Previews for Holmes vs Houdini #1 AND The Mask of Night #1
For those excited about the release tomorrow of SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. HARRY HOUDINI #1 and THE MASK OF NIGHT #4 then here's a bit of a sampler for you...ComicBookResources.com posted a preview of the first issue of HOLMES v HOUDINI at this link.They also posted a preview of the final issue of The Mask of Night at this link.
So head over to get excited about our double-release!
Rose City, here we come!
It's going to be a busy September for us as between Conor and I we attend three comic conventions. Conor is attending Montreal (Sept 12-14) and Edmonton (Sept 26-28) and he'll be posting information about those shows soon... And for me? I get to make Kill Shakespeare's first attendance at a show... The Rose City Comic-Con in Portland (Sept 20-21)!
(Yes, cue jokes about Portlandia...)I'm quite excited to check out the show. I've heard great things about Portland and have a few friends/colleagues in the city so it'll be great to catch up with them. I've heard amazing things about the comic scene in the city so am looking forward to tap into that while visiting.I will be at Table V-12 (you can find a map here). Come to the show and say hello!
Kill Shakespeare @ FanExpo this weekend!
While I refuse to acknowledge that the summer will be ending soon and the autumn beginning, I do recognize that one of the events that marks the countdown to fall is one of my favorite comic-cons, FanExpo Canada in Toronto. It's our hometown crowd and we always have a blast catching up with fellow Torontonians as well as meet our fans and earn new ones along the way.And yes, we will be attending this year's show, which is this weekend (Thu,Aug 28 - Sun, Aug 31) at the Metro Convention Centre in downtown Toronto.You can find us at Table P31 all weekend with books, issues, tshirts, stories and jokes. Yes, jokes! Come and say hello!
Hard Cover BACKSTAGE EDITION to come in October!
We're quite excited to announce that the long-awaited BACKSTAGE EDITION, which collects the original twelve issues of our tale, will be released in October of this year to comic book shops (and book stores)! With a leather hard cover, annotations by some of the top Shakespeare scholars in North America, an original Kill Shakespeare story, and original artwork designed by Andy Belanger, it's perfect for the biggest fans of our series!This is just a mock-up of what the cover will look like (we'll have it finalized in the next month):
You can pre-order copies at comic book shops this month (go now - order code is AUG140500!) or pre-order it online or with a book store. We're excited to see it first-hand in the very near future!
Happy Birthday Conor!
Today (July 1st) is Kill Shakespeare co-creator Conor McCreery's birthday! So if you have a moment leave him a quick birthday note below, or on our Twitter or Facebook pages! Special points for those that leave him a note in iambic pentameter...
Happy birthday Conor!
Toronto Launch Event this Wednesday!
Now that we're back from L.A. Conor and I will be returning to our old stompin' ground of Toronto's Paradise Comics this Wednesday (the 26th) for a signing of the first issue of our new series, THE MASK OF NIGHT! It's where we have our first signing of our original series, as well as our sequel (The Tide of Blood) last year so we're looking forward to returning and hanging out with Doug, Pete and everyone else at Paradise.
We're signing from 4-7pm that day so come by and visit us and check out our new series!
Where it all began
I was going through my files recently and discovered this - the original treatment for Kill Shakespeare, written so many years ago. Wow. How this one doc changed my entire life and put me (and us) on this crazy and amazing ride...
A Sneak Peek of Our New Tshirts
Here is a design that will debut later this month... Do you like it?
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks in the Windy City
After a great weekend at WonderCon (more on that in the next day or two - with photos!) Conor and I have returned to Toronto for a brief stopover before heading out this weekend. While Conor heads to Calgary (he'll post more on that) I'm heading to Chicago to take part in what has quickly emerged as one of the top comic conventions in the world, C2E2.
This will be the third year in a row that we've attended the show and it's one of our best shows. Chicago, being the theatre-centric town that it is, has really embraced our series and at last year's show Strawdog Theatre mounted a small production of their acclaimed Kill Shakespeare theatre show.
This year I'll be at Booth 126 (close to Marvel and the other comic publishers) and will be selling/signing books and our ShakesGeare all weekend. So swing by to say hello and find out more about our upcoming projects, including the board game, the new The Mask of Night series, and everything else!
WonderCon here we come!
I believe that I've written this before but WonderCon has a very special place in my heart. Back four years ago it was at this show (in San Francisco) that we officially launched Kill Shakespeare - doing some signings, meeting with media, and sitting on a panel.Four years, three volumes (with a fourth on its way), too many conventions to count and we're coming back again - and really looking forward to it! I've had the privilege of representing us at this show the last two years but this year I'm joined by Conor. With our hectic schedules it's actually rare to see us at the same show - mainly it's only New York Comic-Con and FanExpo in Toronto.
We will be selling and signing books and ShakesGeare all weekend at Booth D-13. Come by and visit us and we'll sing a song, crack a joke, or give you a Canadian-ism.Conor is also sitting on an IDW panel (details TBA) so look for that as well.Anaheim, here we come!
Kill Shakespeare en route to Emerald City!
It's been pretty busy here on my end, with writing deadlines on the new Kill Shakespeare: The Mask of Night comic series arc, work on the board game, other Kill Shakespeare projects (to be announced later this year) and some other new stuff (including a big personal event). But as the weather starts to get a little warmer (well, it's supposed to get warmer, but hasn't done so here in Toronto yet...) a new season is upon us - spring convention season!Conor and I will be busy again over the next two months with a lot of appearances at conventions across North America and Europe (look out MCM London Expo!). We did a small warm-up with the Toronto Comic-Con two weeks ago and now things start in earnest this weekend with... Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle!
I attended Emerald City two years ago and was blown away by not only how big the show is but how much fun it is. It's a great group of people that run the event and there's an amazing roster of talent that will be attending this year.I will be at the show the entire weekend at our Table O-09 (WSCC Level 4) so come by and say hello, pick up a copy of our books, grab some ShakesGeare merchandise, etc.I am also on two panels/workshops over the weekend, and they are:New Comic Trends: Is 'Literary' the New 'Superhero'?Are fantasy, myth, historical and talking animal stories replacing superheroes as the most interesting comic tales of the day? David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Bryan J.L. Glass (Mice Templar), Anthony Del Col (Kill Shakespeare) and Adam Knave (Amelia Cole) debate this, with Stephanie Cooke moderating.Saturday, March 29, 5:20pm, Hall C, (Rooms 610) How to Market Your Indie Comic to the Masses This entertaining workshop - sold out last year! - will find IDW Publishing's Kill Shakespeare creator (and marketer) Anthony Del Col show you how to get your comics into the fans of readers, retailers and reviewers. Sunday, March 30, 12:00pm, ROOM 2B. So if you're at this year's show swing by and say hello! I look forward to seeing everyone there!
Our New York debut is tonight!
For those that have missed it, our New York stage show debut occurs tonight! Gideon Productions is mounting our Kill Shakespeare: Live Graphic Novel at HERE for five nights beginning this evening. More about the event and tickets can be found here.
Break a leg, everyone! Lookin' forward to hearing how it went!
We're on Tumblr!
Last week we launched a Kill Shakespeare Tumblr page, thanks to the amazing work of our editorial assistant Keith Morris. The Tumblr page will be updated a couple times a week and will feature detailed looks into the artistic process behind Kill Shakespeare as well as giving exclusive sneak peek previews and contests.
So if you're on Tumblr make sure to follow us!
Tickets available for Kill Shakespeare in New York!
I posted two weeks ago that Kill Shakespeare: Live Graphic Novel will be performed in New York in March of this year (March 1-5) and tickets are now on sale! If you'd like to purchase tickets (going for $15), you can do so at this link.And the official press release is here.
If you're in New York - go check out the show! It's an amazing cast and production company that really, really love the production. I may try to head down there myself to check it out too...
Brush up your (Kill) Shakespeare!
Over the last few years we have received a great deal of acclaim and had numerous special moments. Some of our greatest moments have been on the academic side of things. We have been studied, analyzed and written about by scholars all over the world. We have been taught in adaptation classes on at least two continents. And I myself have lectured at Oxford as well as the Globe Theatre, both personal highlights and instances of dreams coming true.However, we are happy to announce something that might top all of that.The amazing Professor Carrie Cole of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania has now designed an entire course around the study and analysis of Kill Shakespeare - our concept, our books, our theatre show, and the brand! The write-up for THTR 481-004: Interdisciplinary Performance: The KILL SHAKESPEARE Exploratorium is:The conceptual philosophy of this course mirrors that of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, a museum of science, art, and human perception, “a twenty-first-century learning laboratory, an eye-opening, always-changing, playful place to explore and tinker”. This course shares the Exploratorium’s vision that “following your curiosity and asking questions can lead to amazing moments of discovery, learning, and awareness and can increase your confidence in your ability to understand how the world works.” For more information about the Exploratorium, check out: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ Eventually, I envision “The Exploratorium” as a rotating topics course, but I wanted to begin, however, with a topic (and a world) that I have personally grown passionate about: the creative universe of KILL SHAKESPEARE. KILL SHAKESPEARE is “An epic adventure that will change the way you look at Shakespeare forever”—a series of graphic novels created by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery as the flagship component of Kill Shakespeare Entertainment Inc. KSE is “dedicated to creating an international transmedia entertainment franchise based on the KILL SHAKESPEARE intellectual property that "mashes up" the stories and characters of William Shakespeare, the most popular writer in history. It has released a successful award-nominated comic book and graphic novel series and is looking to expand into the formats of digital media, merchandise, film, video games, additional comic series and educational products”. The transmedia projects KILL SHAKESPEARE has already developed include a “live graphic novel” performance piece (think staged reading with art), and a board game that will be debuting this spring (which we may be among the first to beta-test). We are fortunate to have been given access to the franchise—and free reign to explore, tinker, explode and otherwise frolic in the universe that Conor and Anthony have created. Pending their travel schedule, one or both of the creators will be making a campus visit to IUP.And here are some photos of students in the first week of class, reading Kill Shakespeare and starting to learn more about the property:
We're hoping that the students will enjoy our story but in addition be inspired by the spirit of it to have fun in the sandbox that we've created and come up with new ways of telling our story. And we hope to be able to swing by class sometime to visit everyone!
First Character of Board Game Revealed!
Though I haven't been posting many updates in the last couple weeks it's because things have been pretty busy on this end, with some big announcements coming in the future.The item that is public knowledge, of course, is our upcoming board game, slated for release in late-May of this year. We're excited about it and the progress has been a blast to be a part of.IDW has just released the first character teaser for the game (created by artist J.K. Woodward), which is right here:
Surprised? Not really, I'm guessing. Hamlet is our main character in our story so it would be inevitable that he would be featured as a character in the game.Over the next few weeks we'll be revealing more characters so stay tuned to this site, our Twitter account, or our Facebook page (and we should also have a Tumblr page up in the next week or two as well).
Ophelia's Letter to Santa... (McSweeney's)
As I celebrate the holidays here in Canada with loved ones I figured I should post something quite funny my sister just showed me... Letters to Santa from Shakespeare Characters, created by McSweeney's a few years ago. You can check them all out here.
My favourite, from Ophelia:Dear Santa:How does my lord? I am fine. I believe ’tis possible you did not receive my wish list last year, or that it fell into unsavory hands and was rudely tampered with before reaching you, as all you brought me was a chastity belt and some granny underpants. I pray that this one flies to you untainted since this year hath really sucked. I wish for the following:— He’s Just Not That Into You (book and DVD)— “All About Me” Lock and Key Diary— National Geographic Flower and Leaf Pressing Kit— Coastal Deluxe Automatic Inflatable Life VestFingers crossed, Ophelia
Ye Olde Black Friday Sale!
Yes, everyone is off to the races this year for Black Friday in the U.S. (and even here in Canada more and more every year)... So in that spirit we figured we would get into the spirit by offering our ShakesGeare tshirts on sale for the holiday season!
Starting today all of our tshirts purchased online are 20% OFF, or now $15.99 (down from $19.99). This sale will go for the next five weeks so take advantage of it now - they make excellent holiday gifts for the Shakespeare geek in your circle!Click here, or on the image of our Super Shakespeare Fighter shirt to check out our online sales site.
Kill Shakespeare flies off the stage!
I was very fortunate to attend the G33K Art Show this past weekend in Kitchener, Ontario. Not only did I have a blast on Saturday at my table, hosting two workshops and panels, and meeting up with some old friends, but I also was able to attend Friday's night's KILL SHAKESPEARE: REINVENTED, a multidisciplinary production of our stage show.Despite technical difficulties (the artwork files could not be projected) it was a very fun show, with strong performances by the voice actors and interpretations of three key moments (the enchanting of the dagger by the Weird Sisters, a battle scene, and the reverse balcony) by circus performers. The reverse balcony was especially inspired, and the music performed throughout was perhaps the best of any production performed (that I have seen myself).Kudos to director/producer/performer Miroki Tong, as well as dramaturge Eric Weiss and the whole cast and crew. A great night!Here are some pictures (most photos taken by Duncan Clemens):
Board Game Enlists Two Murderously Talented Artists
It was announced yesterday by IDW Games that award-winning artists J.K. Woodward and Dave Dorman have signed on to serve as artists for the KILL SHAKESPEARE BOARD GAME. We're excited to work with these talents on the design of the characters and worlds as we move forward with the game. We're currently in the design process of the game and have enjoyed working with everyone thus far - IDW Games, Pandasaurus Games, designers Thomas Vande Ginste and Wolf Plancke. It's going to be a really fun game and experience!
You can read the IDW Games press release here.