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!
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.
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!
Issue #8 Cover Art
Cover artist Kagan McLeod has again worked wonders on our series with the cover art for Issue #8. Due in stores December 22nd, it's a great cover and really captures the mood of the piece with Hamlet staring down from a balcony, unsure of what is below...Click on the image to access the hi-res version of the file.
Another Top Grade from Best Comics for Kids List!
Earlier this summer we were named on the 2010 Summer Reading List by Good Comics for Kids (hosted by the School Library Journal website). Just hours ago we discovered that we have now been named on the 2010 Best Comics for Kids list! This is a great honour for us and something we are incredibly proud of - we have loved it when teachers, librarians and students approach us and tell us how much they've enjoyed the series. It makes the memories of so many boring high school classes for us just disappear...You can check out the complete list (we're in the Teen category) by clicking on the image.
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!...
Dear University Students: forget studying -- curl up with a good graphic novel
A couple of weeks ago Anthony and I were interviewed by The Cord, our Alma mater's student newspaper. It was a great chat and we were able to speak to how much our education at Wilfrid Laurier University served us in this project.Well, now we have gone viral in the student world as the Canadian University Press (the only student press co-op on the continent) has picked up the story.
So to all of you students busily studying in your dorm-rooms, or perhaps preparing for an "ironic" toga-party (as if - we all know that all toga parties are free of irony), we hope you take a minute or two to enjoy something with REAL educational value.And hey, maybe your English prof will dig it too...
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.
Julie Taymor talks up Kill Shakespeare on The Colbert Report!
The clip from last night's The Colbert Report in which Julie Taymor talks up Kill Shakespeare is now available online!
For American viewers you can see the clip at this link to the ColbertNation website.For Canadian viewers you can check it out on The Comedy Networks' website here.
Julie Taymor on The Colbert Report!
I was just flipping the channels and saw that Julie Taymor was being interviewed on The Colbert Report. And as they talk about The Tempest and then Spider-Man Colbert asks a silly question about what Shakespeare character would be the best superhero... And she begins to tell him about our series!More information - and a link to the segment - tomorrow!
A tough choice: IAGO vs. PUCK
Yesterday's challenge was not much of one for the Moor... Othello wiped the floor with Cassius, defeating him on Facebook and Twitter. He advances to the next round to square off against Richard (that should be a good match).Today we have two of Shakespeare's most popular characters... The grand conspirator himself, Iago, against that most mischievous of characters, Puck. Both have their strengths and their weaknesses... And who will people vote for?As always, let us know who should/would in a battle between the two - email us, post a message on this website, on Facebook, or on Twitter!
SHAKESPEAREAN DEADLIEST WARRIOR: OTHELLO vs. CASSIUS
Yesterday's RICHARD III vs. BEATRICE battle started out as a landslide for Richard but Beatrice eventually started to garner more votes until it became pretty close... But not close enough! Richard III lives to see another round, against the winner of today's match-up... Othello and Cassius (from Julius Caesar)!Both are strong military men. Can Cassius' strategic cunning defeat the brute strength of the Moor? We'll let YOU decide! Let us know via email, Facebook or Twitter!
Round 1: Hamlet and Don John
Well, we had a small upset in Friday's showdown... Despite the predictions by many that Coriolanus would cruise to a victory and, in fact, possibly go all the way, the general was bested by that old fool, Falstaff. It was a very close battle and the fool won by one vote.Continuing first round action, today we have two characters that have been highlighted in our comic series... Hamlet and Don John. Who of these two would/should win in a fight? Vote here, on Facebook, or Twitter!
Round 1: Falstaff vs. Coriolanus
After a great kick-off to our SHAKESPEAREAN DEADLIEST WARRIOR tournament yesterday, we are happy to reveal that the winner of the Prospero/Tamora showdown, by quite a landslide, was... Prospero! He now moves on to square off against the winner of the...And in today's match-up, we find the following - a fool and a general. Falstaff versus Coriolanus. Now it may seem that Coriolanus is an obvious winner but don't let the fool's girth fool you - he's actually quite smarter than he looks. This should be a good matchup.
Vote on this website below in the comments section, on our Facebook page, or our Twitter account.
PROSPERO vs. TAMORA
Our first match-up features...
You can vote on who you think would/should win a battle between these two (don't forget to include not only strength but wit, cunning, strategy, etc.) You can vote on this website by placing a comment below, our Facebook page, or reaching out to us on Twitter... Cast your vote today (winner announced first thing tomorrow).If you missed it, our SHAKESPEAREAN DEADLIEST WARRIOR tournament was announced last week with groupings yesterday...
Deadliest Warrior Brackets!
Thanks to everyone who suggested characters to enter into our SHAKESPEAREAN DEADLIEST WARRIOR tournament. We have a great number of suggestions via our Facebook and Twitter accounts. There were some great suggestions over a wide spectrum - everything from Prospero and Titus to Ariel and the Bear from A Midwinter's Tale (spoiler alert: the Bear is a finalist...).I would like to officially announce the final brackets for the tournament. It is:
As you can see, it'll be a tough tournament to find out how is the consensus popular character in Shakespeare's works. Will the uber-popular Iago be able to make it out of the first round? Will Juliet destroy the half-man, half-beast Caliban? And will Lady Macbeth be able to square off against The Bear (from A Midwinter's Tale)?Voting begins tomorrow - every week day will see another match-up that you can vote on (and win prizes)!
