Caption Contest!
Send us a caption for this image of Richard III from Issue #10 and win an autographed copy of the issue! The caption can be funny, serious, weird, a pun, anything. We will randomly be selecting two winners this Friday morning.
Kill Shakespeare Creators Appear at Boston Comic Con 2011
Andy Belanger and I are driving down to Boston tomorrow (along with friend and entrepreneur Clement Wan) to take part in this weekend's Boston Comic Con. We're really looking forward to the event and meeting some of our readers, making new fans, and trying some New England Clam Chowder (a MUST for Andy). If you're in the Boston area and would like to check out the Con, swing by the Hynes Convention Centre and visit us at our booth. We'd love to meet and chat with everyone.
Here is the official press release that went out earlier today:
Canadians Extend Shakespeare’s Birth/Death Celebrations in Boston!
Fresh from celebrating the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth and death with the first-ever theatrical presentation of their story, the creators of the IDW Publishing Kill Shakespeare comic book series appear at the 2011 Boston Comic Con this weekend to introduce details of their upcoming issues, recently-secured film development financing, and an exclusive digital promotion. Co-creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery worked with Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre to present the first-ever live reading of Kill Shakespeare this past Saturday, April 23rd. Soulpepper, one of the top classic theatre companies in North America, elected to present the work on the 23rd as that day serves as the anniversary of both Shakespeare’s birth and death. “It was incredible to see Kill Shakespeare come alive through the performance of Soulpepper’s exceptional actors,” says co-creator Anthony Del Col. “We have had numerous theatres in the U.S. express interest in doing a stage production of our epic tale and we were glad that it could happen on the Bard’s birth/death day.” In addition, co-creators Del Col and McCreery also received notice late last week that they have received script development funding from The Harold Greenberg Fund. The Fund, which assists Canadian writers in the development of screenplays, is a very prestigious organization that has provided support to filmmakers such as David Cronenberg (The Fly, A History of Violence), Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter) and Vincenzo Natali (Splice) in past rounds. The project has received a great deal of interest from American and international film companies since the debut of its first issue last April. The first ten issues of the series, described by the New York Times as “gripping, violent and dark fun”, have been released to much acclaim and attention. The first trade paperback, released last November, is now in its second printing and Issue #10 was released April 20th. Co-created and co-written by McCreery and Del Col, the artwork is overseen by Andy Belanger. “It’s an exciting time for our series and I’m excited to appear at the Boston Comic Con this weekend,” says Del Col. “With the theatrical and film initiatives, our story is expanding into new mediums and more people are getting excited about our take on Shakespeare.” Del Col will be at the Comic Con all weekend along with series artist Andy Belanger.About the series: Kill Shakespeare is an adventure story that pits all of Shakespeare’s greatest heroes (including Hamlet, Juliet, Falstaff, Othello, Puck) against the Bard’s most menacing villains (including Richard III, Lady Macbeth, Iago) in a quest to track down and kill – or save – a reclusive wizard by the name of William Shakespeare. Called by Aint it Cool News as, “A great read”, the series has been profiled by The New York Times, NPR, BBC, Wired.com, The Globe and Mail and The Washington Post. It also created controversy last year when Shakespearean scholar (and girlfriend of comics legend Frank Miller) Kimberly Cox railed against the title on popular U.K. comic blog BleedingCool.com, while others – such as Des McAnuff (Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Jersey Boys) are fans of it. Both Del Col and Belanger will be available for interviews during Boston Comic Con. More information about the series can be found at www.killshakespeare.com.
The comic cover contest imbroligio
First of all let me apologize, and take responsibility, for the ill-will being felt here. I was the one who set up the contest and I was the one who screwed up.I need to make a mea culpa as we had two posts on our site that said opposite things. As several of you have pointed out in the original post we did say the comic cover contest would be "decided by the vote of the fans".In the post that accompanied the announcement of the five finalists (BEFORE VOTING OPENED) the language was changed to: "and we want you, the fan, to HELP us choose who gets the coveted win."I get why you guys and gals are pissed - if you vote for something and feel your vote doesn't matter then "why on earth did these a$$wipes hold a vote?"It didn't occur to me (and I wish it had) to set up a SEPARATE POST to make sure people saw the contest rules had changed BEFORE VOTING OPENED. At least then you could have chosen not to vote if you felt the voting system was unfair.So again, I made a mistake, and I want to apologize.Now I want to explain WHY the change was made - it was for two reasons:1) Because our social marketing advisor told us that, sadly, FB and Twitter contests are often "gamed". Instead of the contest being decided by a group of critical feedback it becomes about spamming, bots or other tactics.This held a lot of weight with us because we feel we LOST a contest like this (to get tens of thousands in financing from a Canadian entrepreneurship foundation) after a rival's vote totals soared by a couple of thousand in just a minute or so. Clearly bots were involved and while the award was given, the organizers had told us they were going to be scrapping the format.Now, I'm not saying that is what happened here, I think we had a fair contest, I don't think we saw any bots being used or anything like that -- but we were worried we might.2) The SECOND reason was more business concerned. Our publisher wanted a say in what went on the front of the cover. They didn't make the final decision, but they wanted to have their input.I realize had I made sure this was explained earlier none of this would have happened. So, again, my apologies.We did make sure that the vote was weighted towards the votes (and in fact the two covers that had the most support finished 1-2). As I mentioned on FB once I saw this huge gap between two of the covers and the remaining three I asked IDW if we could perhaps do TWO alternate covers and declare the contest a tie. But, because retailers had already made their orders on a two-cover issue IDW said no.I do want to remind everyone that ALL the work will be published in issue #11. I have also contacted our runner-up, Allyssa Pirone, about a future cover or pin-up when the second series is launched.Again, I want to apologize if this contest left fans of Kill Shakespeare and Allyssa feeling disempowered and/or lied to.Conor(And just to show that this wasn't a "What the creators say, went" decision - I organized the contest and the cover I voted for finished a distant third.)
A fantastic live reading!
This past Saturday, to celebrate the birth/death anniversary of Mr. Shakespeare, we worked with the fantastic folks at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto on the first ever live reading of Kill Shakespeare. A number of their company actors did the reading and it took the form of a radio play set to the images of Issue #1 (broken down panel-by-panel).
It was a great event with a full crowd delving into our tale. Kudos to each of the actors involved - Albert Schultz (narrator), Mike Ross (a myriad of roles AND in charge of music and effects), Jeff Lillico (Hamlet and other various sounds), Nancy Palk (Gertrude, Witches, Lady M, dog), Kevin Bundy (Richard III, other sounds) and Sir Toby Malone (various roles) , who also happens to be one of our biggest followers on Twitter. Thanks to everyone else at Soulpepper - Claire, Noora, T.J., Greg, Grant and Peter for their help on the event.We unfortunately couldn't do any video or audio recordings of the event but we should have official photos in the next day or two and will post them once we do.
Happy Birthday Bard!
Today, April 23rd, is a special day in the history of literature, drama and storytelling. It was on this day back in 1564 that a man by the name of William Shakespeare was born. And now, more than 400 years later, he is still perceived to be the greatest writer of all-time.
We (the Kill Shakespeare creative team) consider ourselves fortunate to be able to play in a sandbox full of his characters - the greatest of all-time. If you haven't read or watched any of his stories lately, take some time to do so today or this weekend. Or, perhaps read Kill Shakespeare?...Of course, we should also point out that he apparently died on this same day in 1616 - how much more dramatic can you get?...
Becka's t-shirt art
One of the unheralded members of our team is the fantastic artist Becka Kinzie. For most of the series she has worked with colourist Ian Herring to do some of the most laborious elements of the process - flatting and some other colouring prep work. She has done a great job at it so it's great that in Issue #10, released today, we were able to feature some artwork that she did.
You can check out her blog here.As well, she did a doodle of a photo she was in with artist Andy and a number of other artists at the recent Toronto Comic-Con Fan Appreciation. Here is the sketch, and below is the original...
Issue #10 Released Today
Just in time for Shakespeare's birth/death anniversary later this week (Saturday, April 23rd), we are releasing the latest chapter in our series. Issue #10 (What's Past is Prologue) is released in comic book stores in North America (and Europe tomorrow).
The summary for Issue #10 is: All that live must die! As a desperate Hamlet struggles to free himself from Lady Macbeth’s magical trap, the hopelessly outnumbered Prodigals confront the brute strength of Richard III in a battle that will find some of its main players exit the stage… forever!You can access a PDF preview of the issue at this link.You can also check out a preview review of the issue at PDX Comic Geek here.
Issue #10 - Sneak Peak at Pages!
Kill Shakespeare artist Andy Belanger has done some phenomenal work thus far on the series and received great notice and reviews. He continually strives to make each issue better than the last and the results has been amazing. With Issue #10, to be released next Wednesday, he has outdone himself.This issue features increased drama and the death of a major character. It also involves epic battle scenes and for these Andy took a great deal of attention and care into the final product. He has been able to illustrate battle scenes that feature hundreds of soldiers battling - and yet, in each scene, he was able to find the human drama amidst the chaos.We will be releasing select images over the next week leading up the release of the issue and today will launch one of the images here.
Heading to Boston Comic-Con!
Andy Belanger and I will be heading down to Boston in just under two weeks to take part in the Boston Comic-Con. We haven't attended the event before but have heard good things and they have a very impressive roster of artists. Unlike some Cons, this seems like a strictly comic affairs, which should be great. We look forward to meeting with new readers and fan and if you're in the area, come by and visit us!
Issue #10 Cover
Issue #10 is being released next week (Wed, Apr 20th) to commemorate the birth/death anniversary of Mr. Shakespeare. He died on his birthday, April 23rd... Amazing, isn't it?This issue is a riveting one with lots of drama, epic battles and the death of a major character. The cover, created by Kagan McLeod, reflects this. It's one of the series' best!
Toronto Fan Appreciation Comic-Con
This past weekend we took part in the Toronto Fan Appreciation Comic-Con. It was a two-day affair at the Metro Convention Centre and, though not as big as some other cons in the city, was a great event for us. We had a number of fans and readers visit us, sold a number of books, and made some new friends and readers.Thanks to everyone who stopped by our tables to chat, to the organizers (Kevin and the gang), to Ben O'Brian, our marketing assistant who is now our #1 salesperson, and to those who picked up the book!Here are some photos from the weekend:
Our first cover profile!
Conor and I were interviewed back in November for the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni magazine. As proud alumni of WLU (based in Waterloo, Canada) we were pleased to not only receive a glowing profile but also... our first magazine cover profile!
The excellent article by Mallory O'Brien can be found at this link. The photo shoot was done by Dean Palmer (based in Guelph) and the layout by Erin Steed. We will (hopefully) have other photos from our photo shoot (done at Toronto's Silver Snail) on our site in the next week or so.
Toronto Comic-Con this weekend!
The Kill Shakespeare team will be making another Toronto appearance this upcoming weekend (April 9-10th) at the Toronto Comic-Con Fan Appreciation event. The con will be running on Saturday (11am - 6pm) and Sunday (11am - 5pm) at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre (south building).
Come and visit us - we'll be selling copies of our issues and trade, doing signings, and Andy will be doing sketching.
SPOTLIGHT - KAGAN MCLEOD
While most of the Kill Shakespeare team are money-grubbing, attention seeking whores gentlemen, one member of our team toils away quietly alone in a tiny little room - he comes up neither for food nor water and is suckled only by the milk of his own artistic merits...Yes, Kagan Mcelod is one odd dude...
But he is one oddly talented dude as well - having a resume that would fill this post and beyond. Suffice it to say if Kagan is not THE most in demand commercial illustrator for newspapers, magazines and the web in North America he is on the very short list of those who are.So, it was a pleasant surprise when Kagan sent a carrier pigeon my way. In the little beast's claws were a lock of Kagan's hair (his usual way of communicating to the outside world that he still lives) and a CD.Overcome with curiosity I plunged the CD into my computer and was amazed to see the contents.This most secretive of artists was giving us, the hoi polloi, an unvarnished glimpse into his creative process.WARNING, SPOILER ALERT, WARNING!The images below will give you a pretty damn good idea of what the cover for issue #12 is going to look like. So DON'T go any farther if you want to be left completely surprised and dazzled by the incredible journey into the illustrative arts that Mr. Mcleod has planned for you.(Now that we've got rid of those pansies we can continue).
Now, of course this is just the TIP of the issue #12 iceberg. Kagan has a lot more in store for this design, and because I don't want to TOTALLY be the Grinch I'm going to stop this here... but we'll go more in depth once the cover is a LITTLE closer to being released for real.Now if you'll excuse me I have to go clean Kagan's cage...
ANNOUNCEMENT: We will be halting publication of our series
Effective immediately, we are being forced to stop publication of KILL SHAKESPEARE.Earlier this week we were served by paperwork by the heirs of William Shakespeare, who not only did not appreciate the title of our work but also the fact that we were incorporating characters created by Mr. Shakespeare himself.
We have been advised by our legal team to not officially comment on this letter and intend to appeal the California court decision. However, IDW Publishing has also been served and will be destroying all existing copies of the comic books and graphic novels.We will post more info as soon as we are allowed to.
Happy Birthday to our Bill Murray!
March 30th marks an important day in art history. Yes, Vincent Van Gogh was born on this date but so is the next biggest artist in the comic book industry - Andy Belanger! Today is his birthday so if you know him make sure to send him a HUGE birthday greeting.
Conor and I are extremely lucky to have been able to work with Andy on this project. Not only is his art fantastic but he's a great guy to hang out with, travel with, laugh with, pull pranks on, drink with, and work with. Andy is a true professional and really knows what it takes to succeed in this industry. I look forward to continuing to work with him for years and years.And yes, he also looks a bit like Bill Murray. Though I personally think he looks more like Joe Pesci...
Consider us for a Harvey Award nomination!
Today is the deadline for the Harvey Awards, the North American comic book awards driven exclusively through comic professionals. Unlike other awards, like the Shusters or Eisners, which are committee-based, nominations and awards are voted on by only comic professionals.
If you are a comic book professional - or know one - please consider us for the following categories:BEST NEW SERIES: KILL SHAKESPEARE (IDW PUBLISHING)BEST PROMISING NEW TALENT: ANDY BELANGER (KILL SHAKESPEARE)BEST COLORIST: IAN HERRING (KILL SHAKESPEARE)BEST COVER ARTIST: KAGAN McLEOD (KILL SHAKESPEARE)BEST ARTIST: ANDY BELANGER (KILL SHAKESPEARE)BEST WRITER: CONOR McCREERY, ANTHONY DEL COL (KILL SHAKESPEARE)You can vote at the Harvey Awards website or by clicking on the image.
The finalists have been chosen
By now I hope most of you have heard of the cover contest we are running for issue #11. Since Anthony and I are newbies to the world of comics we wanted to give someone else a chance to break in.So we opened up a cover-design contest across North America and the entries flowed in. We've now narrowed down our five favourites - and we want you, the fan, to help us choose who gets the coveted win.So cruise on over to our FB page and vote by "liking" the cover (or covers) you think deserve the crown.Below our some more of the finalists (though not all, we want to keep SOME suspense) as well as our favourite "honourable mention").
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.
Images from Toronto Wizard Comic-Con
Andy, Conor and I had a great time this past weekend at the Toronto Wizard Comic-Con. Much smaller than the FanExpo that appears in August in the city, it nonetheless was a big success for us. We had a LOT of people stop by our booth and sold a lot of books and issues. What's even better is that a lot of people had already heard of us, which means that our marketing campaigns have been working!Thanks to Doug and Peter at Paradise Comics who were able to arrange for us to have a booth at the show. We were actually positioned right across from the Delorean from Back to the Future, so it was great to see that machine still chugging away. (I'm not sure where the plutonium was coming from this - I have a feeling it's probably tough to do business with Libyans these days...).Here are some images from the show...
