''Once & Future'' is a

horror comic Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

Kieron Gillen Kieron Michael Gillen (; born 30 September 1975) is a British comic book writer and former video game and music journalist. In comics, Gillen is known for ''Phonogram'' and ''The Wicked + The Divine'', both co-created with artist Jamie McKelvie ...

, with art by Dan Mora and colors by Tamra Bonvillain, about

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. It is published by

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...

Synopsis

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

The first ''Once & Future''

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

(''Once & Future: The King is Undead'', comprising issues #1-6) was a finalist for the 2021

Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story The Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story is given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories told in graphic form and published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. It has been awarded annually since 2009. The Hugo A ...

,2021 Hugo Awards
at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved April 30, 2021 the third trade paperback (''Once & Future: The Parliament of Magpies'') was a finalist for the 2022 award,2022 Hugo Awards
at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved May 14, 2022 and the fourth trade paperback (''Once & Future: Monarchies in the UK'') was a finalist for the 2023 award.2023 Hugo Awards
at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved July 20, 2023 ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' 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".The Best King Arthur Story is A Comic Book, 'Once & Future'
by Thomas Bacon, at ''

''; published February 23, 2021; retrieved April 30, 2021 ''

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' considers it "a more successful adaptation f Arthurian mythosthan most", and posits that this is because Gillen "plays fast and loose with Arthurian legend" and acknowledges that there is no single canonical version.Once & Future: How the Fantasy Comic Successfully Adapts Arthurian Legend
by Samantha Puc, at ''

''; published April 28, 2020; retrieved April 30, 2021

Collected editions

has collected issues of ''Once & Future'' as

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

: * ''Once & Future - Volume One: The King is Undead'' () * ''Once & Future - Volume Two: Old English'' () * ''Once & Future - The Parliament Of Magpies'' () * ''Once & Future - Monarchies In The UK'' () * ''Once & Future - The Wasteland'' (

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Once and Future Horror comics Arthurian comics