After returning from their harrowing encounter with dinosaurs, the Band of the Terrible Lizards, as these Arthurian knights have come to be known, is again thrust into harm's way. This time Queen Morgause lures them to a Scottish isle and conjures monsters from the nightly fog, as the first stage of her effort to claim Arthur's throne. Humor and high-jinks are in plentiful supply as the knights introduced in Knights vs. Dinosaurs (2018) blindly battle fanged and tentacled creatures, and Morgause's young son Mordred shows off his disturbingly morbid sensibilities. Phelan incorporates more of the Arthurian legend into this adventure, albeit with significant poetic license, as well as a dash of Scottish mythology, but the story's real joy is found in the characters' interactions and impossible plot turns. As in the first book, black-and-white illustrations and comics panels ramp up the madcap action and laughs. Character development for female-squire-turned-archer Mel and Magdalena the Black Knight will be appreciated by readers, as will Sir Hector's unfortunate (but hilarious) run-in with a magic spell. Another rampaging success.

Knights errant who cut their teeth battling dinosaurs in the previous episode take on magical mist monsters.Fresh from the exploits chronicled in Knights Vs. Dinosaurs (2018) and on the lookout for a "proper adventure," Sirs Erec, Bors, and Hector, the fearsome Black Knight Magdalena, and former squire in disguise Melancholy "Mel" Postlethwaite fetch up in the bleak Orkney Isles, where sorcerous Queen Morgause plans to do them in as part of a larger scheme to dethrone King Arthur. Along with several of her raffish offspring—including creepy young Mordred, who temporarily turns Sir Hector into a two-headed "bi-clops"—the doughty Band of the Terrible Lizards faces burgeoning hordes of monsters summoned out of the fog by the evil queen. Though chock-full of briskly paced action and glints of humor, this is a darker tale than its predecessor, colored more by its harsh setting and undercurrents of treachery than all the knightly feats and values on display. Phelan's many panels and full-page drawings have an ashy, smudged look that adds to the gloomy atmosphere, and as someone who plainly has a few heavy secrets in her past, Magdalena projects a cold, austere remoteness that dims the rest of the company's (rarer than previously) comical banter and bumbling. Still, a pleaser for fans of Gerald Morris' Arthurian delights.Young heroes both male and female rout many excellent monsters—what's not to like? (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)