Camelot 3000, Deluxe Edition [Hardcover]

Mike Barr (Author), Brian Bolland (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Camelot 3000 will probably catch your eye for two reasons: It is illustrated by the great Brian Bolland (The Killing Joke), and it involves King Arthur in the Year 3000, when bloodthirsty reptilian aliens invade Earth seeking world domination. Upon fleeing said scaly alien invaders, young protagonist Tom stumbles into a cave and uncovers King Arthur's tomb, which contains a surprisingly spry King Arthur. Understandably bewildered by all that lies before him, Arthur makes short work of a few little green men and teams up with Tom to cleave a path to salvation.

In his introduction, writer Mike W. Barr admits to overwriting the early third or so of this story--every character's motive is plainly spelled out in thought bubbles and hefty dialogue balloons. Yet, therein lies the fun of Camelot 3000: It’s written with all the excitement of a kid conning his babysitter into staying up past his bedtime. Early on, when a television crew catches wind of Arthur, an eager journalist pushes a microphone in front of the Son of Pendragon, and the response is classic midnight movie madness: "Why would I converse with one who sticks a sausage in my face? Away with you!" And then Arthur ceremoniously pulls the sword from the stone.

The twelve-issue series began in the early 1980s, when comics were first sold exclusively through direct trade comic shops rather than convenience store spinners, and as a result, it could skirt the comics code and flirt with adult themes (watch for a transgendered knight, several risqué love scenes, and Morgan LeFay's surprisingly grotesque secret). Eventually, Barr settles down and characters grow less verbose, and Bolland's clean and rich artwork is given greater breathing room. Nowadays, Bolland usually does his own inking as well as pencils, but for Camelot 3000's deadlines, DC brought aboard talented inkers Terry Austin, Dick Giordano, and Bruce Patterson to finesse. There isn’t much subtlety here, but just as Arthur is resurrected, so too are his knights and loves, including Lancelot and Guinevere. Even in the 31st Century, history repeats itself, and Arthur is aware of his eventual betrayal from the start. He also takes down a spaceship with a swipe from Excalibur.

This new "Deluxe Edition" is slightly oversized and contains character designs, sketches, unused covers, and more (especially impressive is the fine packaging underneath the eye-catching dust jacket). Camelot 3000 is a late-night space opera that makes it all too easy to stay up past bedtime. --Alex Carr

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics; Deluxe edition (December 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140121942X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401219420
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars By Jesu, what a travesty!, October 4, 2011

By 

Babytoxie (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Camelot 3000, Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

In 2006, I gave the trade edition of Mike Barr & Brian Bolland's CAMELOT 3000 a 3-star review, saying, in short, that the early '80s story hadn't aged well. After a recent rereading of the story, courtesy of the CAMELOT 3000: THE DELUXE EDITION hardcover, I can say that I was the one who hadn't aged well. I now have a higher opinion of the story, both for what it tells and how it tells it. The 2008 publication of the Deluxe Edition ends a 20-year streak of unavailability, and it makes no sense for DC to have not kept this maxi-series in print, simply from a historical perspective. It was DC's first direct-only title, it was a contemporary of mature tales such as Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, and the sci-fi/fantasy combo, especially when involving the Knights of the Round Table, should appeal to many new readers. It's solid storytelling, and it contains so many classic science fiction and fantasy standards that it's hard for me to not love it. In short, this is King Arthur by way of Asimov.

It's true that the story is predictable (and not just for those who know their Arthurian legends), and the adult situations wouldn't cause much of a stir today, but so what? I don't read a classic comic expecting something that fits with modern sensibilities; instead, I prefer to immerse myself in the time in which it was written. Barr kicks things into high-gear from the first page and never lets up. An alien invasion of Earth in the year 3000 leads to the resurrection of King Arthur, who makes good on his promise to return and defend England in its hour of need. Arthur frees his mentor Merlin from imprisonment, and Merlin orchestrates the return of the Knights of the Round Table. These certainly aren't the familiar knights of old, but they eventually prove themselves to be none other. Unfortunately, it seems that you can't have this cast of characters without their infamous flaws, which influence their actions just as much this time around. As the alien invasion is actually being orchestrated by the evil Morgan Le Fay and Modred, the ancient conflict is shown to continue on Earth, thousands of years in the future... and to worlds and times beyond. In Barr's story, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

So while my opinion of the story has moved a few steps forward, this particular edition also takes things a few steps backward. The dimensions of the book are a bit larger than a standard comic, so the artwork has been enlarged accordingly. This should be a good thing, as Brian Bolland is responsible for some of the most fine-lined and detailed artwork in the industry; in fact, his attention to detail is one of the reasons that this series took so long to be completed. Factor in the painstaking inks of folks like Terry Austin, and the reader should be able to count the individual hairs in Merlin's beard. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen here, due to DC's abominable printing job. Compared to the intricate images I once viewed in the original comics and trade collections, this so-called Deluxe Edition is a bust. Bolland's normally-crisp lines are heavy and blurred, with an astounding amount of detail being lost. It looks as if DC scanned the pages from the comics, but even a reasonable scan should look better than this. Enlarging the pages is supposed to enhance the details, not obscure them.

The only things that are truly "deluxe" about this edition are the excellent new cover illustration by Bolland; Barr's introduction, providing his thoughts on the series almost 30 years later; and a sketch gallery by Bolland. In their defense, DC kept the price low on this volume, but it makes me wonder if we'll ever see a new softcover edition of this story that is priced accordingly. Even more importantly, would another edition correct the problems with the art? Quality material like this deserves better treatment, but as this edition is the only option currently available, I suppose it's better than nothing.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as deluxe as I expected, February 11, 2009

By 

Delfar "David M." (Asturias, España) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Camelot 3000, Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

The original comic is incredible, I just wanted to have an edition to make justice to it because I had an old paperback too broken and in spanish. I watch the absolute spanish edition and I don't like to much, to big and heavy. The pictures didn't look great at that big size. I was hoping to get something better and deluxe edition appears...

But it wasn't deluxe at all. Printed to dark the pictures look too rude and bold not as in other editions where you can recognize the good job of the penciler.

I like the extras but they are the only thing that look rigth there.

You can see it by yourself in the preview page I upload to Amazon site.

I will like to know if there is any other version better than that because is sad that being as expensive it will be no really a deluxe one.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommeded!, December 14, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Camelot 3000, Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

The art is awesome! Definitely worth picking up the deluxe edition as it contains lots of cool extras. I'll try put some pics here ASAP. Bolland has rarely done sequential art, and never at this length. Over 300 pages of his illustrations, inked by Bruce D. Patterson, Terry Austin, and Dick Giordano, make for an amazing cornucopia. Highly recommended Hardcover to Buy!