Once & Future
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!
Once & Future
- Creator
- Kieron Gillen
- Date
- 2019
- Publisher
- Boom! Studios
- Language
- English
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Documentary summary
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!
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wikidata · Q106838958 · wikipedia · Once & Future
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Ongoing — Y • Fantasy — y • Horror — y • Publisher — Boom! Studios • Startmo — August • Startyr — 2019 • Endmo — October • Endyr — 2022 • Issues — 30 • Writers — Kieron Gillen • Artists — Dan Mora • Colorists — Tamra Bonvillain • Creators — Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora • Subcat — Boom! Studios
Synopsis
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.
Collected editions
Boom! Studios has collected issues of Once & Future as trade paperbacks: • Once & Future - Volume One: The King is Undead • Once & Future - Volume Two: Old English • Once & Future - Volume Three: The Parliament Of Magpies • Once & Future - Volume Four: Monarchies In The UK • Once & Future - Volume Five: The Wasteland
Catalogued output
Versions and prints
The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Dragon within the gates: the once and future AIDS epidemic / Stephen C. The prophecy of Masuka: an African medicine man or shaman of the Nkose watching the future in a bowl. It is also recorded that logical analysis of clinical medicine.
Reception
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, the third trade paperback (Once & Future: The Parliament of Magpies) was a finalist for the 2022 award, and the fourth trade paperback (Once & Future: Monarchies in the UK) was a finalist for the 2023 award. 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". 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.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Once & Future”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q106838958: Once & Future
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 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
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This entry is compiled from 10 catalogued sources across 6 independent registers. The registers consulted are Crossref registry, Wikipedia, DOAJ, Wellcome Collection, Wikidata and Internet Archive. Every statement above is held against the register that stated it; where the registers are silent, the entry is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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