First two pages of The Mask of Night #4

In anticipation of the release of The Mask of Night #4 (in comic shops everywhere next Wed, Oct 1st), here are the first two pages (with incredible artwork by Andy Belanger and colours by Shari Chankhamma)... 

Page #1 of The Mask of Night #3

We're quite chuffed about the next issue of THE MASK OF NIGHT, released next Wednesday (the 27th).  And in anticipation of it, here's a side-by-side image of the final inked Page #1 by Andy Belanger and the final colored lettered page (coloured by Shari Chankhamma, lettered by Chris Mowry).  What do you think?

First Page of The Mask of Night

With just over a week before the release of Kill Shakespeare: The Mask of Night #1 (released next Wed, Jun 18th) we're excited to release this first page of the issue.  You can check out the amazing artwork by Andy Belanger (with colouring by Shari Hess) here:

This first page of the series introduces a brand new character into our story - the masked pirate Captain Cesario, who has a very interesting backstory and tie-in to one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters.Keep checking back for more sneak peaks!

It's Official! A Brand New Mini-series Is On Its way!

It's official!  Hamlet, Juliet, Shakespeare and our characters are coming back for more!IDW Publishing has officially announced this morning the release of Kill Shakespeare: The Mask of Night.  Set to launch in June of this year, it is a four-issue series that continues our adventures but also allows us to introduce some new players to our stage.  Oh, and there's pirates as well. The official summary of the series is:Hamlet, Juliet, Othello and Shakespeare become pawns in a deadly game between the infamous pirate Captain Cesario, his lover (and second mate) Viola, and the new terror on the seas, Titus Andronicus’ massive dreadnaught The Lavinia. Featuring pirate battles, action, violence, love, strong female heroines, comedy, death and an exploration of the power of myth, The Mask of Night continues the tales of Hamlet and Juliet from The Tide of Blood and also introduces new players (some of which will be featured in the board game) and mythologies.Yes, we are introducing Viola (from Twelfth Night) into our story.  She is one of the most requested Shakespeare characters and we're excited to bring her into our story in a very unique take on her.Coming back to the series is its bedrock, Andy Belanger as artist for both interiors and covers.  As he says, "Shari Chankhamma (colorist) and I have sharpened our pencils, made black our brushes and are ready to paint the high seas red in this next chapter of Kill Shakespeare! Get ready for BLOOD!"Conor and I are back on writing duties, and Shari is the colourist.  Assisting us on our side is our amazing editorial assistant Keith Morris and we're excited to be working again with the team at IDW, from our editor Tom Waltz to designer Chris Mowry to everyone else (Chris Ryall, Ted Adams, Greg Goldstein, Dirk Wood, Rosalind Morehead, Kahlil Sweitzer, Alan Payne, Robbie Robbins and everyone else).Look for more updates in the coming months - we're excited about this!

Bonus Sneek Peak of Issue #4

With the skies pretty dreary here in Toronto and the temperature being a jerk and dropping from the lovely 20 degree days we'd enjoyed a week ago to as low as nine (seriously?). I know that I really need a pick-me up.So, I thought I'd share that impulse with the rest of you. Normally we only toss out four preview pages from any given Kill Shakespeare installment, but with issue #4 due out tomorrow and such a grey day around me I thought, what the heck? Go nuts.So here I am, going nuts (I'm a wild man, you should see me eating full-fat yoghurt... bad!).Enjoy! (As always all pencils and inks are by Andy B. while Shari Chankhamma turns in another superlative colours job).

Issue #2 Artwork

Here are four pages of art from The Tide of Blood #2 ("To Hold Up a Mirror to Nature").  All artwork is by Andy Belanger, with colouring duties by Shari Chankhamma.  The issue is released next Wednesday - March 27th, 2013.

Beware the Ides of March (preview of first page of Issue #2)

Soothsayer:Beware the ides of March.

Caesar:What man is that?

Brutus:A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

So goes one of Shakespeare's most popular lines.  And yes, today is The Ides of March (the 15th of March).  To recognize this day, I am posting a preview of the first page of our The Tide of Blood Issue #2 ("To Hold the Mirror Up to Nature"), which will be released in comic book shops March 27th.  The art is, of course, by Andy Belanger, and features Miranda leading the group (Juliet and Romeo on this page) onto Prospero's Island.

First full review is a positive one!

The first review is in... and it's a positive one!  The comics blog Part-Time Fanboy, overseen by a former Aint It Cool News reviewer, posted a review of the first issue of The Tide of Blood earlier this week and praises it for how we've been able to take our characters in new directions.  What is really cool is this section:"I want to give major kudos to Andy Belanger as he continues to do a fantastic job on the illustration chores. Belanger has changed his style somewhat from the art of the original series. I don’t know what it is…it seems as if the art in Tide of Blood is a bit rawer and less refined. I actually like this sort of newfound revision to Belanger’s technique. It adds to the feel of a rag-tag group of characters trying to pull a new society together. It gives the whole thing a sort of a “survivalist Shakespeare” vibe that I loved. Also different is the palette of the whole book. From what I remember of the original series it consisted of a lot of reds and browns that added a nice warmth to the book. The colors in this first issue of Tide of Blood are decidedly different. The hues and shades are somewhat brighter than the previous series and that gives TOB very much a feeling of being an all-new chapter in an ongoing saga. It’d be very easy for colorist Shari Chankhamma to stick to the look of the first series since it was such a success. This very slight change in the visuals of the book struck me as a bit of a bold move on her part which made me feel that the people behind Kill Shakespeare were going to be as courageous with their choices in this mini-series as they were with their first outing."Click on the image below to read the entire review.

First Page Preview of The Tide of Blood #1

Here is the artwork for Page #1 of The Tide of Blood mini-series, debuting later this month (either the 20th or 27th, depending on when they are shipped).  The issue starts off with this page, the beginning of a dream sequence that will set the tone for the rest of the series...Amazing art by Andy Belanger, as always (see his layouts and inked versions of the page here).  As well, it's a great introduction to our amazing new colourist, Shari Chankhamma, who was discovered by Andy and Becky Cloonan and is doing fantastic work in the new series (her colours in Issue #2 are off-the-charts!).

Preview Pages from Issue #1 of The Tide of Blood

Here are a number of (non-lettered) pages from the first issue of The Tide of Blood.  Entitled "The Winter of Our Discontent", the issue finds Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet, Othello and the rest of the Prodigals defending their newfound freedom from opposing forces but then discover a greater danger - the wizard Prospero's goal to destroy the entire world.The artwork is by Andy Belanger, with colours by Shari Chankhamma.You can access the two covers for the issue here (Simon Davis' Cover A) and here (Andy Belanger's retailer incentive cover).