Rafe Khatchadorian's new year at middle school is starting to look depressingly like the old one, except that art class is going well--and when he joins the flag-football team and demonstrates some talent as a running-back, he discovers a way of dealing with his bullying nemesis and teammate, Miller the Killer.

The oft-told tales of Arthurian legend have always been fertile ground for art. With countless books, films, and songs on the subject, there have been many interpretations of Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, the glories of the kingdom of Camelot, and the doomed love triangle of King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot du Lac. The musical Camelot, however, remains the most iconic. Camelot coincided with the presidency of JFK, and as such,...