Big Planet Comics (Georgetown)

A great comic book shop in Washington is Big Planet Comics, which actually has four locations in the D.C. area (UPDATED thanks to Eden!).  Conor and I (along with singer/songwriter Lesley Pike) stopped by the Georgetown location this past Monday (the 14th) to say hello to the gang and see if they stock any copies of Kill Shakespeare. (Yes, they greeted us warmly and were actually sold out of our trade paperback.)It's a great store with a great selection of books.  They had been telling a lot of their customers about our talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library and I believe some of them came out to the event.  The store is managed by Leigh, who has been pushing our series to a lot of their regulars.  Of course, we don't know if they've put us in the newsletter yet - perhaps they'll try to get the photo above in it...

Fantom Comics (Washington)

Every time we have a chance to travel anywhere one of our top priorities is to visit with the local comic book stores.  We had the opportunity to do so in Washington, D.C.  Our first stop on Monday afternoon (the 14th - Valentine's Day) was to visit Fantom Comics!Fantom Comics is located right in Union Square Station in Washington and we must say is a great set-up.  It serve mainly commuters (and Union Square Station is full of them!), and is a compact - but smart - store.  They were actually sold out of trade of Kill Shakespeare and only had one copy of Issue #8 left.Devon, who was running the store at the time, was a cool guy and was glad that we stopped by.  If you're in the Washington area and looking for a place to pick up some comics, swing by and check them out!

ANDY B. SET FREE

Yep, Andy B. escaped the chains of the drawing desk to do some media promo work. The always quote worthy Andy B. carries a big part of the Kill Shakespeare crew's latest podcast appearance.Andy and Conor chatted with the "All Your Basecast" folks about the series, the team's upcoming visit to London AND Andy's love of the city.Of course it wouldn't be a Belanger interview if he didn't stir it up a little -- so if you write or draw a "touchy-feely" indie comic.... you might want to hide.So, without further ado, click here to hear Andy B. let loose on the lovely Vanessa!(And for those of you who don't get the reference in the title of the Podcast, enjoy!)

"I don’t know whether it’s the title’s hook, savvy PR work or both"

Kevin Melrose this morning, in his Comics A.M. column on ComicBookResources.com, wrote the following:"I don’t know whether it’s the title’s hook, savvy PR work or both, but the creators of the IDW miniseries Kill Shakespeare receive a steady stream of mainstream press coverage. Here’s the latest, an interview with collaborators Anthony Del Col, Conor McCreery and Andy Belanger ahead of a weekend appearance in London, Ontario. [London Free Press]"

Dan Brown, a fan of ours = and other great comics - from London, ON, wrote one of the best articles about us thus far.  It was an astute look at the series, its conception, and its future.  It's also featured in today's print edition of the London Free Press, so we're excited to see a physical copy - and to meet Dan at our signing at L.A. Moods Comics on Saturday afternoon (the 12th)!

Reactions on the Shuster noms (and a glaring non-nom)

It was absolutely fantastic to get nominated for a Shuster Award for writing earlier this week.  Conor and I are still on cloud nine for that distinction.  What is also cool is to have read a couple blogs/sites that comment on our nominations.The first was The Fabler Blog, a "web comics portal", which ran through some of the nominees.  Kevin de Vlaming, the writer, goes through some of that categories and also points out some nominations he's excited about.  The top of the list is Kill Shakespeare, and he says: "They’re up against some big names in the Outstanding Comic Book Writer category, such as Lemire, J. Torres, and Kathryn Immonen, but I think they can hold their own.... It’s clever, well-written, and ultimately filled with nuanced originality that sets it apart from a lot of what’s out there at the moment."  You can read the full blog post here.And over at ComicBookDaily, two writers (Andrew Ardizzi - who has done a few reviews of our work - and Pete DeCourcy) comment on some of the nominees.  Andrew approves of our writing nomination but adds, "I do think however that’s it’s a colossal mistake to have omitted Andy Belanger’s contributions to Kill Shakespeare. He has consistently offered some of the most dynamic, creative and altogether violent I’ve seen in the last year. It’s truly beautiful, and a crime that he’s not on there anywhere."Pete also comments on this, stating, "Yeah, I totally agree – Kill Shakespeare wouldn’t work half as well without Belanger’s very distinct art style, he lends an air of distinct menace to some of the scenes that rewards multiple readings."You can read the whole article here or by clicking on the link below.

I'm really glad that some people recognize that Andy should have been nominated.  Andy's doing some really original and incredibly dense things in this series - especially his work on Issue #7 (check out some of the incredible pages here - and below).  I know that the artist category is very competitive and applaud Kevin and Robert and everyone at the Shusters for doing a very good job on making the process transparent.  It's just too bad that Andy didn't make the final list for some reason.

Appearing in London, ON February 12th!

It's been a couple months since we've done a signing but we'll be shaking the rust off of our pens and microphones later this month with a couple appearance in Canada and the U.S.  First stop... London, ON!The good folks at L.A. Moods Comics and Games in London, ON reached out to us months ago about setting up a signing there.  London has a thriving comic book scene so Conor, Andy and I are really looking forward to checking out the store and meeting with some fans/making new ones.  We are also appearing on Friday the 11th at H.W. Beal Secondary School to do a workshop for some of the students.

It's great to be able to visit London as Andy Belanger got his education in London - not only from Fanshawe College but also meeting and becoming friends with Stuart and Kathryn Immonen.As Andy says:"I spent my college years busting my tail to get the highest marks possible at Fanshawe College's Fine Art Program. Funny enough I was told that if I wanted to excel in the program I was absolutely not allowed to spend my time drawing guys in tights. No drawing, no painting, try your hand at sculpting. As a comic lover then, it was an understatement to say the least I was a little frustrated by this."Little did I know my profs were giving me some of the best advice when it came to the creative process, kind of like the way Mr. Miyagi told Danielson to paint the fence or wax on wax off.I came away with things like work on the entire piece as a whole, start rough and don't be afraid to kill your darlings. My Profs were top notch.London is also where I met Stuart and Kathryn Immonen. Arguably the most talented couple in comics, Marvel superstars. They were running a comic jam that I became a part of and we quickly became friends."Stuart has been a huge influence and inspiration to my work but Kathryn actually taught me everything I know about breaking down and writing a comic script. The roots that I have in London are surely the reason my career grew to what it's become. I also gotta give a shout out to Call the Office, my home away from home!"

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...)!

CBR: What Are You Reading?

ComicBookResources.com has a segment in their popular Robot 6 column regularly where they ask current comic creators what books and series they are currently reading and/or collecting.  On Sunday they posed the question to Johnny Zito and Tony Trov of South Fellini Studios, creators of Zuda Comics' Black Cherry Bombshells and the recent series Carnivale De Robotique.

Johnny Zito says that the series he likes to read is Kill Shakespeare, saying the following:"I read Kill Shakespeare month to month. However, it’s new so it didn’t immediately spring to mind. It fills the void that Fables and X-Men used to, full of drama and romance and fighting. Comics are at their best when they aspire to be Shakespearean. Men and women running around the night, wearing masks, fighting for love or revenge or whatever. Kill Shakespeare has all of that for obvious reasons and capitalizes with clever twists on old standards. The art lends a real gravity to the source material, it feels real. Or better yet it feels like a play, a world built out of set pieces and cardboard trees. It’s a surreal brain treat that I can’t recommend enough."It's always great when other comics creators read your stuff and give you a shout-out and we really appreciate it!  We urge everyone to check out Carnivale - it's a fantastic series!

Vote Shakespeare for 'Best New Villain'!

We received an email from Peter at ComicGeekSpeak podcast a few days ago letting us know that they have come out with their nominations for Best New in a number of categories, and they have placed Shakespeare in their "Villain" category.  As Peter described to us in an email: "We described it less as a villain and more as Shakespeare's presence over the entire book and how the character effects everyone else in the book."The full nomination list includes:BEST NEW VILLAIN:- White Canary (Birds of Prey)- John Steele (Secret Avengers)- the Absence (Batman and Robin)- Oberon Sexton (Batman and Robin)- Skinner Sweet (American Vampire, Vertigo)- Sir Isaac Newton (S.H.I.E.L.D.)- Shakespeare (Kill Shakespeare)Voting is now on so please get out the vote!  To vote for Shakespeare as the Best New Villain simply email Peter at peter@comicgeekspeak.com and tell him where to place the Bard!

To check out the full list of categories and nominations click on the logo above.

We've made the Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2011 List!

Every year YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association) put together a list of the top graphic novels that are suitable for teenagers (between the ages of 12 - 18).  This is a prestigious list that always has some top titles from the major publishers as well as a wide range from indie publishers and self-published authors.Just an hour ago Kill Shakespeare was officially named as a finalist for the 2011 List!

This is a great accomplishment and validation that what we're doing with this project is bearing fruit.  We've heard from so many teachers, librarians and students that tell us that they're really enjoying the series and making this list will hopefully allow more people to check us out.Thanks to everyone on the committee - and kudos to other friends of ours that were on the list, including Jamar Nicholas for Fist Stick Knife Gun, Mike Carey for The Unwritten, Vol 1., Jeff Lemire for Sweet Tooth, Vol. 1 and John Layman for Chew, Vol. 1.  All great selections and we're honoured to be on the list with them.You can see the entire list by clicking on the YALSA logo above.

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.

CommandN loves them some Kill Shakespeare AND Hal-Con

As many of you have read Kill Shakespeare had a GREAT time at Hal-Con:

The people were amazing, and the event was as much fun as I have had at any convention in my life.In fact I bet a lot of you are thinking "man, I'm sorry I missed that".Well... the people at CommandN thought so too, so they have put together a FANTASTIC special on the event -- which you can check out right here!We're scattered throughout the special -- but the whole thing is well worth your watching while.And, if you haven't had your fill of Kill Shakespeare, Halifax and Conor -- then check out Haligonian.ca where Conor was interviewed by a gentlemen who had an English accent - for no discernable reason...Click on interview #27.

Andy's old stomping grounds...

This is a story of a young boy named Andy, whose father would bring him to the local comic book store as a bonding experience.  That young boy became really fascinated and obsessed with comics and loved his times at the store.  Years later Andy grew up to be the artist of a very successful literary mash-up comic, Kill Shakespeare.  And that comic book store?  Carry-On Comics in uptown Waterloo!Andy is making his triumphant return to his original comic book store this upcoming Wednesday and he, Conor and I are doing a signing there from 4:30 - 7pm.  It's also a homecoming for Conor and I as we both went to Wilfrid Laurier, just down the street.

If you're in Waterloo please join us for some fun and nostalgia!

Signing at The Beguiling - this Wednesday!

We are doing a book talk and signing at The Beguiling this Wednesday to promote and discuss our graphic novel.  We'd love for everyone to come out to the event - unlike our Launch Party tonight this will allow more conversation and discussion.We are doing a discussion at The Central (603 Markham, right next to The Beguiling) from 6-7pm and then a signing from 7-8pm.  Come and hang out with us!  Exact details about the event can be discovered on The Beguiling's website.

EATSLEEPGEEK says: "Kill Shakespeare: 'All the Goodness of the Bard, none of the suck'"

With the first trade starting to proliferate across stores (comic shops have had it for one or two Wednesdays depending on their locale, and bookstores join in the fun this Tuesday), we're starting to see reviews that come from areas that are less comic-focused.While EATSLEEPGEEK certainly knows their comics they are more of a general pop-culture site - so it is great to see that they too think there is a little bit of awesome to be had within the comics pages.It's also one of the better critiques of the art -- and Andy and Ian both come through with flying colours (appropriate for Ian, no?)So click here for the review, and pass it on to some friends you know who may still be on the fence on the series.

Crashing the Forbidden Planet in New York!

We arrived in New York yesterday and started setting up everything for our gallery show beginning this evening at Chair & The Maiden.  The artwork looks great and I'll hopefully be able to post some pictures later today or tomorrow.On Monday night (the 8th) Conor, Andy and I will be stopping by Forbidden Planet (840 Broadway) for an hour-long signing.  Forbidden Planet has been a great champion of our series (we visited them back in May for a bit) and it's great to be able to set up shop there for a while.  If you're in New York stop by and visit us!

I (heart) Hal-Con.

Well, Hal-Con was a blast!I've had the good fortune to get to attend comic conventions this year in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Toronto and book events in NY (and soon Miami) and I can't imagine a more lovely group of people than the ones at the Halifax Convention.Friendly people, passionate about their loves, a good mix of sci-fi, fantasy, comics, gaming and other fun geek-y pastimes and truly interested fans. I had one amazing conversation after another.I also wanted to give a shout out to the organizers of Hal-Con who took on the enromous task of resurrecting a long-dead convention (the last one was 15 years ago). They did it with style, with astonishingly few misteps for their first time out of the gate and with grace, humour and a real enjoyment for all the genres they were featuring.And they also raised  over $2,500 for local causes at a chairty auction - including a MIND-blowing $300 for a signed poster of Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Castle). Fillion also called in to the show to help win one of the Geeks vs Nerds debates....Wait, what IS Geeks vs Nerds you ask? Well I am happy you did.This fantastic live show pits panels of "Geeks" vs "Nerds" against each other, arguing topics like "whose the least effective military force? Stormtroopers, or Star-Trek redshirts?" Or "Who is the best smuggler in the universe? Han Solo or Mal Reynolds?" Or even the more business case orientated -- "Who is the better second in command? Vader or Spock?"I got to argue on behalf of the Stormtroopers arguoing that while yes, they have a tragic targeting issue, they were still way better to have then the redshirts, who after all, spend all their on-screen time dying as soon as they materialze on to whatever planet or ship they've been sent to. I'd call them cannon-fodder, but that'd be an insult to cannon-fodder.I'm trying to get the show out to Fan-Expo next year, so Toronto fans -- you NEED to check this out! I'mhoping for a Donald vs Daffy Duck debate as well as a Man in Black(Dread Pirate Roberts) vs Zorro... but that's just me...There were also some INCREDIBLE fan efforts, from the dozens upon dozens of brilliant costumes to a massive replica of the Alexei Leonov - the main ship from 2010. This was done by Robert LePine and it was crazy-good!Enjoy these photos from the show -- and make sure you check out the Hal-Con site for more. And if you are looking for an excuse to travel to Canada's Ocean Playground -- this is a good one.I'll post some more on this soon, with a few links to some new talents I met who I hope you might be interested in.

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!...

Kill Shakespeare invades Hal-Con!

Make your Halloween EXTRA spooky by seeing Kill Shakespeare co-creator Conor McCreery in the flesh in Halifax.While Andy and Anthony dazzle'em in Guelph at The Dragon, Conor will be at The Lord Nelson Hotel (1515 South Park Street, Halifax, NS) as part of the Halifax Comic-Con, Canada's largest comics convention East of MontrealConor will be at the show all three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). On Saturday he will host two panels in the Regency Ballroom at 9:00 and 11:30 AM and a special Q&A singing at 3:45 PM in the Georgian Lounge.Conor will also be available throughout Sunday for signings in the Lounge.We hope to see all the East Coast Prodigals out in force!