Unholy Grail

Last updated
Unholy Grail
Cover of Unholy Grail Issue 1.png
Publication information
Publisher AfterShock Comics
Format Ongoing series
Genre Horror
Publication dateJuly 2017 – Present
No. of issues5
Creative team
Written by Cullen Bunn
Artist(s) Mirko Colak
Colorist(s) Maria Santaolalla

Unholy Grail is a horror comic book series written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Mirko Colak, published by American company AfterShock Comics. The colorist is Maria Santaolalla, and the letterer is Simon Bowland. [1]

Contents

Unholy Grail is a dark revisionist take on the story of Arthur Pendragon, Merlin, Excalibur, and the legacy of Camelot, where the story of King Arthur is not the stuff of legends, but the fuel of nightmares. This comic features graphic violence and is intended for mature readers. Five issues have been released to generally positive reviews, however, it is unclear if the series will continue. [2]

Development

Writer Cullen Bunn was fascinated by Arthurian legends since he was a child and dreamed up an alternate take where the Arthurian legend was treated as a horror story. Twenty years before Unholy Grail was published, Bunn scribbled down the lines, "The demon, who had no name in his own tongue, but would come to be called Merlin by mortals, uncoiled its serpentine body and slithered out of the shadows." Bunn has stated that he still owns the notebook where he first pondered the concept. [3] [4]

Synopsis

Issue one starts with a teaser. Percivale (sic) of Wales returns to Camelot with the Holy Grail to find the castle destroyed by war. Only the Siege Perilous remains—the chair at the round table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would retrieve the Grail. There is a flashback many years as Merlin travels to Camelot to see the dying King, Uther Pendragon, when a demon from hell possesses Merlin and takes control of his body. Merlin, now a demon, reaches Camelot and kills the dying king, after forcing him to announce that the baby Arthur is the heir, with Merlin as his teacher. Now Merlin's quest is to find the boy, who has been hidden. The plot flashes forward. Merlin and an adult King Arthur are traveling on a boat. They make an offering to the Lady of the Lake, who gives Arthur her blessing to rule. Flashing forward again to the teaser, Percivale is sitting in the Siege Perilous when a demon takes hold of him, seemingly killing him. [4] [5]

A young King Arthur is seen building his castle as Issue two begins. A flashback finds Merlin on the hunt for the child Arthur. After a battle with men who do not wish Arthur to be king, Merlin thrusts a sword into a stone, telling the men that if they wish to be king, they must pull the sword from it. The men cannot. Merlin finds the boy and takes him as his student, training him, then showing him the sword in the stone. The boy Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, and Merlin tells him to prepare for war. Flashing forward to the teaser, where Arthur was building his castle, he sees a beautiful woman, the Lady Guinevere. [4] [6]

Issue three begins with Merlin and King Arthur giving a sacrifice to the Lady of the Lake. She reveals herself and tells Arthur he can have Excalibur if he promises to be faithful to her and no other woman. Arthur agrees. A fast forward finds Arthur marrying Guinevere and making her his queen. Soon after, Merlin has Guinevere kidnapped and Arthur leaves the castle with Lancelot to rescue her. After they rescue Guinevere, the queen secretly visits Lancelot and they have an affair. Merlin catches Guinevere in the act of adultery and magically summons her treachery, guilt, and betrayal as the Lady Morgana. [4] [7]

Merlin is spreading rumors of Guinevere's infidelity as Issue four begins. Arthur catches her making love with Lancelot, but does not reveal himself. Morgana approaches Arthur and seduces him. The plot skips ahead to Guinevere being burnt at the stake for her infidelity. At the same time, Morgana also begins to burn, since she and Guinevere are connected in some magical way. Lancelot fights past the crowd and rescues Guinevere, thus saving Morgana's life as well. Moving forward in time, Lancelot and a pregnant Guinevere are hiding out in the country, when Guinevere begins bleeding. Far away, Morgana is also in exile, and gives birth to a demon named Mordred, having stolen the life of Guinevere's baby. Back in Camelot, Arthur wonders why his kingdom is falling to ruin. Merlin tells him it is the Lady of the Lake's doing, a punishment for his transgressions. [4] [8]

Issue five begins with Arthur attempting to kill Mordred. He spares the child when he learns Mordred is his son. Meanwhile, Lancelot and Guinevere plot to kill Merlin, to free Arthur from his grasp. In Camelot, a bored Merlin plays games with the knights, telling them that if one of them retrieves the Holy Grail, they can save Albion from ruin. Arthur decides to go with the knights to find the Grail, leaving Mordred to sit on the throne with Merlin whispering in his ear. The plot moves far ahead to Arthur returning to Camelot and fighting against Mordred to regain his castle. Arthur kills Mordred as he begs for his life. Meanwhile, in the castle, Guinevere and Lancelot attack Merlin and kill him. Outside, on the battlefield, Lancelot finds Arthur mortally wounded and carries him to the lake where he throws Excalibur back into the water. Issue five and story arc one end with Arthur floating in the lake; the Lady of the Lake coming to his need. Will he survive? [4] [9] [10]

Characters

Main

Minor

Reception

Unholy Grail received generally positive reviews from critics. Issue #1 holding an 8.4 out of 10 on Comicbook Round Up. [11] IGN 's Jesse Schedeen gave issue #1 an 8.9 out of 10 saying, "It can't be easy to find a compelling new spin on the Arthurian mythos at this point, but Cullen Bunn and Mirko Colak do just that in the first issue of this new series. ... The result is a bleak, twisted subversion of a familiar story but never one that feels dark simply for the sake of being dark. Colak brings strong look to the series, one that's as much violent horror movie as it is high fantasy. All in all, this easily ranks as one of the strongest debuts for AfterShock Comics." [12] Kile Sills from Nerdophile gave issue #1 4 out of 5 stars saying, "It can be difficult to take a well-known tale and spin it into something that feels fresh and new, but that’s exactly what Cullen Bunn and the creative team accomplish with Unholy Grail #1. It’s no surprise that Bunn has been able to twist a classic legend into his brand of horror, given what he has already accomplished with other titles like Harrow County, which resides in the same vein of fantasy-fairy-tale." [5] Matt Lune at Multiversity Comics gave Unholy Grail Issue #1 a 7 out of 10 saying, "An intriguing start to a take on the Arthurian legend that’s steeped in demonic mystery". [13]

Publication history

As of April 2019, five issues of the comic have been published. [2] A trade paperback containing the first five issues has also been published. [2]

Issues

Issue #Publication Date
1July 5, 2017 [14]
2August 9, 2017 [15]
3September 20, 2017 [16]
4November 15, 2017 [17]
5December 20, 2017 [18]

Trade paperbacks

Volume #ISBNPublication DateCollected Material
1 ISBN   1935002678 April 10, 2018Unholy Grail #1–5

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinevere</span> Arthurian legend character

Guinevere, also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in popular literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a fatally flawed, villainous and opportunistic traitor to a noble and virtuous lady. Many records of the legend also feature the variably recounted story of her abduction and rescue as a major part of the tale.

<i>Idylls of the King</i> Cycle of twelve narrative poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Idylls of the King, published between 1859 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancelot</span> Arthurian legend character

Lancelot du Lac, also written as Launcelot and other variants, is a character in some versions of Arthurian legend where he is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companion and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table. In the French-inspired Arthurian chivalric romance tradition, Lancelot is an orphaned son of King Ban of the lost kingdom of Benoic, raised in a fairy realm by the Lady of the Lake. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled swordsman and jouster, Lancelot becomes the lord of the castle Joyous Gard and personal champion of Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, despite suffering from frequent and sometimes prolonged fits of madness. But when his adulterous affair with Guinevere is discovered, it causes a civil war that, once exploited by Mordred, brings an end to Arthur's kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mordred</span> Character in Arthurian legend

Mordred or Modred is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle Annales Cambriae, wherein he and Arthur are ambiguously associated with the Battle of Camlann in a brief entry for the year 537. Medraut's figure seemed to have been regarded positively in the early Welsh tradition and may have been related to that of Arthur's son. As Modredus, Mordred was depicted as Arthur's traitorous nephew and a legitimate son of King Lot in the pseudo-historical work Historia Regum Britanniae, which then served as the basis for the following evolution of the legend from the 12th century. Later variants most often characterised Mordred as Arthur's villainous bastard son, born of an incestuous relationship with his half-sister, the queen of Lothian or Orkney named either Anna, Orcades, or Morgause. The accounts presented in the Historia and most other versions include Mordred's death at Camlann, typically in a final duel, during which he manages to mortally wound his own slayer, Arthur. Mordred is usually a brother or half-brother to Gawain; however, his other family relations, as well as his relationships with Arthur's wife Guinevere, vary greatly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady of the Lake</span> Enchantress and sorceress in Arthurian legend

The Lady of the Lake is a name or a title used by several either mermaid or mermaid-like but human enchantresses in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. She plays several important roles in many stories, including providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating Merlin, raising Lancelot after the death of his father, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon. Different sorceresses known as the Lady of the Lake appear concurrently as separate characters in some versions of the legend since at least the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently the seminal Le Morte d'Arthur, with the latter describing them as a hierarchical group, while some texts also give this title to either Morgan or her sister.

<i>Excalibur</i> (film) 1981 epic medieval fantasy film by John Boorman

Excalibur is a 1981 epic medieval fantasy film directed, cowritten and produced by John Boorman, that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, based loosely on the 15th-century Arthurian romance Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Gabriel Byrne as Uther and Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named after the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature. The film's soundtrack features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones.

Morgause is a popular variant of the figure of the Queen of Orkney, an Arthurian legend character also known by various other names and appearing in different forms of her archetype. She is notably the mother of Gawain and often also of Mordred, both key players in the story of her brother King Arthur and his downfall. Her other children may include Agravain, Gareth and Gaheris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaheris</span> Fictional character

Gaheris is a Knight of the Round Table in the chivalric romance tradition of Arthurian legend. A nephew of King Arthur, Gaheris is the third son of Arthur's sister or half-sister Morgause and her husband Lot, King of Orkney and Lothian. He is the younger brother of Gawain and Agravain, the older brother of Gareth, and half-brother of Mordred. His figure may have been originally derived from that of a brother of Gawain in the early Welsh tradition, and then later split into a separate character of another brother, today best known as Gareth. German poetry also described him as Gawain's cousin instead of brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agravain</span> Legendary Arthurian knight

Agravain is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna or Morgause, thus nephew of King Arthur, and brother to Sir Gawain, Gaheris, and Gareth, as well as half-brother to Mordred. Agravain secretly makes attempts on the life of his hated brother Gaheris starting in the Vulgate Cycle, participates in the slayings of Lamorak and Palamedes in the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and murders Dinadan in the Prose Tristan. In the French prose cycle tradition included in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, together with Mordred, he then plays a leading role by exposing his aunt Guinevere's affair with Lancelot, which leads to his death at Lancelot's hand.

This is a bibliography of works about King Arthur, his family, his friends or his enemies. This bibliography includes works that are notable or are by notable authors.

<i>King Arthur and the Knights of Justice</i> US 1992–1993 animated TV series

King Arthur and the Knights of Justice is an animated series produced by Golden Films, C&D, and Bohbot Entertainment and created by Diane Eskenazi and Avi Arad, who also served as executive producers. The series aired from September 13, 1992, to December 12, 1993, with two seasons and twenty-six episodes. It aired as part of Bohbot's Amazin' Adventures programming block.

<i>Chronicles of the Sword</i> 1996 video game

Chronicles of the Sword is an adventure game developed by Synthetic Dimensions and released by Psygnosis in 1996 for MS-DOS and Sony PlayStation platforms. The game, originally titled as King Arthur: The Quest of The Fair Unknown, is based on Arthurian legends and uses a point-and-click interface. Chronicles of the Sword tells the story of the young knight Gawain on a quest to save Camelot from the scheming witch queen Morgana. It has received largely negative reviews.

<i>Camelot 3000</i> Limited series

Camelot 3000 is an American twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Mike W. Barr and penciled by Brian Bolland. It was published by DC Comics from 1982 to 1985 as one of its first direct market projects, and as its first maxi-series. It was also the first comic book series to be printed on Baxter paper instead of newsprint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ComiXology</span> Online comic distribution platform

Iconology Inc., d/b/a ComiXology, was a cloud-based digital distribution platform for comics owned by Amazon, with over 200 million comic downloads as of September 2013. At its height it offered a selection of more than 100,000 comic books, graphic novels, and manga across Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows 10, and the Internet. In 2023, the ComiXology app was officially retired and the material was made available exclusively on the Amazon Kindle app.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan le Fay in modern culture</span> Morgana le Fay is a character portrayed as a sorceress in Arthurian legend.

The Matter of Britain character Morgan le Fay has been featured many times in various works of modern culture, often but not always appearing in villainous roles. Some modern stories merge Morgana's character with her sister Morgause or with aspects of Nimue. Her manifestations and the roles given to her by modern authors vary greatly, but typically she is being portrayed as a villainess associated with Mordred.

Guiomar is the best known name of a character appearing in many medieval texts relating to the Arthurian legend, often in relationship with Morgan le Fay or a similar fairy queen type character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Arthur in comics</span> The fictional British monarch in printed narrative art

King Arthur(Arthur Pendragon) is a legendary figure used commonly in comic books.

Merlin is a legendary character who has appeared multiple times throughout comic books especially in DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

References

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