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.
Was Hamlet Irish?
Okay, you're right - today is St. Patrick's Day so perhaps I'm looking for some way to tie Kill Shakespeare with the celebration of the Irish. But an interesting article from Discovery.com was forwarded to me by our friend Vanessa King two weeks ago, which stated this:Perhaps Hamlet was Irish.
The article discusses a recently-released research project in the Review of English Studies that states that a reference to a figure named Admlithi (the "D" is silent), which could be the variation that Shakespeare used to craft the melancholy Dane.
Riffing on Kill Shakespeare in the Washington Post
One of the top mainstream comic journalists is Michael Cavna, who writes the Comic Riffs section at the esteemed Washington Post. Last month while in Washington for our talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Conor and I sat down with Michael for an interview. Michael is a fan of the series and we had a great time chatting with him about comics, Shakespeare, music, and acting talent (and non-talent).
The final article appeared yesterday, and it's one of the best we've had published thus far! You can read the article by clicking on Michael's self-portrait above.As a fan of journalism, and aware of the prestige of the Washington Post, this is one of the media hits that I'm most excited about thus far!
Wayne & Shuster: Flavius Maximum, Private Roman Eye
One of my earliest influences of Shakespeare was the great Canadian comedy duo Wayne & Shuster. They did some great comedy bits of Shakespeare (including Shakespearean baseball). But my favourite is "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga", which is a private eye take on the murder of Julius Caesar. Today, being the Ides of March, I thought would be an appropriate day to post the clip on our site. Take a look at it - I guarantee you'll enjoy it!
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!
Mr. Shakespeare Goes to Washington!
Next Tuesday (the 15th) Conor and I will be presenting at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the Folger is the largest library and collection of Shakespearean works in the world! We are very honoured to take part in this event.Taking place at 7:30pm, we are doing a one-hour presentation on the creation and production of Kill Shakespeare - how we devised the concept, our interpretation of the Bard's characters, and how Kill Shakespeare matches up against not only the Bard's original creations but also the new spirit of "literary mash-ups". We will also be doing a signing while there.
If you're anywhere near Washington please come out that evening to event. It should be a blast. We're really looking forward to it! And hey, as a huge fan of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, I'm excited to finally spend some time in the U.S. capitol!
The Best Fan Mail Yet!
Yesterday I received a card in the mail from Holly Fleming of St. John's, Newfoundland. The card had been forwarded by her aunt and uncle, Sharon and Ted Fleming, good friends of ours and key members of the Kill Shakespeare team. They had bought a copy of our graphic novel for Holly for Christmas, and this is what she wrote to me (I had met Holly at Sharon and Ted's wedding just over two years ago when I had served as the MC):(Read the right side of the card first, then the left)
This made my day as this is EXACTLY one of the reasons we wanted to do this project! The fact that someone is now excited about Shakespeare and will want to read more and take part in class is fantastic. We've heard this from teachers all over but to get a card from Holly makes our day.I'm glad that you liked the first graphic novel, Holly, and we look forward to continue to making Shakespeare exciting for you!
Profile in Maclean's Magazine
When I was a teenager growing up in northern Canada (Timmins, to be precise) I wanted to get a better understanding of the world around me - both nationally and internationally. To get this I signed up for a subscription to Maclean's magazine, Canada's general interest weekly magazine exploring news, culture, politics, science and everything else. For a span of almost three years I read every single issue cover to cover.And now, many years later, we are profiled in Maclean's (click the cover image to go to the article)!
An issue hitting newstands this past Friday featured a full-page article by Claire Ward analyzing the project - its origins, present triumphs, and its possible future. It's a very well-researched piece in which Ms. Ward contacted Shakespeare scholars James Shapiro and Stephen Greenblatt to comment on it (spoiler: one likes us, one doesn't). It's a great piece and I recommend that you check it out if you're in Canada (it's on the issue featured above, page 58).
And the Deadliest Shakespearean Warrior is...
PROSPERO!
After a month of voting through four rounds (starting off with sixteen Shakespearean characters), late last week the wizard Prospero bested the mischievous faerie Puck to win our first DEADLIEST SHAKESPEAREAN WARRIOR contest.
It was a great tournament with a great number of people chiming in and debating on Facebook, Twitter and online. Thanks to everyone who voted and entered the debate. I have a feeling that this battle isn't complete...
Deadliest Shakespearean Warrior: Finals!
And with the holiday season completed we are now back... for the finals of the Shakespearean Deadliest Warrior contest!The semis were quite tough and an upset took place in the final match-up. Most oddsmakers and bookies had the Bear (from Winter's Tale) taking its square-off against Puck... but the faerie won with a decent lead! And now the finals...Today and tomorrow (Friday) you can vote on Facebook, Twitter and this website as to who would win in a battle between... Puck... and Prospero!
And the bracket has been...
Semi-Final 2: Puck vs. Bear
And in the second semi-final matchup, we have the grand fairy of mischief himself, Puck, against the creature that knows how to make an exit... The Bear (from Winter's Tale). The Bear has trounced his first two rounds - does he have a chance against Puck? Vote here, on email, Facebook or Twitter today!
Semi-Final 1: Prospero vs. Richard III
In the first of two semi-final matchups, today we have the grand old wizard Prospero squaring off against the warrior Richard III. Who would/should win? Vote here, over email, Twitter or Facebook.
SHAKESPEAREAN DEADLIEST WARRIOR: FINAL FOUR!
Well, Friday's final quarter-final matchup pitted Falstaff against The Bear (from Midwinter's Tale). Though the Twitter vote was neck-and-neck, the Facebook vote was overwhelming in favour of The Bear so the winner was... The Bear!The semi-finals begin tomorrow with the first of two battles - Prospero vs. Richard III! Tuesday's match-up will pit Puck against The Bear... And the finals will be on Wednesday!The current tournament bracket is:
Final quarter-final matchup: FALSTAFF vs. BEAR!
Well, yesterday's contest wasn't really that close. The melancholy Dane Hamlet faced off against the mischievous Puck and... Puck ran away with the public's vote! Some of the great replies we received were:ShakespeareGeek (Twitter): "Puck. Unless Puck poisons Gertrude first, in which case, Hamlet. :)"girlsreadcomics (Twitter): "Fortinbras wins by showing up at the end when everyone else is dead."Kimberly Howe (Facebook): "Hamlet would be whining and crying in a corner about how his life is so unfair. Puck would have no problem wiping the floor with him and laughing about it later, possibly with Hamlet's girl."Puck now gets ready to battle the winner of today's match-up in the semi-finals... Falstaff vs. The Bear (from Winter's Tale)! Two fan favourites clashing together for the day! Vote here, on Facebook, or Twitter!
Round 2: HAMLET vs. PUCK!
Yesterday's battle between Juliet and Prospero was a rocking occasion, with some great anecdotes and scenarios. Among them were:Paul Gomez (Facebook): "Juliet, because she is a wraith, due to her being dead, and a suicide at that. Wraiths are hard to kill, even if you break your staff and drown your book to work your end upon their senses. I bet the duke would put up a hell of a fight, he's a contender, but the end money is on Jay. Bring it!". ShakespeareGeek (Twitter): "Yeah, I'm gonna go Prospero too. Kind of an unfair matchup... OR, Juliet feigns death, Prospero thinks he's won, breaks his staff and drowns his book, Juliet stabs him."And the final winner was... Prospero! He advances to the semi-finals to take on Richard III!And up for today... A clash of two of the Bard's most famous and favourite characters - Hamlet and Puck! Vote for who you think should/would win a battle between the two here on the site, over email, Twitter or Facebook!
Deadliest Warrior: Richard III moves on, Juliet vs. Prospero next!
The battle between Othello and Richard III tipped very heavily in the direction of R3 yesterday. Some of the best comments: "Othello takes too much time to process and Richard is better at chess", "Richard. He's a ruthless mofo. Othello is a crybaby" and "The Moor has too much conscience, while Tricky Dick just has bad dreams. Gloucester in a massacre."Today's battle is another good one... The lady Juliet Capulet versus Prospero, evil wizard. Who would/should win in a battle between the two? Let us know via email, here on this site, Facebook or Twitter.
Round 2: Othello vs. Richard III
Let's get right back into the battle of things... Our debut second round matchup features two favourites from our series, Othello and Richard III. Both are warriors that contain both brain and brawn. Who would/should win in a battle?As always, let us know via email, this website, Facebook or Twitter.
The Bear beats the Lady... End of First Round!
Well, our final battle was also the closest of them all. Yesterday Lady Macbeth took on The Bear (from The Winter's Tale) and the winner was... The Bear! So with that, the updated SHAKESPEAREAN DEADLIEST WARRIOR tournament bracket looks like this...
Our first battle of the second round will commence shortly!...
Final Round 1 Battle: LADY MACBETH vs. BEAR
Well, Friday's match-up provided a small upset. Juliet defeated Caliban, contrary to a lot of early tournament predictions by individuals. She will next square off against Prospero in the semi-finals (later this week).Today is the final first round battle - and perhaps the most anticipated... Lady Macbeth vs. The Bear (from A Winter's Tale). We've already had people send us Tweets asking about the match-up so we look forward to getting the discussion going today!As always, you can vote by leaving a comment here, sending us an email, through Twitter and Facebook.
Shakespearean Deadliest Warrior: Juliet vs. Caliban!
Yesterday's Round 1 challenge was a nail-biter, with an upset result. A close battle in all format (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) found that Puck defeated Iago in a photo finish! The mischievous fellow will square off against Hamlet in the second round match next week.For today we have our second-last Round 1 battle. Juliet vs. Caliban. A good matchup between a very determined young woman (who knows a thing or two about daggers) against one of Shakey's most popular supporting characters. Who will win? You can vote here, on Facebook, or Twitter.
