"The essence of this book can be favorably compared to chocolate and peanut butter."
Issue #4 was released yesterday and we have our second (!) rave review! Noel Bartocci from Broken Frontier gives us a very high grade and some great quotes (perhaps we can use them as blurbs for future issues)! My favourite is this:"The essence of this book can be favorably compared to chocolate and peanut butter. Two great tastes, taste great together. Shakespeare’s massive library of characters juxtaposed with the more modern hero structure (Joseph Campbell, anyone?). That an idea that seems gimmicky works this well and has this much vitality is a credit to the creators."You can read the full review by clicking on the - yes, you guessed it - image of chocolate and peanut butter...
An EPIC, EPIC of KILL SHAKESPEAREAN EPICNESS - in four parts (To borrow from Scott Pilgrim) .
The ENTIRE Kill Shakespeare team (including that 'wascally wabbit' Andy) take part in a mammoth interview with Joe Wilcox at Oddly Together.Joe is a great journalist with year's of experience - it may be the first time we've been questioned by a guy who also cover's Microsoft's earnings.There are four parts to the awesomeness -- each one bite-sized and tasty.
Act 1 -- Enjoy as Andy gets to be the pitchman for the first time in a live interview. Thrill to how he says the series is about Shakespeare's characters playing with themselves. Gasp as Anthony and Conor reveal themselves to be Bert and Ernie on acid (those aren't two pillows....)
Act II -- Anthony gets us on track and explains what the heck this series is actually about. And he explains how Kimberly Cox may still be trying to kill us.
Act III - This was a real, real treat -- a WORLD-EXCLUSIVE sneak preview of art for issues #5, 6 and beyond. If you are a Kill Shakespeare devotee (as we know you are) you wanna check this clip out for sure!Act IV - We get philosophical here and ask a big question for Bardolators: Was Hamlet a suicide-case? Did he actually LET himself be killed in the play? And does that make him one big fat coward???All told we had a great time chatting with Joe, and we really hope you enjoy the interviews as much as we did making them!
Proof that we have "Ambition" (we told ya')
The Kill Shakespeare boys were honoured to be part of a campaign run by IMPACT and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation called "I am My Ambition". It's designed to help young entrepreneurs (lie us!) inspire other Canadians to take a risk and start their own business.
Unfortunately for us the audio on Anthony's mic wasn't working well so the video is short on his very excellent observations, but still you get to see how fast Conor talks in meetings -- Woah! Slow down Speed Racer!Click here to see the video and here to check out this excellent organization that might be able to help you with your first (or next) business.
SDCC Day 2: Chillin' on a yacht...
We spent a bit of the afternoon earlier today hangin' on a yacht, just hanging with uber geek Jeff Katz from GeekWeek.com and a host of others. We talked about Comic-Con, comic books, film, business, rock and roll, and everything else. Jeff is a great guy and tells it like it is - very refreshing in any entertainment industry.Watch live video from geekweek on Justin.tv
The Canadian Nerd Card!
Conor did an interview with the League of Ordinary Gentlemen earlier this week, which was just posted today. It's a pretty entertaining interview with some jokes about Canadians, Mel Gibson and wrestling. The guys had reviewed our first two issues earlier this summer. You can listen to the interview by clicking on the link.
"Guilty Pleasure"!
We are mentioned in a column this week on Good Comics for Kids, which also placed us on the 2010 Summer Reading List. Kate Dacey, who is quickly becoming one of our top fans, mentioned us on a list of what she's currently reading. The highlight? Her quote is that we are, "rapidly becoming one of my great guilty pleasures of the summer." Guilty pleasure? I love it!Click on the cover image to access the article.
The future of comics and digital storytelling
Conor, Andy and I recorded a podcast this past weekend with Dimitrios and Thor from Midtown Comics, which features two great stores in the Manhattan area. What's fantastic is that, in a time in which many small comic book stores are closing down, Midtown is expanding and opening up a third location this fall.The podcast explored the topics of Kill Shakespeare, our trade paperback in November, Zuda Comics and the future of digital comics. Click on the photo of Anthony and Thor (from this past May) to listen.
Getting the humour of Issue #3
Greg Burgas from ComicBookResources gives a breakdown of the comics that he purchased this past week, and says some smart things about Kill Shakespeare #3... "His Puck is creepy, slightly terrifying, but also radiant, and the final few pages, when Macbeth realizes he's in a bad situation, is scary, as Belanger shows his fate from his perspective, which adds to the terror."
"One of the most striking books I’ve looked at in a long, long time"
And for the third - and final - review post of the day we turn to SoldierHawk at Weekly Comic Book Review...After a very positive review for the first two issues, they have given us an even higher grade this month! My favourite comments were with respect to Andy and Ian's artwork, in which she mentions: "The expression “feast for the eyes” is rather cliché, but there are very, very few pages in this book that don’t fit that description... The rich colors back up the pencils perfectly, and the result is just beautiful."
You can read the review by clicking on the link.
"McCreery and Del Col are placing their heart and soul into this work"
Another review... Another positive review of Issue #3!...Our next review today was Comic Book Revolution, a site that normally discusses and reviews top titles of D.C. and Marvel. As the reviewer himself, Rokk, points out, he is starting to stray away from the mainstream stuff and check out new indie titles. And he suggests that Kill Shakespeare should be one of those!
What I really enjoyed about Rokk's interview, other than the complete nature of his review, is that he compares us directly to major titles and says that, "if you are interested in reading something outside of the standard fare offered up by Marvel and DC then I would certainly recommend giving Kill Shakespeare a chance."
"You can mark this one in the genius column"
With the release of Issue #3 earlier today, a couple reviews have started to be posted online. The first one up today was from Ryan at WeeklyCrisis.com, a well-constructed website that does regular reviews of new titles. This is one of the most positive reviews we've received thus far, which is what we've been hoping for (we always thought that our story starts to hit its stride in the third issue, as it not only picks up the pace but also adds a lot of comedy).
Ryan's verdict? "Must Read. I’ll put it this way, remember the last time you probably heard the premise behind a comic that was this bizarre? Chances are, it was probably Chew, which was one of the most critically acclaimed comics to debut in 2009. At its halfway point, Kill Shakespeare is the Chew of 2010. It’s seriously that good and you seriously shouldn’t miss it under any circumstances."You can click on the image to read the review.
2010 Summer Reading List
Earlier today the site Good Comics for Kids released a 2010 Summer Reading List. And on it, in the Teen category, is Kill Shakespeare! I guess that Kate Dacey (who reviewed our first two issues last month) enjoyed it enough to recommend it for inclusion on a list that includes the final Scott Pilgrim book and the Zuda Comics collection Bayou. Congrats to our team for this honour, and thanks to Good Comics for Kids!The great quote from the blurb (which can be accessed by clicking on the image) is this: "Dynamic art, break-neck pacing, and clever use of the Bard’s own words make this series fun and educational."
Is our Hamlet similar to Lost's Jack Shephard?
Our interview from April with Sohaib from Fictional Frontiers has gone live this week (click on the link to go to the interview). Other than the fact that Conor was cut off because of cell phone problems (perhaps it was the construction that you hear in the background), it was one of the interesting and thought-provoking interview we've done thus far. Sohaib pulled out the big guns when he asked me to compare our Hamlet to the Jack Shephard character from Lost (the show had not finished when the interview was done). It was a challenging question but after I finished the interview a dozen other thoughts came to me (this always happens, doesn't it?)...
Sohaib runs a very insightful and analytical show about pop culture, not only discussing the latest news but going deeper to analyze stories, characters and the plot elements of everything. We hope to be on the show with him again sometime very soon!
Our new geek friends from across the pond
Conor and I have both given interviews with the boys at GeekPlanetOnline, based in the U.K. They're a great group of guys and I had an interview with head geek Matt Dillon three weeks ago (you can check it out here). Last week Conor had a three-hour interview with Matt and the rest of the gang (sans Dave, apparently) about a topic very close to our hearts: reimaginings and adaptations. The interview has been broken up into two spots, and you can check out the first interview by clicking on the logo.
The nerdcast[5]
We recently answered five good questions about our story and career with website nerdcast online. Fun questions and you can read our responses by clicking on the abbreviated photo below (taken by Jordan Sparks at TCAF this year).
The questions were:1. Who are you and what do you do?2. Who influenced you creatively to get to this point?3. What would you change about your industry and why?4. What books are in your pull-list?5. What is your dream dig?
The League of Ordinary Gentlemen Podcast
A great review of Issues #1 and #2 from The League of Ordinary Gentlemen, a fun group of guys who talk comics and geek stuff on their regular podcast. They praised IDW and the fact that they're publishing this, had trouble pronouncing Andy's last name, and might have been a bit tipsy (no, we didn't bribe them with Canadian beer...). You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the link below.
Kill Shakespeare on NPR...
Conor and I are doing a live interview with NPR's Talk of the Nation show this afternoon. We're on from 2:40pm - 3:00 EST and will be chatting about Kill Shakespeare, comics and everything else with host Neal Conan. We understand that he's a huge comic fan so we're looking forward to the discussion. I believe that we may also be fielding phone calls while on the air so feel free to call in as well!You can listen to the program live by going to the NPR website (click on the photo).
Did we pass the school exam? Yes we did!
Kate Dacey, who writes the Good Comics for Kids review column at School Library Journal, posted a review of our first two issues earlier today (the 18th)... She gives us a passing grade (with colours) and says that she enjoys the art and the fun nature of our story... (Click on the photo for the link)...
A sign that we've made it!
On Sunday at TCAF I noticed an ad that had been circulating around the festival for the upcoming Toronto Comic-Con (June 5-6), as well as the Toronto FanExpo (August 27-29). On the back of the flyer I was quite shocked...... The flyer mentioned us (myself, Conor, Andy) as guests...... On the same page as Stan Lee...... We've made it! We're on the same list as Stan Lee! Can you tell that I'm excited?!!...
