MCP: Frank Cammuso's KNIGHTS OF THE LUNCH TABLE

Cartoonist Frank Cammuso has produced (to date) two issues of his graphic novel series Knights of the Lunch Table, which presents modern-day incarnations of King Arthur, Percival, Gawain, and Guinevere as American middle-school students. An incarnation of Merlin is their teacher, and Morgan le Fay shows up as Arthur's older sister. As with the recent BBC Merlin, Cammuso's cast is multi-ethnic, with Merlin and Percival being African Americans and Guinevere Asian American.

Details from the website of the publisher (Scholastic) on the individual numbers follows:

The Dodgeball Chronicles

Artie King just wants to ease into life at Camelot Middle School. He's got new lunch buddies, Percy and Wayne, and his science teacher, Mr. Merlyn, is pretty cool. But then there's scary Principal Dager and big bad Joe and The Horde, a bunch of brawny bullies who rule the school.

The real trouble starts when Artie opens a funky old locker that no one, not even Joe, has ever been able to open — and finds it full of mysterious, but useful stuff. Percy and Wayne are high-fiving, Joe is fuming, and the next think you know a challenge is laid down: a do-or-die dodgeball game — The Horde Vs. The Knights of the Lunch Table. Losers get creamed!


The Dragon Players

Artie King, the uncrowned good guy of Camelot Middle School, is back with his pals Percy and Wayne in tow as he tries to evade evil Principal Dagger, avoid the school bully Joe and his Horde, and unravel the secret of a pack of mysterious magic cards he finds in his locker. Frank Cammuso's action-packed art and comic dialogue is sure to appeal to graphic novel fans and bring new readers to the format. It's knights, knaves, and nonstop fun!