This article explores what we can learn from creative responses to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which comprises a growing visual language, inclusive of the original images of the codex, the illustrations of popular translations, contemporary artworks that respond to the poem, and the recent film adaptation. (ME)
Carl B. Sell has been producing a number of intriguing studies related to the Matter of Britain in popular culture, including these recent publications on Arthurian-themed comics:
Sell, Carl B. “Aquaman Rex: The Arthurian Associations of a DC Superhero.” The DC Comics Universe: Critical Essays, edited by Douglas Brode. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2020. 158-69. Academia.Edu, https://www.academia.edu/91857597/Aquaman_Rex_The_Arthurian_Associations_of_a_DC_Superhero.
___. “Camelot 3000 and Dracula vs. King Arthur: The Uses of Limited-Run Comics as Updates of the Arthurian Legend for Contemporary Readers.” Arthurian Legend in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries, edited by Susan L. Austin. Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press, 2021. 25-34. Academia.Edu, https://www.academia.edu/73478606/Camelot_3000_and_Dracula_vs_King_Arthur_The_uses_of_limited_run_comics_as_updates_of_the_Arthurian_legend_for_contemporary_readers.
___. “The Once and Future King of Atlantis: The Arthurian Figure in Geoff Johns's Aquaman: Death of a King.” Arthurian Literature, vol. 35, 2020, pp. 192-99. Academia.Edu, https://www.academia.edu/43619244/The_Once_and_Future_King_of_Atlantis_The_Arthurian_Figure_in_Geoff_Johnss_Aquaman_Death_of_a_King.
From a recent issue of Arthuriana:
Neal, D'arcee Charington. "Who is Asking?: Afro-Arthurian Legend-making in N.K. Jemisin's Far Sector." Arthuriana, vol. 33 no. 3, Fall 2023, p. 86-103. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/art.2023.a910872.
Abstract:
Whether an Arthurian knight, a Green Lantern, or a Legendborn, one cannot have a legacy without first becoming a legend. In N.K. Jemisin's graphic novel Far Sector (2020) Sojourner 'Jo' Muellein's story as both community activist and guardian echoes, reinvents, and reimagines Arthurian romances through the lens of Afrofuturism; further, this fantastical remix challenges white supremacist modes of oppressive comic tradition by foregrounding racial and gendered identities. Making a legend is not about whom society has agreed to be the answer. Instead, such ideals lie with whoever asks the question. (DCN)
