The classic 90’s cartoon returns in a new graphic novel! Maverick’s new take on King Arthur & The Knights of Justice asks: What if the knights of the round table were actually a modern football team transported back in time? Quarterback Arthur King and his football team have been transported back to the time of Arthurian legend in order to free the real King Arthur and the real Knights of the Round Table from the evil Morgana!
Maverick’s marketing manager, Maya Lopez, sat down with King Arthur & The Knights of Justice author Joe Corallo to chat about his inspirations, his creative process, the making of King Arthur, and more! Read on for the full interview!
Q: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions today, Joe! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
J: Well as you probably know by now, my name is Joe Corallo and I’m a comics writer and editor. Born and raised in New York, I really love movies, music, theater, and culture in addition to comics and graphic novels. My love of movies goes back at least in part to my Uncle Michael who recently passed, and my first regular job was working at a Hollywood Video.
Q: What initially got you into comics?
J: Sonic the Hedgehog. I was a big fan of the games on Sega Genesis and the two cartoons that were airing, and in 1995 I got Sonic The Hedgehog #28 from Archie Comics at a K-Mart. From there I went on to get my parents to drive me around to all the different shops on Long Island to go back issue diving, would walk to the stationary store in town to pick up new issues from time to time, and at one point had a subscription mailed to the house. Eventually, that expanded to other companies like Marvel and DC. I do remember the first Batman issue I got was Batman #545 from a supermarket.
Q: King Arthur & The Knights of Justice was originally a well-loved Saturday morning cartoon! Can you please tell us about your own connection to the series?
J: I was the right age for it when it came out! I was in elementary school and it was one of the cartoons I looked forward to watching; probably in part because of the very intense opening theme song and the great character designs which we stayed very close to for this new graphic novel!
Q: What was the inspiration behind this updated take on the nostalgic series?
J: It’s important for me to note that my editor Lauren Hitzhusen had some of the key ideas already in mind when I was brought on that were already approved by the licensor. That said, much of the inspiration was taken directly from the original run of the cartoon with a mix of some Arthurian myth from other texts as well as movies like John Boorman’s Excalibur.
Q: How did it feel getting to write this story?
J: Honestly, it was really great to get to write this. Not only was this a project I actively wanted to be a part of, but we all worked well together and ended up with something special; I think.
Q: How was reconnecting with the characters in this story?
J: It was great, but it was a little less of a reconnection than it could have been. I had actually gone back and watched episodes here and there during lockdown, as well as showing the first couple of episodes to a good friend of mine in the past few years so it was reasonably fresh in my mind already.
Q: Which King Arthur & The Knights of Justice character do you personally connect with most?
J: I hate this question because it’s honestly probably Arthur King, but I feel there’s no way to say that without sounding full of yourself! Really though, I connect to the idea of being the one that’s trying to keep everything together through a chaotic time.
Q: In King Arthur & The Knights of Justice, we follow the football team The Knights as they are transported back in time and become a part of Arthurian legend! Aside from the original series, was there any special research that went into the development of this story?
J: I don’t know if I would say it was special research exactly, but I do own a nice copy of Le Morte d’Arthur as well as having read Grant Morrison’s Luda at the time I had taken this gig which is also heavily inspired by Arthurian myth.
Q: What do you hope for people to take away from this story?
J: On the surface, I hope people enjoy a pretty action-packed, fast-paced story. On a deeper level, I want people to come away from this story reflecting on turbulent situations that occur in our own lives and how it’s easier to take on these challenges when you work together on overcoming them.
Q: Did this being a licensed project change your writing process?
J: It didn’t really change my writing process. It all went very smoothly, there was just the addition of licensor input in addition to Mad Cave input. That said, we all seemed to more or less be on the same page throughout the process which made this a particular joy to work on.
Q: Who/what are your biggest influences as a creator?
J: That’s always a though one. Rachel Pollack, who we lost last year, was a friend, mentor and collaborator of mine who has certainly influenced my work. Howard Cruse was another. James Robinson’s Starman run, initially having Tony Harris primarily collaborate on with Peter Snjerburg and others coming in to illustrate later, has been a strong influence on me in terms of how to tell a long-form story in comics.
Q: What are your favorite stories/artists/genres?
J: I’m a big noir fan, so Chinatown, Blade Runner, The Third Man, The Big Heat, and many more are high on the list for me when it comes to movies at least. In comics, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are doing a great job with that genre with many titles, as well as David Lapham’s Stray Bullets. Beautiful Darkness and Satania are two French graphic novels that I can always find inspiration from, as well as Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa.
Q: Any upcoming projects we should know about?
J: The only upcoming project I’m at liberty to discuss right now is my contribution to DC Pride: A Celebration of Rachel Pollack where Rye Hickman, John Workman, and myself put together a 10-page story focused on Kate Godwin/Coagula. It will be released June 4th and also includes Doom Patrol #70 as well as the never-before-reprinted Vertigo Visions: The Geek illustrated by Mike Allred!
Q: Where can we find you next?
I will be at C2E2 April 26-28, followed by signing at 4th World Comics for Free Comic Book Day May 4th, then at Cradle Con on Long Island May 18-19, then I’ll be walking around Heroes Con June 14-16.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?
Just that I really hope that people give this book a shot. Whether they’re fans of the show as a kid and have kids they want to share it with or just read it themselves, I’d love that. And I’d especially love if people that have no history with the show at all give it a shot because I truly feel that we crafted a story that’s easy to pick up and run with.
It’s time for a magical blast to the past! Check out the official trailer for the upcoming graphic novel, King Arthur & The Knights of Justice below!
We’ve got your first look inside the pages of King Arthur & The Knights of Justice. Click through for a sneak peek below!
King Arthur & The Knights of Justice is now available on the official Maverick website, and is available at your favorite bookstore, local comic shop, and digital comic reader!
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