Camelot 3000

'Camelot 3000' is an example of comics at their best. Purchase quality was much better than expected. Brand new copy, beautiful hardcover.

A phenomenal read. Published in the early 80's, originally as a 12-issue Maxi-series, this graphic novel updates the King Arthur legend into the year 3000. Aliens are ravaging London, chaos abounds, and England needs a hero. Arthur is unearthed by a young, recently orphaned, young hero-in-the-making, and they set about resurrecting the knights of the round table. One by one, the reincarnated, present-day holders of the spirits of Guinevere, Lancelot, Gawain and the rest, rediscover their past-lives and spring to action. Morgan le Fey causes more troubles, Merlin is more powerful than ever, and the Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot love triangle begins anew. The story is highly developed, beautifully motivated, and action-filled. Bolland's illustrations are top-notch, even without the glossy paper of the original comics. Overall, an outstanding piece of work.

An original graphic novel way back way. An excellent exploration of heroism, mythology and gender by way of the Arthurian mythos. Earth is under the thumb of aliens, and resistance is pretty much non-existent. One man still wants to fight, and the discovery of an ancient site may help him out in a big way.

It broke new ground. It was one of the first books published on high quality paper and distributed only to the direct market. The first maxiseries in comics history, this book was planned with a beginning, middle and end, much like a prose novel. It also had the freedom to do whatever it wanted with its characters since, despite being published by DC, it was outside of their continuity. It was published without the Comics Code Authority seal and was advertised as a book for mature readers. Thus this book was able to explore subject matter mainstream comics had shied away from. Two of the central characters in the book are involved in an extramarital affair, for example, and one character is a man trapped in a woman's body. It had fantastic art. Penciller Brian Bolland today is well known for his beautiful cover art, but in 1982 when this series began, he was largely unknown outside of England. By the time the book finished in 1985 (unfortunately the wait between some chapters was incredibly long, another trend in comics' future that this book foretold), he was widely known throughout mainstream comics for his incredibly detailed and expressive linework. It was incredibly well-researched. Writer Mike W. Barr utilized a creative consultant for this book, a member of academia who was well-versed in the Arthurian lore Barr was reworking for his own purposes. Barr similarly drew from his own research into the legends of King Arthur and used as inspiration for this story great works of literature, including the masterful poetry of Sir Thomas Mallory. It mixed genres seamlessly. In this book, these Arthurian legends were reimagined in a completely new setting: a far-flung future Earth in the midst of an alien invasion. The sword-and-sorcery trappings of the Arthurian legend are juxtaposed with science fiction clichés and a hint of political intrigue to make a book that is better than the sum of its parts. Reincarnation meets genetic engineering at one point, leading one of Arthur's knights of the round table to come back as an eight-foot-tall monster. Meanwhile, villainess Morgan Le Fay not only employs aliens from a tenth planet as her henchman, but also the UN's top security advisor as her right-hand man. This series was Camelot 3000. Innovative, imaginative, and beautifully crafted, it should be on your bookshelf.

It is a grim, overpopulated world, short on resources, as well as hope. Long ago man abandoned the dream of space to focus on more "practical" needs. The powers-that-be rule with an iron fist. Dissidents, criminals, and undesirables are genetically altered into zombie like "neo-men"- mindless muscle to use against the masses. Then, if this was not enough, into this hopeless, hellish cauldron came invaders from the stars that we had turned our backs on. London was in flames and it looked like the world truly would end with a whimper- on its knees. Enter Arthur Pendragon, the One True King, to unite a planet as he once united a kingdom.I especially enjoyed the closing page of this excellent graphic novel, with it's suggestion that this is not only a timeless, but cosmic, myth cycle. Where ever evil gains the upper hand and hope dies, no matter how far-flung the planet, the universe crystalizes out a True King to set things right once more- to defend the dream of what was, and what yet may be....

I happen to be both a fan of the Arthurian story and an Arthurian scholar, and I absolutely adored this book. The artwork was powerful, truly aiding the telling of the tale. The story was clever and far superior to the usual twist of this nature. I definitely enjoyed the added complication of Tristan coming back as a woman! The story holds true to the patterns and spirit of the legends, which is what I look for specifically in retellings of the Arthurian tales. This book is definitely worth every penny you spend on it.