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!
Another great Aint It Cool News review!
Earlier this week comics reviewer Liz Reblin from Aint It Cool News wrote up a review of Issue #9. Lyz had listed IDW Publishing as her favourite publisher of the year and also stated that she was looking forward to reading through Kill Shakespeare. We were able to make copies available to her - and she liked it!
Perhaps the best quote of the piece: "Do whatever you can to get your hands on these because this is probably one of the strongest series out there, for many reasons."Read the entire review by clicking on the cover art.
Second printing!
We have been contacted by a number of retail stores (comic book stores, independent book stores, specialty theatre shops, etc.) over the last two months, telling us that they are out of stock of our graphic novel and would like to re-order copies for customers that have been looking to buy copies. Their orders were delayed and put on back-order.No more!We have just discovered that IDW has done a second printing our graphic novel and these should be ready to be shipped this week! So wait no more - additional copies are on their way!
And yes, this means that sales for the book are going quite well. Thanks to all of the retailers and buyers who have been patient and we look forward to you getting more copies.
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!
Caption Contest
Below is an image from our recently-released Issue #9 (Is That a Dagger I See Before Me?). It is the grand entrance of Shakespeare, after months of waiting.We are giving away signed copies of Issue #9 to those that come up with the best caption for this image. Please enter a caption below, on our Facebook page, or our Twitter site.And here is the image...
Reviews for Issue #9 Are In!
The early reviews for Issue #9 (Is That a Dagger I See Before Me) are now in... and they are all positive!"This issue features what is hands down one of my favorite moments in comics this year. I turned the page and literally gasped as Hamlet falls under the water to be attacked by monsters made of pages Shakespeare has discarded." - ComicBookResources
"Overall the issue was a great read. Del Col and McCreery’s writing has definitively improved throughout the run and it’s showing in the revelations of this issue and the overall pacing of it. Their scripts feel very detailed, and with Belanger’s artwork, acts as the perfect complement to each other. Together they have created one of the best books in comics, that after nine issues, has not let up in either its quality or presentation." - Comic Book Daily"Issues 1 through 9 have been solid all the way through, being almost perfect. I can only assume that there are only three more issues remaining for this particular arc. How in the world this is going to wrap up in three more issues I have no idea. But I’m excited to see what happens!" - The Heretics Blog
Shakespeare Lives! Issue #9 Released Today!
Issue #9 ("Is That a Dagger I See Before Me?) is released at comic book stores in North America today (U.K. tomorrow)! After a nearly two-month lay-off, Hamlet continues his adventure and finally make the final trek to meet Mr. Shakespeare himself. See what happens by picking up the issue.You can access a small preview of the issue by clicking on the image, and you can find the closest comic book store to you at ComicShopLocator.
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
Photos from Our Folger Talk
As mentioned in earlier posts, Conor and I gave a talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library this past Tuesday, February 15th. We were invited by the Library to talk about our interpretation of the Bard's characters and stories on our comic book series.The Folger contains the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works and contains an immense amount of resources and artifacts from Shakespeare's time. It was a treat to visit the location - I myself found it really inspiring that so much effort was put together to catalogue his works.Our talk went very well - you can access a review of the evening by writer comicsgirl.com's Eden Miller at this link. It was great to talk to a crowd of comic and Shakespeare fans, evenly split. We then signed a number of books and sold out everything that evening.Thanks to Joe Ross for serving as our moderator, to Garland Scott and Teri Cross Davis for helping to coordinate the event, and everyone at the Folger for making it a great event. In addition, thanks to Vanessa King, Lesley Pike and Pietro Filipponi for taking the photos below. We hope to have some video footage up sometime soon.
Big Planet Comics (Georgetown)
A great comic book shop in Washington is Big Planet Comics, which actually has four locations in the D.C. area (UPDATED thanks to Eden!). Conor and I (along with singer/songwriter Lesley Pike) stopped by the Georgetown location this past Monday (the 14th) to say hello to the gang and see if they stock any copies of Kill Shakespeare. (Yes, they greeted us warmly and were actually sold out of our trade paperback.)
It's a great store with a great selection of books. They had been telling a lot of their customers about our talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library and I believe some of them came out to the event. The store is managed by Leigh, who has been pushing our series to a lot of their regulars. Of course, we don't know if they've put us in the newsletter yet - perhaps they'll try to get the photo above in it...
Fantom Comics (Washington)
Every time we have a chance to travel anywhere one of our top priorities is to visit with the local comic book stores. We had the opportunity to do so in Washington, D.C. Our first stop on Monday afternoon (the 14th - Valentine's Day) was to visit Fantom Comics!
Fantom Comics is located right in Union Square Station in Washington and we must say is a great set-up. It serve mainly commuters (and Union Square Station is full of them!), and is a compact - but smart - store. They were actually sold out of trade of Kill Shakespeare and only had one copy of Issue #8 left.Devon, who was running the store at the time, was a cool guy and was glad that we stopped by. If you're in the Washington area and looking for a place to pick up some comics, swing by and check them out!
Issue #9 Artwork
Issue #9 ("Is That a Dagger I See Before Me?") is released next Wednesday, February 23rd. In anticipation of that, we are releasing various pages and images from the book. All artwork is by Andy Belanger, with colours by Ian Herring.
Issue #9 Cover Art!
After a near two-month space between issues, we are really happy that Issue #9 will be released next week - Wednesday, February 23rd. In addition to continuing upon the final-page meeting with a once-thought-dead Romeo, it will also feature the first appearance of... William Shakespeare!Here is the cover art for the issue - a great cover by Kagan McLeod. Check out the detail he put into the scribbles on the wall.
Look for the issue at comic book stores next week!
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!)
"I don’t know whether it’s the title’s hook, savvy PR work or both"
Kevin Melrose this morning, in his Comics A.M. column on ComicBookResources.com, wrote the following:"I don’t know whether it’s the title’s hook, savvy PR work or both, but the creators of the IDW miniseries Kill Shakespeare receive a steady stream of mainstream press coverage. Here’s the latest, an interview with collaborators Anthony Del Col, Conor McCreery and Andy Belanger ahead of a weekend appearance in London, Ontario. [London Free Press]"
Dan Brown, a fan of ours = and other great comics - from London, ON, wrote one of the best articles about us thus far. It was an astute look at the series, its conception, and its future. It's also featured in today's print edition of the London Free Press, so we're excited to see a physical copy - and to meet Dan at our signing at L.A. Moods Comics on Saturday afternoon (the 12th)!
Reprint of Issue #1!
We had many people last spring/summer approach us about purchasing the first issue of Kill Shakespeare as soon as the first two issues were sold out. There was a lot of demand and a lot of disappointment with IDW was unable to do a reprint. However, that is no longer - next Wednesday (the 16th) IDW will be issuing a reprint of our Issue #1!As part of a new Hundred Penny initiative (yes, issues available for only one dollar!), IDW Publishing is reissuing the first issues of some of their most popular series for those that missed them the first time around. We are excited to be considered one of those titles and look forward to garnering a number of new readers in the process!Here is the actual cover of the 100 Penny reissue (cover by Andy Belanger) - click for a larger version:
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!
Reactions on the Shuster noms (and a glaring non-nom)
It was absolutely fantastic to get nominated for a Shuster Award for writing earlier this week. Conor and I are still on cloud nine for that distinction. What is also cool is to have read a couple blogs/sites that comment on our nominations.The first was The Fabler Blog, a "web comics portal", which ran through some of the nominees. Kevin de Vlaming, the writer, goes through some of that categories and also points out some nominations he's excited about. The top of the list is Kill Shakespeare, and he says: "They’re up against some big names in the Outstanding Comic Book Writer category, such as Lemire, J. Torres, and Kathryn Immonen, but I think they can hold their own.... It’s clever, well-written, and ultimately filled with nuanced originality that sets it apart from a lot of what’s out there at the moment." You can read the full blog post here.And over at ComicBookDaily, two writers (Andrew Ardizzi - who has done a few reviews of our work - and Pete DeCourcy) comment on some of the nominees. Andrew approves of our writing nomination but adds, "I do think however that’s it’s a colossal mistake to have omitted Andy Belanger’s contributions to Kill Shakespeare. He has consistently offered some of the most dynamic, creative and altogether violent I’ve seen in the last year. It’s truly beautiful, and a crime that he’s not on there anywhere."Pete also comments on this, stating, "Yeah, I totally agree – Kill Shakespeare wouldn’t work half as well without Belanger’s very distinct art style, he lends an air of distinct menace to some of the scenes that rewards multiple readings."You can read the whole article here or by clicking on the link below.
I'm really glad that some people recognize that Andy should have been nominated. Andy's doing some really original and incredibly dense things in this series - especially his work on Issue #7 (check out some of the incredible pages here - and below). I know that the artist category is very competitive and applaud Kevin and Robert and everyone at the Shusters for doing a very good job on making the process transparent. It's just too bad that Andy didn't make the final list for some reason.
