King Arthur & The Knights of Justice, by Joe Corallo/Illustrated by Gina Cardinali, (Apr. 2024, Mad Cave Studios), $14.99, ISBN: 9781960578600
Ages 12-16
King Arthur & The Knights of Justice was a ’90s cartoon that lasted for two seasons. Merlin, trapped by the evil enchantress Morgana, managed to recruit a new knights of the round table from a different time: a football team, the New York Knights. The series is back in graphic novel format, with a progressive new storyline and who knows? With enough readership, the storyline may finally be resolved (the original animated series ended abruptly and is therefore incomplete).
This first volume contains the origin story, where Morgana traps the original Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in glass and traps Merlin in a tree. His spirit is freed to seek new knights across timelines, where he discovers the Knights football team in the present day, and spirits them to Merlin’s timeline, where he explains their mission. The players are surprisingly okay with this new turn of events, because they’re pure of heart and want to help free King Arthur… except for Gallop, one of the players who has a real attitude problem, which will become a bigger issue down the line. GLAAD and Eisner nominee Corallo shines in this new storyline, featuring openly gay characters that are supported by their teammates. Cardinali’s illustrations will attract fantasy fans and gave me a real ’90s cartoon feel as I read the book. With X-Men 97 back to rave reviews on Disney Plus, could we be seeing a ’90s cartoon renaissance? This one is a good pick for upper middle grade and high school collections.
Mom Read It 