Armitage Handout on Lovecraftian Arthuriana

Here is the text of my handout for my paper at this week's Armitage Symposium at NecronomiCon Providence. Details at http://necronomicon-providence.com/.



Shadows over Camelot: Lovecraftian Motifs in Arthurian Fiction

A Preliminary Bibliography

Compiled by Michael A. Torregrossa (monstrous.matter.of.britain@gmail.com)



Works by Lovecraft:

Lovecraft, H. P. “Supernatural in Horror Literature” (1927). [Reference to Malory paraphrased from Edith Birkhead’s The Tale of Terror: A Study of the Gothic Romance (1921).]



Scholarship on Lovecraft:

Blake, Ian. “Lovecraft and the Dark Grail.” Lovecraft Studies No. 26 (Spring 1992), pp. 16-18. [Not seen.]



Arcane Tomes at Camelot:

Mantlo, Bill. Marvel Chillers Nos. 1-2 (1975).

Michelinie. David. The Avengers No. 187 (September 1979).

Raimi, Sam. Army of Darkness (1992) (and multiple adaptations and continuations).

Van Lente, Fred. Marvel Zombies 5 (2010).



Cthulhuan Menaces at Camelot:

Abnett, Dan, and John Tomlinson. Knights of Pendragon (1990-1991) and Knights of Pendragon II (1992-1993). [see Jason Tondro’s Superheroes of the Round Table, p. 182]

Bunn, Cullen, and Mirko Colak. Unholy Grail comic book series (2017). [In progress.]

DeGuerre, Phillip. Dr. Strange (1978).

Gillis, Peter. Final arc of Marvel’s The Defenders (1984-86) and opening arc of Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1989).

Mignola, Mike. Hellboy: The Wild Hunt (2008-2009), Hellboy: The Storm (2010), and Hellboy: The Fury (2011). (Possibly the upcoming feature film set for a 2018 release.)

Mills, Pat. Sláine: Time Killer (1984-1985), Sláine: Treasures of Britain (1996-1997), and more (?).

Ritchie, Guy. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017).

Thomas, Roy. “The Black Knight Reborn,” Marvel Super-Heroes No. 17 (November 1968).

Vaughn, Carrie. “The Lady of Shalott,” Swords v. Cthulhu (2016), pp. 41-52.



The Once and Future King vs. Cthulhuan Menaces:

Abnett, Dan, and John Tomlinson. Knights of Pendragon (1990-1991) and Knights of Pendragon II (1992-1993). [see Jason Tondro’s Superheroes of the Round Table, p. 182]

Aniolowski, Scott, Garrie Hall, Steve Hatherley, Alan Smithee, John T. Snyder, and John Tynes. The Golden Dawn: A Sourcebook of Victorian Occult Intrigue for Call of Cthulhu (1996). [Not seen; referenced in Ann F. Howey and Stephen R. Reimer’s A Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana (1500-2000), item E-21.]

Charrette, Robert N. The Strange World of John Reddy trilogy (1994-95).

DeGuerre, Phillip. Dr. Strange (1978).

Gillis, Peter. Final arc of Marvel’s The Defenders (1984-86) and opening arc of Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1989).

Glut, Donald F. “Knights and Demons,” Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981).

Hawke, Simon. Wizard of 4th Street novel series (1987-1997).

Mignola, Mike. Hellboy: The Wild Hunt (2008-2009), Hellboy: The Storm (2010), and Hellboy: The Fury (2011). (Possibly the upcoming feature film set for a 2018 release.)

Parkhouse, Steve. “The Black Knight” serial, Hulk Comics Nos. 1-63 (1979-1980).

Riot, James. The Path webcomic (2007-?). [No longer available?]

Straczynski, J. Michael. “A Late Delivery from Avalon,” Babylon 5 (1996).

Stargate SG-1. Season 9 (2005-2006) and 10 (2006-2007) and Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008).

Thomas, G. W. “Merlin’s Bane,” Pseudopod 77 (2008).

Thomas, Roy. “The Black Knight Reborn,” Marvel Super-Heroes No. 17 (November 1968).



Of related interest:

Munn, H. Warner. King of the World’s Edge (serialized in Weird Tales through 1939 and published in book form in 1966), Ship from Atlantis (1967), and Merlin’s Ring (1974), and Merlin’s Godson (1976), which collects King of the World’s Edge and Ship from Atlantis.

Jack the Giant Slayer

A final post for the night. The recent film Jack the Giant Slayer offers a fresh take on the traditional story:

Shrek the Third!

On the subject of the Monstrous Matter of Britain on film, I would be remiss if I omitted the recent film Shrek the Third. The film brings the characters from the Shrekverse into a pre-Arthurian world when the ogre Shrek goes in search of a young Arthur to replace Shrek and his bride Fiona (another ogre) as the rulers of Far Far Away. Familiar Arthurian figures turn up in cameos as students at Arthur's school, and a befuddled Merlin is instrumental in getting the heroes home to face the villain of the film, Prince Charming.

Monsters of Quest for Camelot

Sorry for being away so long (again). I'm always thinking about the Monstrous Matter of Britain but, unfortunately, rarely writing much about it. One important text to consider is the 1998 feature film Quest for Camelot. The film, which is essentially a comedy, includes a variety of monsters including griffins, dragons, ogres, and shape-shifted beings.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead

I know I've posted on this to (at least) one of the other blogs, but it is most appropriate here. The recent film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead by Jordan Galland is a skillful reworking of a mass of traditions--including Arthurian and Shakespearean--that creates an innovative take on undead Arthuriana. First up is the official trailer, and then an in-film video devoted to the film's unique spin on Grail lore (see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahe0x41ktqU for Hamlet's back story in the film).