Once & Future
| Once & Future | |
|---|---|
 Issue 1 cover | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Boom! Studios |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | August 2019 – October 2022 |
| No. of issues | 30 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora |
| Written by | Kieron Gillen |
| Artist(s) | Dan Mora |
| Colorist(s) | Tamra Bonvillain |
Once & Future is a horror comic by Kieron Gillen, with art by Dan Mora and colors by Tamra Bonvillain, about King Arthur. It is published by Boom! Studios.
Synopsis
[edit]When a group of British nationalists perform a supernatural ritual in order to resurrect King Arthur, they discover that Arthur has his own agenda. As Arthur leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake, octogenarian Bridgette McGuire — a retired monster hunter — and her grandson Duncan must try to stop him before other creatures from stories begin emerging as well.
Reception
[edit]The first Once & Future trade paperback (Once & Future: The King is Undead, comprising issues #1-6) was a finalist for the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story,[1] the third trade paperback (Once & Future: The Parliament of Magpies) was a finalist for the 2022 award,[2] and the fourth trade paperback (Once & Future: Monarchies in the UK) was a finalist for the 2023 award.[3]
Screen Rant calls it "(t)he best modern King Arthur adaptation", because it is set in the present day and "explores the power of stories" rather than "the myths themselves".[4]
Comic Book Resources considers it "a more successful adaptation [of Arthurian mythos] than most", and posits that this is because Gillen "plays fast and loose with Arthurian legend" and acknowledges that there is no single canonical version.[5]
Collected editions
[edit]Boom! Studios has collected issues of Once & Future as trade paperbacks:
- Once & Future - Volume One: The King is Undead (ISBN 978-1684154913)
- Once & Future - Volume Two: Old English (ISBN 978-1684156375)
- Once & Future - Volume Three: The Parliament Of Magpies (ISBN 978-1684157037)
- Once & Future - Volume Four: Monarchies In The UK (ISBN 978-1684158294)
- Once & Future - Volume Five: The Wasteland (ISBN 978-1684158621
References
[edit]- ^ 2021 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved April 30, 2021
- ^ 2022 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved May 14, 2022
- ^ 2023 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved July 20, 2023
- ^ The Best King Arthur Story is A Comic Book, 'Once & Future', by Thomas Bacon, at Screen Rant; published February 23, 2021; retrieved April 30, 2021
- ^ Once & Future: How the Fantasy Comic Successfully Adapts Arthurian Legend, by Samantha Puc, at Comic Book Resources; published April 28, 2020; retrieved April 30, 2021