Comments on: Camelot 3000

By: The Wolverine Files » Comics Worth Reading

The Wolverine Files » Comics Worth Reading — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:34:34 +0000

[...] written by longtime comics pro Mike W. Barr (Camelot 3000, Batman and the Outsiders, The Maze Agency), The Wolverine Files is presented as the official [...]

By: Woden’s Day Wisdom: Once and Future King Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Of Mexico « Monomythic.com

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:23:54 +0000

[...] This hero-king has just as much right to have cheesy movies, over-the-top cartoons and avant-garde comic books about [...]

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:26:07 +0000

What a good observation. You’re right, that the audience expectations have changed a lot in terms of story pacing. In its day, this likely didn’t seem rushed at all.

By: Richard J. Marcej

Richard J. Marcej — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:13:59 +0000

I bought this series when it first came out in single issues as well. When I bought the hardcover a month ago I hadn’t read Camelot 3000 since that initial release.

What struck me the most was how “rushed” the story felt. That, unlike today’s sloooooooow story telling, there were scenes that I’d hoped that Barr and Bolland would have spent more time with.

Even though the art reproduction in the HC isn’t as crisp and clean as it should be, it was just SO great to look at all that gorgeous Bolland artwork again!

By: James Schee

James Schee — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:00:30 +0000

I picked up a copy of the older trade collection of this last year at a Hal Price book store. I thought it was fun, nothing that wowed me but a fun little trip with an old favorite (the Arthurian characters) in a sort of new setting.

By: dude

dude — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:34:17 +0000

I collected this back when it first came out. The final issue took over a year from the 11th issue to be published!

By: Ali Kokmen

Ali Kokmen — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:51:01 +0000

“They were beginning to write for adults in those days, but they were still figuring out how to do it.”

I concede that Camelot 3000 is largely an example of what some folks have called the “Heavy Metal” kind of Adult comics storytelling, where by “adult” they don’t quite mean sophisticated storytelling for a mature mind, but rather typical comics storytelling, but with some nudity and naughty bits.

But I still have great affection for the story, for all the reasons you mention here. It’s relentlessly high concept. Its affectionate incorporation of various elements of Arthurian myth. Brian Bolland’s sequential work is gorgeous. Mike W. Barr offers up several elegant turn of phrase (I seem to hear “Excalibur can no more cleave truth from falsehood than a stick or a spoon.” ringing in my head as I type this.)

Plus, of course, I’m lucky enough to have a page of Camelot 3000 original art in my collection, which I simply adore. (See http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=58294&GSub=8052 )

Camelot 3000 is a bit cheesey. And maybe it doesn’t hold up as well as it did in the mid-80s. And maybe it’s not as great as some of the great comics that came after it. But I love it still, and if that’s wrong, then I, as the saying goes, don’t want to be right. ;-)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:36:40 +0000

Hunh. I never read it when it first came out, so I didn’t have any memories to compare it to. Maybe it does seem less interesting in that case.

I was a little surprised it still was so entertaining to me now, after having only heard about it for decades.

By: Mark S.

Mark S. — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:25:34 +0000

I didn’t think it held up very well. I read it recently and didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I did the first couple of times I read it.