Life too boring? Maybe a zombie apocalypse will help.
Hey all,
Just taking a moment before we head off to Heroes Con to give a nod of the head to David Bishop one of the great guys behind the Renerd and Talking Dead podcasts and a web-comic creator of some note. As you can probably guess from one of the titles of those podcasts Dave is a zombie fan - a BIG zombie fan. Therefore it is no surprise that his webcomic Stranger is an interesting entry into the genre.It's early yet so I can't tell you TOO much about how Dave plans to make his zombie tale distinctly different, but I know we have a stuffed bear to reckon with.And Sean.Poor Sean.What I like most is the fact that David is very willing to let the art speak for itself. The first few pages of Stranger have no dialogue - we just get a growing horrific sense of how large the zombie horde in this world is - and how quickly they can mass.For the Kill Shakespeare fan who's been waiiting (in vain) for Zombie Iago I hope Stranger helps fill your insatiable lust for brains... braaaains....Conor
We X'D in public!
Recently the Kill Shakespeare lads headed to London Ontario to support a great event - Comic Book Literacy Day.While we were there we were fortunate enough to be interviewed by Jaynel White from 106.9 "The X".Click here to head to The X where you can listen to the interview.Thanks to Jaynel, and the whole London Library crew for putting together a day that was beyond fantastic.
Kill Shakespeare helping to slay illiteracy!
The Kill Shakespeare team is heading back to London!
The Kill Shakespeare boys are on the move again - this time for a GREAT cause. We're going to be part of a FANTASTIC comic line-up for Comic Book Literacy Dayat the London Central Library (251 Dundas Street).The whole event goes down on March 16th, 2011.Andy, Anthony and Conor will be part of a panel between 7 and 8 PM to discuss why comics are not just for kids. We'll be joined by SUPER librarian Scott Robins, and long-time comics enthusiast Mathew Foy.You can also catch us at HEROES (186 Dundas) where we will be signing from 5-6:30 PM.Some of the other great guests at the event include J.Bone (who you know for tons of different work with D.C., but love best for his back-up story in the first Kill Shakespeare trade), Scott Chantler (creator of the excellent Two Generals), cartoonist extraordinaire Diana Tamblyn, and heavyweight main-stream rock stars Stuart and Kathryn Immonen.So please take some time during your March Break to come out and have fun at this fantastic event!
Kill Shakespeare wants you to get your first break in comics!
Anthony and I are often a little humbled by how friendly the comic world has been to us - two neophytes.Whether it's the incomparable Arvid Nelson giving us story tips, the brilliant Mike Carey, John Layman or Bryan Glass writing us great blurbs or Ty Templeton and Darwyn Cooke serving as mentors we have constantly been made to feel "just as worthy" as the men and women who have been doing this MUCH longer than we have.And so we want to pay it forward.We want YOU to get your first break in comics!It's the FIRST KILL SHAKESPEARE COVER CONTEST! 
WHAT: We want YOUR ART to grace the cover of Kill Shakespeare #11. And we're teaming up with some of the greatest comic shops in North America to make it happen.The winner's design will be the alternate cover for Kill Shakespeare #11, while four runners-up will be featured in print. All other finalists will get some on-line love.WHO: Anyone who does not already have a professional comic credit can win (although anyone can enter).WHEN: What we need from you is a completed cover design by the "Ides of March" (March 15th) by 9:00 PM EST (6:00 PM PST).WHERE & HOW: You can enter at any of the following awesome comic shops.
The Silver Snail (Toronto)Paradise Comics (Toronto)Midtown Comics (New York - Times Square location)Forbidden Planet (New York)Isotope - The Comic Book Lounge (San Francisco)Mission Comics and Art (San Francisco)Atomic City Comics (Philadelphia)Brave New Worlds (Philadelphia)Fat Jack's Comicrypt (Philadelphia)Golden Apple Comics (L.A.)Meltdown Comics (L.A.)Enter in person by giving them a copy of your work or by sending them your work (but please DO NOT mail, or e-mail your work without getting the o.k. from the store first). While you can submit a physical copy, the winners will need to have the designs digitally as high-res (300 DPI) JPEG's as well.But for submission purposes a low-res JPEG is fine as well.The store that submits the winner will also get their logo on the cover. So make sure you represent for your fave city, state, country, or store!WHAT DO I DRAW?: Here is the PREVIEW blurb for issue #11 to give you some inspiration.
With one trusted friend dead and the Prodigal army in pieces, Hamlet must plunge back into the Globe Woods. But even if he survives this second trip into the mouth of madness, can Shakespeare’s fabled quill stop the horrific combined might of Richard III, the Black Guard, and Lady Macbeth’s foul magic?
SOME OTHER RULES STUFF:
- The Contest ends at 9 PM EST March 15th, 2011.
- No purchase is required to enter.
- Only entrants without professional comic credits are eligible to win the contest.
- Each store will select up to three finalists.
- The final five finalists will be decided by the Kill Shakespeare creative team.
- The winner will be decided by a poll of Kill Shakespeare fans.
- The winner needs to be able to provide their design as a 300 DPI quality JPEG.
- All entries are property of Kill Shakespeare Entertainment.
- The sky is the limit. We'll be judging entries by how well they tell a story on the cover, how well the cover captures the "feel" of Kill Shakespeare and by how innovative and interesting the design is.
Good luck, and happy designing and drawing -- if you have any questions about how to enter drop me a line at muachado@killshakespeare.com
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!)
Kill Shakespeare on CBC Radio's Q
Yesterday, Conor and I sat down for an interview on CBC Radio's "Q", an arts, entertainment and culture show on Canada's public broadcaster. The show is always informative and it was great to chat about the series and get people excited about it.The regular host, Jion Ghomeshi, was on vacation so filling in for him was Zaib Shaikh, best known in Canada for his role on the popular Little Mosque on the Prairie. This was actually a welcome change as Zaib is himself an actor and a huge fan of Shakespeare who also directed a television production of Othello a few years ago, and it also spared the world Conor's Billy Bob Thornton impersonation...To listen to the interview, you can click on the link and go the January 4th episode. Our interview starts at the 53 minute mark of the episode.
One thing that I'd like to mention is that the interview focused mainly on Shakespeare and the Kill Shakespeare story and thus we weren't able to have a discussion on the artwork and our excellent artist team (of Andy, Ian and Kagan), which we always like to do.
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!
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.
Congrats to a friend of Kill Shakespeare!
Having just gotten back yesterday from our whirlwind trip through New York and Philly, I quickly caught up a number of things that have happened in the last little while. One thing that I missed while away was the announcement that Jeremy Boxen won a Gemini Award on November 3rd for dramatic writing (Cra$h and Burn).For those that don't know, the Gemini Awards are the top Canadian television awards - the Canadian Emmys, if you will. Jeremy is a really talented writer that I've known for almost nine years, have worked on a few projects with, and also played a crucial role in the life of Kill Shakespeare by being the person who introduced us to Andy Belanger (through his friend Cameron Stewart).Congrats, Jer!
WE'RE NEW YORK TIMES-WORTHY!
We received a VERY pleasant surprise in our Google Alerts folder the other day, a notice that the New York Times had mentioned the series.
"Hmm," we thought. "Perhaps some intrepid reporter has found out about the series and tossed us in a larger story about the Bard and his relevance in today's society. Maybe someone in NYC is mounting an 'edgy' staging' of one of Shakey's plays?"But no, it was even better than that -- we're a NEW YORK FREAKIN' TIMES GIFT GUIDE recommendation.Click here to see what has us all hot and bothered... and again thanks to all of our supporters for buying the comics and now the trades which have given us the legitimacy to get people like the Times interested!
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.
More Photos from the Gallery
For those of you who couldn't make it we continue our photo essay from the gallery show we had here in NY at the Chair and the Maiden gallery.
These photos were taken by the lovely and talented George Goss, a local photo-journalist who just so happened to be covering another event down the road.
It's always rewarding when we get to meet new people through this adventure and George was a fantastic example of that. I mean how many people would just poke their head in, say hi, and start snapping pics for us?
All in all this is just another example of why we have been having SO much fun with this project and why we are looking forward to our Toronto Book Launch where we can rub elbows with family and fans from the T-dot (and also friends who hate what we are up to but are too polite to say so....).
So see you all on the 16th at 918 Bathurst - doors open at 6:00 PM and the fun and food will last until 8:30 or so.
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.
The Art of Kill Shakespeare in New York!
Officially announced today via press releases is our art show in New York beginning just over a week from today. Running from November 5th - 9th at Chair and the Maiden in New York is The Art of Kill Shakespeare, an exhibition of the work by Andy Belanger and Kagan McLeod for our series.
You can read the press release here.This gallery showing is the hub for our book launch efforts in two weeks' time and we will be having a reception on Friday the 5th and then again on Tuesday the 9th. The latter will actually feature copies of the book available for sale.Andy has been doing such a fantastic job on this series and we're proud to see him receive this, his first gallery showing. He's quite excited about the venture and anyone that takes a look at the art work will really be impressed.Chair and the Maiden is a great new gallery on New York's trendy Christopher Street. Run by John D'Abu and David Zelikovsky, it has featured a wide range of shows and is currently finishing off a run by Shari Belafonte. They also run the great organization Fund Art Now, which is a foundation created to promote global discourse on important issues through art. I highly recommend you check out the organization by clicking the image below.We've thoroughly enjoyed working with them thus far and look forward to the show! More details will be announced in the next week or so leading up to the event!
SEE THE VICTORY!
Its finally up!You can now watch Conor and Anthony's award winning Pitch This! presentation. This is what won us the big, fake, novelty cheque!Also, there are several other great pitches on the video, especially The Fringe, Brobots and 50 Proof (which I found really funny, but maybe I was in the minority).So click here to watch the whole thing. Or jump straight ahead to the 32 minute mark to see us do our stuff (use the full screen version, because the pop-up window isn't cropped too well).They also had to edit out a bit where our video didn't run (which is too bad because we had a couple of good awkward one-liners as we waited in growing horror).Anyway tell us what you think, and tell us which PITCH you would have voted for -- aside from us of course...
Kill Shakespeare fan art!
The supremely talented Jibola Fagbamiye is a Nigerian-Canadian artist who blends traditional art from his childhood in Africa with iconic hip-hop and 70's soul images.He also loves comics and, fortunately for us, is a Kill Shakespeare fan. So that led Jibola to whip up the AMAZING fan art that you can see below.
For more of his work, and a chance to find out about his next Toronto shows swing by his web-site.Thanks Jibola, we here at Kill Shakespeare salute you (and will soon be fighting it out for the right to hang this on our walls!).We always love seeing fan art, so please send it off to us at lendmeyourears@killshakespeare.com
Going comic shopping in Van-City
The Kill Shakespeare team had a chance to hit the left coast recently and while the trip had us talking to mobile-ap developers, catching films at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and of course eating at White Spot, we also found time to meet some of the local comics merchants and talk to them about Kill Shakespeare.
First, we stopped off at Gotham Collectibles (2676 W 4th Ave - love those evil Cats!) in the ever trendier Kitsilano neighbourhood. Gotham is run by the "she-looks-way-too-young-to-be-running-her-own-business-Monique".Monique is passionate about bringing more women and girls into comics and has big plans to support Kill Shakespeare when the trade debuts on November 9th.Gotham is a small store but jam packed with comics, toys, collectibles, general goth-y fun and my (Conor's) favourite BEARBRICKS!For those of you who don't know these tiny little Japanese toys are designed by some of the top graf artists in the world and also include cute little bears based on some of the horror worlds most notorious characters. So I decided to pick up one that looked like Gizmo from Gremlins.
Gotham is a new store, but with the passionate staff there and the tons and tons of cool stuff you can tell its going to be a great place to buy your favourite stuff.So if you live in Vancouver make sure you head down to this gem and get to know Monique and support her store.
Then I headed over to downtown Vancouver to check out one of the classic Vancouver shops for comics, Golden Age Collectibles (852 Granville Ave). Golden Age is right in the heart of the theatre district, we actually checked out the store while we were waiting to see an Italian film at VIFF.Golden Age is a big, two-level store that is filled to the brim with comics, graphic novels and indie titles from across B.C. and the country.I chatted with Misty and Hank who both told me they were looking forward to checking out Kill Shakespeare when it becomes a trade and said that they have several customers who have the title as part of their pull list.
For those of you who like an open, airy, clean comics shopping experience then Golden Age is going to be your new favourite shop (if it isn't already). And Hank and Misty really know their stuff so they'll be able to find you your next favourite title - so don't be afraid to ask.
As you can see they also pay proper homage to my fave Canadian comic (aside from perhaps Essex County) with a gigantic Scott Pilgrim mural, so they already had my attention when I walked in the door.So there you have it, two totally different, but equally awesome comic shops that you need to search out if you live in Vancouver or if you are a comics fan who finds yourself visting this world class city.And if you haven't been to Vancouver you really want to get out there - between the mountains, the ocean and the amazing night life you can't do much better.
M.C. Del Col, Yo!
No, it isn't the latest white-rap superstar (that would actually be Kill Shakespeare's cover artist Kagan McLeod who has won more than his fair share of accolades at Hip-Hop Karaoke), it is the role Anthony Del Col will be taking on this Monday.
Anthony will be serving as the Master of Ceremony's at a book launch in Toronto at the Lula Lounge. Anthony will be leading the launch festivities for the Toronto debut of Chris Benjamin's first novel Drive By Saviours.The book has already garned RAVE reviews and if you are a fan of intelligent literature (and of course you are, you read Kill Shakespeare) and you live in the Toronto area head to the event for a fantastic night of readings, music, performances and DEL COL!(oh and give Chris a hard time -- he's a Habs fan).WHAT: Drive By Saviours Book launchWHEN: October 4th, 2010WHERE: Lula Lounge (1585 Dundas St. W)TIME: 8:00-11:30 PM
Stephen Holt Strikes Again!
Our brand-new best friend Stephen Holt has added to his collection of Kill Shakespeare media. This time its in the form of two videos he has posted on his YouTube channel.
Stephen is a passionate cinephile and blogs foir AwardsDaily.com (the site Anthony uses to get the egde on the competition in his Hollywood movie league). We met him at TIFF and he very kindly (and correctly as it turned out) said he thought we would win PITCH THIS! He also does a popular public access show in NYC and agreed to chat with us!You can surf into his channel (unless you get to see his show nin NYC) to watch the first part of the video here and the second part here!We had a great time and we talked about things in this interview that we have NEVER been asked!
Our newest fan: Stephen Holt!
Two weeks ago at the Pitch This! event at the Toronto Film Festival we met Stephen Holt, a New York journalist and television host who saw our pitch and ran up to us afterwards, raving about the idea and insisting that we would win. Well, Stephen was right and we did indeed win! And we sat down for an interview with him the next day (after bumping into him again at a screening of Black Swan) and chatting about our project, the Oscars, film, and life in general.(On a side note, Stephen is a writer on AwardsDaily.com, which is a site that I frequent a number of times a day between Sept 1st - Oscar night, giving me the inside goods on the Oscar campaigns and races. When I found out that Stephen worked on the site I was blown away!)Stephen has just posted a great article about us on his blog (you can access it by clicking on the photo of us below) and will shortly be posting a video interview with us as well.