermore, by placing the figure of the returned king at center of these four-color Arthuriads, these comics become the vehicles to disseminating the Arthurian tradition to audiences of all ages. Comics to be discussed will include the following: Jamie Bautista’s The Cast, Meg Cabot’s Avalon High: Coronation, Frank Cammuso’s Knights of the Lunch Table, Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI:13, Dave Dorman’s The Wasted Land, Paul Gadzikowski’s Arthur, King of Time and Space, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, Michael McMillan’s Lucid, Martin T. Pierro’s Arthur: The Legend Continues, James Riot’s The Path, Sam Sarkar’s Caliber, Rick Veitch’s Aquaman, Greg Weisman’s Gargoyles, and Bill Willingham’s Fables.
1 “Once and Future Kings: The Return of King Arthur in the Comics,” Adapting the Arthurian Legends for Children: Essays on Arthurian Juvenilia, ed. Barbara Tepa Lupack, Studies in Arthurian and Courtly Cultures, series ed. Bonnie Wheeler (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), 243-262.