Issue #12 Official Pages
Earlier this week we posted the first page of Issue #12 (due out next Wed, Aug 17th). Here are three other pages from the issue.
And in case you missed it, here is Page #1 again...
Page 1 of our FINAL ISSUE Revealed!
It is now one week until the release of our final issue (for now). In the days leading up to it we will be releasing individual pages for preview purposes and today we start with our first page.For this one we - and artist Andy Belanger - were inspired by the classic Hamlet-holding-a-skull pose ("Horatio, I knew him well."). It's a pretty cool look and sets the tone for our issue.
Advertising in Stratford!
Our good friend Steve Pigozzo, who lives in Stratford, Ontario, decided that he'd like to help advertise Kill Shakespeare so he did what he could - he painted our website onto his front porch! Any visitors driving on Ontario Street, the major street in the city, will pass his place (it's right by the Dairy Queen) and check out the site.Of course, why didn't he paint a QR Code onto the porch as well...?
Cover Art for Issue #12
Our twelfth (and final for our current run) issue will be released in just over a week-and-a-half, August 17th. In anticipation of this, we will be releasing artwork from the issue leading up to it.Today we feature the two covers for Issue #12. Cover A is a fantastic image of Shakespeare wielding the magical quill. It's quite simple and effective, and designed by cover artist Kagan McLeod.
The second cover (Cover B) is created by KS artist Andy Belanger. Andy spent a week working on it and it was inspired by James Bond posters, namely Live and Let Die. It features all of the main characters and is a really cool concept. Andy has also released a limited edition print of this poster - if you'd like one please contact us and we can arrange for it.
Celebrate the (Imminent) Release of Issue #12 with Andy B!
Though our Issue #12 is released August 17th, the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop is celebrating its release a week before it. This upcoming Friday evening (the 12th) in Toronto both Andy as well as J.Bone (who did our five-page "Et Tu, Hecate?" story in our first trade) will be feted. J.Bone just recently released DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman - The '70's #1 and copies and art will be available at the show. In addition to Andy's original art from Issue #12 we may have exclusive early copies available (depending upon when we get our shipment).
If you're in Toronto come up and celebrate the release of our issue with us!
Just a test
So I'm trying something out here people. Do me a favour and those of you with QR readers help us make sure this code actually takes you to the first issue's online home.
Harvey Award Voters: For Your Consideration
To all comic industry professionals,The Harvey Awards are coming up later this month and voting for this year's recipients is open until August 6th. If you have not voted yet, please consider KILL SHAKESPEARE for Best New Series.
We are so incredibly honoured to be a nominee this year (especially amongst such great titles) and it has already helped us out with recognition. As you are probably aware, it is incredibly challenging to launch a new title in today's marketplace and we're quite happy with the early success that we've received.We have been thrilled to receive profiles in the New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, BBC, CBC, NPR, Fangoria, Aint it Cool News, Newsarama, ComicBookResources, BookList, and a range of other spots.We've been thrilled to be nominated for a Shuster Award and be listed on YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens List and Great Comics for Kids.We were thrilled that our first two issues sold out and that we're onto a second printing of our first trade collection.We're thrilled that a series of new comic readers are entering the comics space because they were first exposed to the medium with KILL SHAKESPEARE.Topping all of it off with a victory at the Harvey Awards would be fantastic.If you have not had an opportunity to read KILL SHAKESPEARE yet please let us know and we will ensure you can do so this week prior to voting. You can email us at tobeornot@killshakespeare.com (our contact info is here). We guarantee that you will be entertained by our take on the Bard.To vote, simply click on this link and follow the directions to do so.
Again, please consider us, and spread the word to anyone else you may know.Thanks!
A little product placement for our little book
San Diego Comic-Con becomes a bigger and bigger deal for the "mainstream" media all the time.Earlier this week CTV did a story on San Diego and the record crowds that gathered to attend that Geek-a-palooza. But part of the story focused on an event that's we'll be attending this fall - the Halifax Comic Con!Jen Lambe, who heads up the organizing committee for HalCon, was interviewed by CTV to comment on the rise of Geek culture. And Jen, a big fan of our work, got them to shoot the lead-in to the interview with her reading our book.It made enough of an impression that my fiancee's mother e-mailed us to say she had seen it -- and right now she's living in Dryden, Ontario which is a couple of hours north of Thunder Bay (so it looks like we're going regional, baby!)A big thanks to Jen for giving us another great plug on National T.V.! It means a lot to us that our fans support the book the way you do. So thanks to all of you.Click on the link below to see the lovely Ms. Lambe!CTV Live at 5
A sneak peak at the second trade.
We've been working hard to get an awesome second collection out to you and we're pleased to announce that a new creative team has come on board to put together a back-up story for the second trade.
We won't spoil anything for you but the sketch above was part of the pitch that our guest artist brought to us, and I am sure you'll agree that he (or she) did a FANTASTIC job.Stay tuned for more announcements about this cool new expansion to the Kill Shakespeare universe.
Issue #12 released August 17th!
We've had a number of people inquire about the release date of our final issue, #12. The original release date was to be yesterday (July 27th) but due to some problems beyond our control the release date has been pushed to August 17th. We apologize to anyone - readers, fans, retailers - that were expecting to pick it up yesterday.The August 17th release date is perfect as it will be just before the Baltimore Comic-Con where we are nominated for Best New Series.
We are currently reviewing the preview PDF copy and are quite proud of the issue. It's definitely something worth the wait!
CBC's The National Profile on YouTube
For those that missed our profile last month, the CBC has released our footage on YouTube and it's imbedded here...
Andy and Kagan at Comic-Con!
The pop culture smorgasbord known as the Comic-Con International begins this evening and goes through until Sunday in sunny San Diego. While Conor and I stay behind to take care of some script writing duties, Kill Shakespeare artists Andy Belanger and Kagan McLeod will both be at the Con and representing our series throughout!
Andy will be signing copies of Kill Shakespeare at the IDW Booth (booth #2643) on Saturday (the 23rd) from 10 - 11am and Sunday (the 24th) from 10 11am. Swing by the booth to catch up on the series, get some books signed, and share a laugh with him. (Seeing as how they are morning signings I'm sure Andy will have interesting stories from the previous night.)
Kagan is launching his new graphic novel collection Infinite Kung Fu and will be signing at various times at the Top Shelf booth (booth #1721). We'll profile the book closer to its release date (in early September) but he will be selling advance convention copies at the booth, as well as original art (including some art) at the Drawn & Quarterly booth (#1629). Swing by to
Shakespeare as Skull Master?
During an interview on Canada's Sun TV that Conor had last month, he met author and writer Stephen Marche, who has written a recently-released book, How Shakespeare Changed Everything. It's an interesting look at the Bard's influence in today's pop culture.
I was listening last week to an interview that Marche did with CBC Radio's Q in which he states that Shakespeare is the most influential human being of all-time. Amongst the suggestions that Marche makes is this: "William Shakespeare is the most influential person who ever lived." One example is the popularity of skulls in art and pop culture these,tracing them back to the gravedigger scene in Hamlet.
Do you think that Shakespeare is responsible for the popularity of skull iconography today?
We Come to Praise Stratford
On Thursday of this week we will be doing a presentation and talk at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival as part of their TALKING THEATRE summer program. On a weekly basis they host a series of discussions and talks on the themes of the season.
Conor and I will be there to discuss our comic series and our take on the Bard. If you're near the Stratford area come by to visit us - we'll make you laugh, cry, sigh and be entertained. Click on the Stratford logo to see more about the talk and discussion series, and the program description is below.
They Come to Praise Shakespeare, Not to Bury Him Thursday, July 14 - 9:30 - 10:30am - Tom Patterson Theatre (Stratford, Canada)Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col discuss their controversial graphic novel series Kill Shakespeare – the series that takes the Bard's greatest heroes and most menacing villains and pits them against each other in a race to kill, or save, a mysterious wizard named William Shakespeare. The two co-creators talk about why they feel the comic medium is perfect for the Bard, and how their "mashed-up" storyline actually helps readers better appreciate Shakespeare.
Issue #12 is off to the presses!
Just a couple of hours ago we officially signed off on the twelfth issue of our series. Yes, Issue #12. Our final one. It's off to those magical people in Korea who will now put the issue together for us and ship it out later this month for arrival in comic book stores in the first week in August.
It's an amazing feeling to see the issue complete... yet at the same time a bit of sadness as it's the end of this run. I can't say anything at this point but this won't be the last issue of Kill Shakespeare, potentially, maybe, hopefully...There are so many awesome people to thank for completing this issue, especially Andy Belanger and Ian Herring, who have put together an amazing finale. However, I'd like to take the time to thank Chris Mowry, who went above-and-beyond the call of duty on this issue to get it done. Chris has been the letterer for a majority of the issues in the series and he's really done a great job. I really wish the Harvey Awards voters could have recognized him earlier this week with their nominations. For this issue he practically pulled all-nighters to get it done and we owe him a big thanks for this.And so we wait to see the final product in our hands...
A story in three panels!
This past Tuesday Conor and I were fortunate to be able to visit the Pickering Public Library to discuss Kill Shakespeare, the Bard and the comics-making process. We've done a few of these presentations now and we're really enjoying them.
One thing we do every time is a breakout session in which the audience (normally between the ages of 12-19) have a chance to create their own three-panel comic. We started this part of the seminar, with the help of Andy Belanger, a few months ago and it goes over really well.This time we created a contest for the best/most creative comic and built it on the theme of "My Trip to the Library". The comics created this past Tuesday were all really strong, some involved Unobtainium, asteroids, syphilis, and sleep. The winner of this night's contest was James Hennebury, who created a simple three-strip comic - he built it up as a Bourne Identity-esque thriller, danger outside, and then a simple walk across the street to the library. Very effective storytelling with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Congrats James, and thanks to everyone that came out in Pickering. And thanks to Liz for organizing the event!
Ve are big in Chermany!
(Deborah forgive me for my teasing...)
So, one of the best things about Kill Shakespeare, to me at least, is knowing that teachers and educators are finding it interesting.So it was with GREAT excitement that I saw this e-mail in my inbox the other day. It was from Deborah Altenbeck a German graduate student who is a BIG fan of Kill Shakespeare. She had been hoping to do a paper on us and wrote to me to provide an update.The e-mail started off a LITTLE depressingly:I apologize for not keeping in touch. I was very busy doing my final exams and my final paper for the university. But I'm through with everything now. Unfortunately I couldn't write one of my research papers on Kill Shakespeare as I've originally planned, but I was forced to write it on a different topic. Crap.So much for our inaugural German language paper. But as I read the e-mail I realized what Deborah HAD done was way, WAY, cooler.However, I am still working for the Institution for gifted children and still teach the Shakespeare course and I thought I should let you know what we're doing... 
...A few lessons ago we finally started on the Comics Section. I assigned the various main characters from Kill Shakespeare to individual students and they made posters, researching information on:1. which play they are from2. their alignment (good ----- bad)3. a description4. a strength5. a weakness6. 5 adjectives to describe the character7. family tree8. a famous quotation9. pictures from the internetand I provided them with character artwork that I found on your website.When we were all finished, posters were presented to the group so that everyone knew each character. I attached some photos of the results. 
So I wanted to share with you, our fans, some of those photos so you can see how Kill Shakespeare is being used to help kids get into the Bard in a whole different way.As you can imagine this makes Anthony, Andy and I enormously proud of our work and it is something special to think that our little comic has made it across the sea.Going forward Deborah says she plans to read the whole series to her class and hope to put together a teaching guide for Kill Shakespeare.So a big Danke to Deborah. You have made our week.Conor
PS: The second coolest thing about her Shakespeare unit besides the fact it used Kill Shakespeare? The fact that she had the students do in-character job interviews. Can you imagine Hamlethaving to try to land a gig as an air-traffic controller?Interviewer: "So, Mr. Hamlet. Can you provide me some examples of times when you were under a great deal of pressure and we're able to make snap decisions?"Hamlet: ....Interviewer: Mr. Hamlet?Hamlet:...Interviewer: Mr. Hamlet, are you awake?Hamlet:...Interviewer: Mr. Hamlet!Hamlet ... yes.Interviewer: Well then, can you answer me the question, please. Can you think of an example of when you successfully made a quick decision?Hamlet: ...Hamlet:...Hamlet:.... Maybe?
We're nominated for a Harvey Award!
Just released today is the nominees list for the 2011 Harvey Awards, which celebrate outstanding work in comics and sequential art and are voted on by industry professionals. And we are nominated! We are up for BEST NEW SERIES.
Click on the Harvey Awards logo above to see the full list of nominees.The awards will be handed out August 20th at the Baltimore Comic-Con. We have already been making plans to attend the show based solely on how popular the convention is according to people we talk to. This nomination will just add to the Baltimore experience.Thanks to everyone that put our name forward for consideration. Seeing as how this is voted on by industry professionals - and not a small committee of a few people - this is so much more special for us. We will, of course, begin preparing our For Your Consideration campaign for the award...And, of course, thanks to everyone on our team that made this nomination possible - my co-creator Conor, the fantastic artist Andy Belanger (who really deserved a nomination in the Best New Talent or Best Artist category), similarly-deserving colourist Ian Herring, cover artist Kagan McLeod, our published IDW, and every other member of the team. And, most importantly, to every reader of the series - thanks for following us as a new series!
And now he's trying to become writer too!
No only does eight-year-old Miles Chantler desire to become the artist for Kill Shakespeare (as mentioned earlier today), he also wants to write it as well. He came home from school today with this summary of the Hamlet sword scene...
The next artist for Kill Shakespeare!
Though Andy Belanger's work on our series has been fantastic (and the work that he's just finishing off on Issue #12 is perhaps his best ever), there comes a time when an artist must pass on the mantle to another. This is that exact moment. I wish to introduce the world to the future artist for Kill Shakespeare, Mr. Miles Chantler...
For those that don't recognize the name, Miles (second grade) is the offspring of Scott Chantler. (Hopefully Miles will be able to write more personalized inscription than his father does...) More importantly, his art services are repped by the fantastic Shari Chantler so if you'd like to hire him you can go through her...