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Once & Future

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Once & Future
Issue 1 cover
Publication information
PublisherBoom! Studios
FormatOngoing series
Genre
Publication dateAugust 2019 – October 2022
No. of issues30
Creative team
Created byKieron Gillen and Dan Mora
Written byKieron 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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ 2021 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved April 30, 2021
  2. ^ 2022 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved May 14, 2022
  3. ^ 2023 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved July 20, 2023
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ 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