Review by Diego Guerra

The story of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin blurs the line between history and legend. Legend has it that Merlin took Arthur under his wing as a child, becoming his mentor and guiding him to pull the sword Excalibur from the stone, thus making him king. Merlin also introduced Arthur to the Lady of the Lake, a magical being residing in a lake near the mythical island of Avalon, urging Arthur to pay homage to her. Later, Arthur married Guinevere, a union that Merlin did not approve of, as it distanced the king from the Lady of the Lake. Guinevere engaged in a passionate romance with the knight Lancelot, which became the talk of the court. Unable to kill them, Arthur, influenced by Merlin, became involved with Morgana Le Fey, another mythical being, and fathered Mordred, an unrecognized son who would be the beginning of his misfortunes. Thus, Merlin’s treachery succeeded in making them all unhappy.

The story of Arthur and Merlin has been told a thousand times in live-action films, animated movies, novels, and graphic novels. Unfortunately, this is not the best version. Written with ease by Cullen Bunn, who shows some care with language, avoiding the trap of comics set in ancient times suffering from having very modern, contemporary dialogue.

Unholy Grail seeks to differentiate itself from previous versions by creating an evil, cantankerous, and cowardly Merlin. Instead of a mystical sage, he’s a manipulative and miserable sorcerer. Arthur and his knights, rather than being heroes, are portrayed as pawns of destiny, while Guinevere and Morgana are depicted as foolish and clumsy women.

The final product looks visually appealing, illustrated with great skill by Mirko Colak, and it is not poorly written, but lacks several qualities. The most serious flaw is narratimg one of the most important foundational myths of all time without a hint of poetry. Bunn dwells on the melodrama of Guinevere’s infidelity with Lancelot, but does so with an almost moralistic approach, stripping away all the charm of the original story of the knight devoted to his lady and a love triangle that is already a dramatic archetype. The story of Arthur and his knights is full of symbols that deserve a more artistic development, both writing and visually.

Additionally, even for those unfamiliar with the original story, it’s a tale with unlikeable characters, tedious to read, and prosaic, qualities fiction should never embody.