Immortal Brothers; Tale of the Green Knight

If you're already familiar with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, that classic piece of Arthurian Lore, then you're no doubt aware that it's a pretty weird story. It's built around strange trickery and tests of loyalty, suspiciously non-fatal beheadings, and, of course, Christmas. But despite the best efforts of the 14th century, it does not involve time travelers, the Eternal Warrior, or glowing sunglasses. Until now! Next month, Fred Van Lente and Cary Nord's Immortal Brothers: The Tale of the Green Knight, in which Faith is down with a bit of con crud and Archer (of & Armstrong fame) tells her a story of chivalry and knighthood that bears a suspicious resemblance to Valiant's three immortal brothers.

Good news for those of you who enjoy your Arthurian legends mixed up with superheroes: Last week, Valiant announced Immortal Brothers: The Tale of the Green Knight, a new 48-page one-shot from Fred Van Lente and Cary Nord that retells the story of Sir Gawain through the lens of the Valiant Universe's three immortal brothers. Inspired by Barry Windsor-Smith's take on the Three Musketeers from 1993, this one finds Aram, Ivar, and Gilad --- alias Armstrong, the Timewalker, and the Eternal Warrior -- involved with a life-and-death wager against the mysterious Green Knight. To find out more, ComicsAlliance spoke to Van Lente about his inspiration for the story, the ease of mapping the brothers to their Arthurian counterparts, and why a story so weird makes for a great superhero comic.