Kill Shakespeare flies off the stage!
I was very fortunate to attend the G33K Art Show this past weekend in Kitchener, Ontario. Not only did I have a blast on Saturday at my table, hosting two workshops and panels, and meeting up with some old friends, but I also was able to attend Friday's night's KILL SHAKESPEARE: REINVENTED, a multidisciplinary production of our stage show.Despite technical difficulties (the artwork files could not be projected) it was a very fun show, with strong performances by the voice actors and interpretations of three key moments (the enchanting of the dagger by the Weird Sisters, a battle scene, and the reverse balcony) by circus performers. The reverse balcony was especially inspired, and the music performed throughout was perhaps the best of any production performed (that I have seen myself).Kudos to director/producer/performer Miroki Tong, as well as dramaturge Eric Weiss and the whole cast and crew. A great night!Here are some pictures (most photos taken by Duncan Clemens):
Images from FanExpo
It's been a really hectic week so I'm a little slow in posting these images... FanExpo last weekend was fantastic! It's always great to attend the large show in your hometown (third largest in North America) and great to meet up with friends, fans and everyone in between. This year's show was great - sales were brisk (came just short of our all-time sales record!), we sold out of both volumes, I hosted a well-attended workshop, and more people became exposed to Kill Shakespeare!A big thanks to Keith Morris, our marketing intern extraordinaire, Geoff Moore (always be selling), Samara Nicholson (head of transportation), Sherri Chantler (head of Sunday snacks), Carol Zara (for her gift bag), Ian Herring (for putting up with us sitting beside him...), and everyone else that helped out over the weekend. Thanks to the organizers of the event, namely Kevin Boyd, who creates such a great environment for artists and creators at the show. And thanks to everyone who came up to our table to say hello, get their books signed, purchased books, or generally made us smile through the weekend!(Conor has more photos and should be posting them soon...)
Congrats to IAN HERRING on his Eisner Nomination!
A big kudos to our colourist Ian Herring on his Eisner Award nomination, announced today, for Best Colouring on the Archaia Entertainment's JIM HENSON'S TALE OF SAND (sharing the nomination with Ramon Perez). It's a great honour (one of the top awards in the comic industry) and we all send out big props to Ian for this recognition.
The awards will be handed out at this year's San Diego International Comic-Con in July.
Your chance to own some AWESOME Kill Shakespeare Art
Many of you have commented on the amazing colouring work in Kill Shakespeare and as most of you know the man behind this key part of the comic is Ian Herring.
What you may NOT know is that Ian is an accomplished artist in his own right. Yes our boy Ian is far more than "just" a colourist.Some of you may have read about the piece he did for "Loveable Badass" the art show dedicated to NBA star Ron Artest (and that Ron-Ron was interested in owning it himself).Well Ian is contributing more art to the Kill Shakespeare cause -- he will have one of the guest pin-ups in our second trade "The Blast of War".
But first you can get a print of his AWESOME piece for the first trade by clicking here.To see more of his work, including his awesome homage to both TMNT and Star Fox click here (also check out his awesome CosmoApe).
Issue #11 Artwork
After the fantastic work by Andy Belanger (pencils and ink) and Ian Herring (colours) - as well as the lettering by Chris Mowry - in our Issue #10, it might be tough to top it for our next issue, due out this week. Well, I'll let you and all of the readers be the judge of that, but I think that the artwork in this issue is just as strong!Here are some early images from the issue (Issue #11: Once More Unto the Breach). You can also check out a preview of the first six pages of the issue at this link.
Becka's t-shirt art
One of the unheralded members of our team is the fantastic artist Becka Kinzie. For most of the series she has worked with colourist Ian Herring to do some of the most laborious elements of the process - flatting and some other colouring prep work. She has done a great job at it so it's great that in Issue #10, released today, we were able to feature some artwork that she did.
You can check out her blog here.As well, she did a doodle of a photo she was in with artist Andy and a number of other artists at the recent Toronto Comic-Con Fan Appreciation. Here is the sketch, and below is the original...
Reviews for Issue #9 Are In!
The early reviews for Issue #9 (Is That a Dagger I See Before Me) are now in... and they are all positive!"This issue features what is hands down one of my favorite moments in comics this year. I turned the page and literally gasped as Hamlet falls under the water to be attacked by monsters made of pages Shakespeare has discarded." - ComicBookResources
"Overall the issue was a great read. Del Col and McCreery’s writing has definitively improved throughout the run and it’s showing in the revelations of this issue and the overall pacing of it. Their scripts feel very detailed, and with Belanger’s artwork, acts as the perfect complement to each other. Together they have created one of the best books in comics, that after nine issues, has not let up in either its quality or presentation." - Comic Book Daily"Issues 1 through 9 have been solid all the way through, being almost perfect. I can only assume that there are only three more issues remaining for this particular arc. How in the world this is going to wrap up in three more issues I have no idea. But I’m excited to see what happens!" - The Heretics Blog
Issue #9 Artwork
Issue #9 ("Is That a Dagger I See Before Me?") is released next Wednesday, February 23rd. In anticipation of that, we are releasing various pages and images from the book. All artwork is by Andy Belanger, with colours by Ian Herring.
Nominated for a Joe Shuster Award!
Fresh Off the Presses!It was announced earlier today that Conor and I have been nominated for a Joe Shuster Award in the category of Outstanding Comic Book Writer(s)! The Shusters are the Canadian comic book creator awards. We are very happy for the nomination, especially since we're in the same category as great pros such as Kathryn Immonen (one of Andy Belanger's mentors), Jeff Lemire, J. Torres and Jim Zubkavich (for the excellent and highly-recommended Image series Skullkickers).You can click on the logo below to go to the official press release.I'd like to say, though, that I'm disappointed that our artistic team failed to receive any nominations. Ian Herring has been doing great work as our colourist and Kagan McLeod as our cover artist. However, the work that Andy Belanger has been doing is phenomenal and really should have been recognized by the nominating committee. He has received glowing reviews from so many comic and mainstream pres, especially for an indie title like ours. He deserves a nomination FAR more than Conor and I do.The awards will be announced at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo on Saturday, June 18th. So let's get the campaigning to begin (I'm going to try to out-do Harvey Weinstein with this one...)!
Lovable Badass - Ian Herring!
Many of you probably have no idea that on the Kill Shakespeare team there are several passionate basketball fans (though we're die-often being Raps fans). Perhaps the most passionate is our colourist Ian Herring.Ian is an exceptional artist in his own right (fans have seen his work in the bonus gallery of the trade paperback -- his is the awesome King Richard/Hamlet mash-up), and he was recently invited to be part of a phenomenal event organized by another Kill Shakespeare friend, Steve Manale.The event, "Lovable Badass, Artists on Artest" was a multi-media ode to Ron Artest one of the most unusual and candid athletes of our generation.
Ian's piece looks into the future; showing Artest relaxing during his post-playing days and eating his favourite cereal (Froot Loops). Apparently Ron-Ron is interested in buying Ian's work -- so huge kudos to one of the oft under-appreciated members of Kill Shakespeare.We love ya Ian!POSTSCRIPT: The event was a huge success -- you can read one of the MANY pieces of coverage here. And to me, what was even more interesting is that many of the artists who took place had no idea who Ron Artest was before they were invited to join the project.But "Tru Warrier" is such an interesting figure that after a few minutes of Googling him everybody wanted in. So, for those of you who are saying "Ron, who?" look him up, he's fascinating. OR for a primer check out Manale's work here. (it's the last of 23 photos from the event, so scroll left to see the rest).And the sharp eyed readers will notice another member of the Kill Shakespeare team featured in one of those links. I offer as a bounty a signed copy of #8 for the first person who tells us who it is, and what they made for the exhibition!Keep taking those open jumpers everyone!
Issue #8 Artwork Samples
Issue #8 (Journeys End in Lover Meetings) cranks up the momentum of our story and features some great artwork by Andy Belanger and colours by Ian Herring. The description of the Issue is:As word of the Prodigals' victory spreads a rebel army masses in Shrewsbury. Against this backdrop Othello and Iago cross swords, Richard and Lady Macbeth lock horns and Hamlet and Juliet's love blossoms. But will the Dane live long enough to enjoy Cupid's fruit? Not if a ghost from Juliet's past has anything to say about it.Check out the art (click on the image for the hi-res image):
Sneek Peak at some art from Issue #8
With issue #8 now less than a week away we thought some of you might like to see a little snippet of what is in store.So without further ado a quick look "behind the curtain" of what is in store for you in Issue #8!
So first we'll give you a little look at how the process for issue #8 unfolded.On the left we have the pencils for the first page of the issue. You can see here that Andy will add more shading to some elements of the page right from the get go.On the right we have the inks. Here you can see how a lot of what is penciled ends up actually being shadows (the group of refugees at the back of the panel).And then below... we see what it looks like in all of its coloured and inked glory!
On Page 5 we were in the middle of something very different. We wanted to juxtapose Othello's past with Iago with his current relationship. We also wanted to set the stage for Othello to do some soul-searching about his erstwhile commrade-at-arms as well as his own role in the death of his love Desdemona.But Anthony really wanted to avoid using any dialogue in the flashbacks? So how could we make what was happening clear?It took canny panel design by Andy to make the past scenes "pop" subtly (after issue #7 we wanted to tone down some of the visual work - to give this issue its own identity), and GREAT colour design by Andy and our colourist Ian Herring (who rarely gets enough credit for his work in the book).You can judge for yourself how well we did. Even without text you can tell which story is which (present and past) and what is happening in each story as well. A really masterful job is done by our art team and we are lucky to have them. The neat thing is while this is a variation of a theme (we did a similar flashback in issue #1 and again in issue #7) this manages to be wholly its own animal. This allows each issue to really have its own personality.
Toronto Launch Party!
As we prepare to head out to New York later this week for our gallery show and a couple signings, we are also prepping for the launch of the trade paperback here in our hometown of Toronto. To celebrate everything that we've been able to accomplish, and to thank all of those that have assisted us along the way, we'd like to throw a party here in Toronto!The Toronto launch party for Kill Shakespeare Volume 1: A Sea of Troubles will be on the evening of Tuesday, November 16th from 6-10pm at 918 Bathurst Centre. An old Buddhist temple, it has now been converted to an arts and media centre, run by some old friends of mine, Sean Lehane and Jeff Wright.
(Click on the photo for a closer look at the invitation.)Details for the event are TBA but it will involve a gallery of the original art work from the series, food, beverages, books available for sale and a great theatrical event - we're going to host a Shakespearean Tournament of Champions which will have all of the Bard's greatest characters battling each other - and the audience will play a role in deciding who fights! More information on this will come in the next week or so but this should be a great event.So all friends, Romans and countrymen in the Toronto area are invited to attend and celebrate all of our success thus far - and more to come!
How to Train the Dragon!
This past weekend Andy and I made our way to Guelph, Ontario to take part in a signing at The Dragon Comics. It was great to share some space with some great Canadian artists such as Eric Kim, Richard Pace, Ray Fawkes, Ross Campbell and Dale Keown. It was also great to make some new fans and hang out with some friends from the Guelph region.The Dragon is a great comic book store with a great staff - from Jenn (the big boss) to Amy (the manager) to Teresa to Robert to Calum (hereafter referred to as Shia)... We also did separate podcasts (which will be posted online sometime soon) and I flipped the format by interviewing Jenn and then Shia...Another highlight was meeting Andy's dad, who came by to present us our shiny new banner. It looks fantastic! Special thanks to Ian Herring for helping with the design of this.Thanks to everyone that turned out - I hope you enjoy our photos!...
Issue 5 Preview Pages
With the release of Issue #5 this week we wanted to reveal a number of the pages found in this issue. Although Andy B's artwork for the series has been very, very strong he really hits some high notes with this issue - as you can see below. We had a four page scene in which Hamlet faces ghosts of his past that we gave him carte blanche on - and he delivered in spades! Ian Herring's colouring work is also quite strong in this issue - and versatile. He goes from moonlit moments to fireside talks to the inside of a traveling cart.The images are below.
Issue #5 - Page 1 process
A week prior to the release of Issue #5, attached is the process behind the creation of Page #1 of the issue. One day soon we will tape Andy as he goes through the thumbnail process (where he designs the pages) - the process is hilarious as he describes the action to us while reviewing.
Check us out at FanExpo Canada!
We will be attending FanExpo Canada this upcoming weekend, which coincidentally falls on my birthday weekend! FanExpo is one of the largest comic conventions in North America - either the third or fourth largest, depending upon who you talk to. It's a lot of fun and if you live in the city and have never attended a comic convention before, you should really check it out! I would recommend purchasing your tickets in advance, though - last year I was shut out one day because the line-up was around the corner. It made for quite the sight - a number of costumed people lined up on Front Street!...
Conor, myself, Andy and Ian will be at the convention for most of the weekend as Special Guests. Swing by our table - we're at table P36, right in the midst of artist alley. We'll be stationed with the rest of the Transmission-X folks, which should be fun. Conor and I are also moderating a panel - "Drawing Ahead: The Future of Comics", which will feature Andy B, Ramon Perez, Cameron Stewart, Scott Chantler, Willow Dawson and Max Douglas. We'll be looking at the evolution of comics distribution and trends to look for. Should be a great panel.Check out the FanExpo this weekend - should be fantastic!
Issue #4 - Selected Artwork Previews
Released this Wednesday, August 4th, here is a selection of artwork from the issue. Artist Andy B had a blast introducing two of the most important characters to our story, Othello and Juliet. Artwork is by Andy Belanger and colouring by Ian Herring. For a full-size version of the images click on each.
Sneak Peak! Page 1 of Issue #3
An early look at Issue #3, to be released July 7/10... This is a behind-the-scenes look at the art process behind our first page of the third issue, from the layout stage to the inking stage to the colouring stage. It's a very fascinating process that takes a lot of work - from the scripting to the final product.And yes, that's Falstaff in the bottom panel of the page... You will enjoy his presence in this issue!...
Preview pages for Issue #2
With the upcoming release of Kill Shakespeare #2 I thought that we would begin to preview pages over the next week-and-a-half leading up the release on May 19th. So, today here are the two covers and the first page.
