Top o' The Morning
Conor and I appeared on Canada's GlobalTV The Morning Show earlier today to talk about Kill Shakespeare and our Live Stage Reading this weekend (tomorrow and Sunday!) at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts. It was a fun spot - it's rare to be able to have an 8-10 minute conversation on live television like that. Conor and I really enjoyed ourselves and chatting about the book, the reading, Twilight, inspiration, schools and everything else.To watch the interview click on the image below (thanks to Liz Cunha for emailing us some screenshots from her Blackberry).
Stage Show Tickets Still Available!
We begin rehearsals tomorrow (Wednesday) for this weekend's performances of Kill Shakespeare: The Live Stage Reading and we're really excited about it. We've had great response thus far from fans, readers, friends and media for the event and it should be a great time for all!
Tickets are still available for the two shows (Sat, Nov 26 - 8pm) and Sun, Nov 27 - 4:15pm) and you can purchase them by clicking here or calling the box office at 416.866.8666.
Next generation of artists!
One of the great things attending conventions and also doing talks at schools and libraries is meeting youngsters interested in getting into comics. They range from as young as 4 up to, well, our age (we sometime lump ourselves into that category).At the New York Comic-Con last month we were fortunate to meet a very talented up-and-coming 9-year-old artist by the name of Shea Stevenson. Shea was a little shy but after a bit of prodding we discovered that he had a lot of talent and after the convention he was able to send me some of his work. Two of the illustrations are below. Shea's got a lot of promise and we look forward to seeing him develop into a full-time comic book artist in the next decade.Shea: Make sure to keep working. Draw every day as much as possible. Read and study as many comics and pieces of art as possible. And, whatever you do, don't lose your enthusiasm for it!
Our first Cos-players!
For those of you in the "comics know" you know that nothing says a comic has made it like fans dressing up as your characters.
For those of you not in the know - that phenomena of having fans dress up is called "cos-play" (costume play). Kill Shakespeare has been humming along quite nicely but to date we hadn't had anyone so crazy about our concept that they were going to dress up as one (or more) of our characters.Well, that has all changed now because of the awesome sewing talents of Alicia Robichaud and the willing model that is her husband Ken.You see this year at HalCon Ken and Alicia decided to surprise the K.S. team by coming as Lady Macbeth and Richard!!!!I cannot emphasize how amazing it was that this happened. When I first saw them I actually didn't get what they were doing. I THOUGHT that Alicia's outfit looked a lot like Lady Macbeth's in issue #3 but surely nobody was going to take the time to dress like OUR comic.So my mind was pretty blown when Alicia and Ken told me exactly who they were. Andy was also super excited -- it's the first time his designs have been used for a costume and the amount of detail Alicia (who is also a talented photographer -- you can see her work here) put into the costumes is pretty mind-numbing. She even ordered her wig from China!So a hearty Kill Shakespeare salute to Alicia and Ken -- the husband and wife who stole out cos-play virginity.(not that we mind a bit).More photos below:
First Kill Shakespeare Cosplayers!
Andy, Conor and I returned from Halifax on Monday after taking part in the fantastic Hal-Con 2011. I'll have more to post on that later this week (photos!) but in the meantime, I wanted to share a very special moment for us...Our first Kill Shakespeare cosplayers!
Ken and Alicia Robichaud, huge fans of the series, went out of their way to put together elaborate costumes of Richard III and Lady Macbeth to wear to this year's Con. The costumes are amazing but more importantly than that, it was very touching. I couldn't help but reflect upon the fact that a mere two-plus years ago this entire concept was just an idea that Conor and I had, and now not only does our dream fill the pages of comic book issues, will come alive with the stage show at Young Centre for the Performing Arts (and Soulpepper) next week (Nov 26 - 27th) but now we have fans who love the series enough to dress up as their favourite characters.
It's what makes all of the work and long hours worth it.Thanks to Ken and Alicia for brightening our day and putting huge smiles on our faces!
See KILL SHAKESPEARE on Stage!
We are very happy to announce that we have formed a partnership with Toronto's Young Centre for the Performing Arts to present a Live Stage Reading of Kill Shakespeare!
On Sat, Nov 26th (8pm) and Sun, Nov 27th (4:15pm) we will be presenting a live stage reading of our epic story, which will combine comic art, performance and music to bring our comic series to life. The reading will be done by actors from Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre, and feature Andy Belanger's art from the series - and perhaps a cameo by Conor or I!Tickets for each show are $20 (with tax/service fees), or if you'd like to purchase four tickets you can do so for $59 (a 25% savings). You can access the box office here or by calling 416.866.8666.
We're really excited about the show. We did a table read last week with some actors - along with our director Derek Boyes and dramaturge Toby Malone - and it was so invigorating to see our characters and story come to life. It will be a show that Shakespeare fans, comic readers, and everyone else will thoroughly enjoy!
East Coast Bound!
Conor, Andy and I will be heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia this weekend to take part in Hal-Con 2011. We're really excited to serve as special guests for the event and look forward to use the opportunity to use it as the first Canadian premiere of Volume 2: The Blast of War (collecting issues 7 - 12). Conor attended Hal-Con last year and had an absolute blast so they decided to bring all of us in this year.
In addition to having Volumes 1 and 2 available for signing, we will also be doing a number of presentations, which will include:- Sat, Nov 12 - Comic Panel 11AM - 12PM Main Stage - 200 Level- Sun, Nov 13 - “Pitching” Workshop 11AM - 12PM Workshop Room 3 - 200 Level- Sun, Nov 13 - Kill Shakespeare Panel 5PM - 6PM Main Stage - 200 LevelIf you're in the Halifax or East Coast area we'd love to meet you and spend time chatting at the show!
We are Sundance Kids forever
Conor and I returned to Toronto just over a week ago after taking part in the first ever Sundance Institute New Frontier Story Lab. In the past week I've been able to reflect upon my time at the lab, go through the notes I've taken, look through the photos, and I still can't believe how great an experience it was for both of us.
The New Frontier Story Lab is one designed by Sundance to help creators of transmedia projects. By transmedia, we are referring to telling stories and creating worlds that can be told through multiple media, whether they are digital, film, television, stage, game, real-life experience, etc. In a follow-up interview with the Sundance website I answered some questions about my thoughts and experiences with transmedia projects - you can read that interview here.
Conor and I were honoured to be invited to the lab for many reasons. One, it served as a certain validation for us and our efforts to take Kill Shakespeare beyond the comic book page. Secondly, we knew that we would meet a number of professional advisors that would give us notes and thoughts and spur us on to further ideas and ways of telling Kill Shakespeare stories. Thirdly, we were interested to find out what other creators were doing in the transmedia space.
On all three fronts were not disappointed at all. The advisors that sat down with us were top-notch. We met with Marti Noxon, the talented film and television writer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mad Men, Fright Night), who gave us great notes on our script - and shared with us the ins-and-outs of television writers' rooms and studios. Sue Bonds of 42 Entertainment showed us what can be accomplished with Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) and let us know what the studios and filmmakers today are looking for. Michael Goldenberg (Contact, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Green Lantern) broke down our script for us. Richard
LaGravenese (Oscar-nommed for The Fisher King, Bridges of Madison County, Water for Elephants) served as early inspiration for us in the lab with his honesty and his love of mythology. Wesley Strick (Cape Fear, Wolf, Doom) put everything into perspective for us and challenged us to think big. Transmedia expert Lance Weiler made us really examine Kill Shakespeare as a transmedia franchise and more importantly one that could involve participatory storytelling at its finest. And Nick Fortugno of Playmatics showed us the possibility of games and allowed us to conceive the whole narrative structure within the medium.Just as good as the advisors were the other fellows that attended the lab with us. For the purposes of confidentiality we can't get into describing the projects that each team has been developing but as we move forward we'll aim to do individual spotlights on each
to help out the project. Look out for great projects from Yasmin Elayat and Jigar Mehta (18 Days in Egypt), Brigitte Dale and Robbie Wilkins (Follow Back), Tommy Pallotta and Femke Wolting (The Last Hijack), Chris Johnson, Hank Willis-Thomas and Kamal Sinclair (Question Bridge) and Chris Milk (Rome). Thanks to all of you fantastic storytellers for the inspiration and your thoughts on Kill Shakespeare!
And the staff of Sundance was fantastic to us. They really believe in the project and we're so appreciative of their feedback and direction over the course of the week. The staff included Michelle Satter, Keri Putnam, Cara Mertes, Carrie Beck, Cullen Conly and Kristin Feeley. Special thanks to Carrie Beck who served as our liaison with the lab - making us aware of it and prepping us for it once we were selected.And finally, how could I not mention the surroundings? The Sundance Resort, about 45 minutes outside of Salt Lake City, is absolutely gorgeous. Mountains surrounded us each day (which made my morning runs quite the challenge...) and the weather was pretty good throughout. How could you not be inspired by taking a quick hike and seeing the views?I'll be writing more on transmedia moving forward and I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone from the Lab. It was a great experience and I am charged to climb up further mountains with the knowledge gained last week.
Getting Lucky's in Vancouver
Last weekend I spent a fantastic weekend in Vancouver, my first time there. One of the highlights was doing a signing at Lucky's Comics, one of the top comic book stores in the city. It was great to meet some of the customers there, hang out with Gabe, the owner (who loves basketball), and meet up with some old friends (one from high school, one from my stints as a wedding MC)...Lucky's is a pretty cool store with a wide selection of books - everything from Kill Shakespeare to Kate Beaton's Hark, A Vagrant to Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball. If you're looking for a cool selection of graphic novels and book, I highly recommend them.Here are some pics from the event:
Appearance at the BookFest Windsor tomorrow
Conor and I will be appearing tomorrow at the BookFest Windsor tomorrow (Fri, Nov 3rd) to talk about Kill Shakespeare. It's our first time in Windsor so I'm excited to check it out (I've had some friends that have lived there/gone to school).
We are appearing Friday at 4:30 at the Rodzik Gallery, part of the Art Gallery of Windsor. Swing by the free event and see what we have to say about the project.You can access more information by clicking on the Bookfest Windsor image above.
Night Flight Comics: One of the best retailers in the U.S.!
Conor and I attended the Sundance New Frontier Story Lab last week and I'll post a lot of content from our time in the next couple of days. But before we took part in the lab, we arranged to fly into Salt Lake City a day early so that we could do some signings at Night Flight Comics (Sat, Oct 22nd).We met Mimi Cruz, the manager/owner of the store back at WonderCon in April, 2010. She was so much fun to hang out with and chat that we immediately wanted to call her up and hang out at her store, if only for some great conversation and laughter with her.Mimi and her co-owner/husband Alan are two of the coolest people you'll ever meet but also quite astute to the comics world and retailing industry. They run two locations in Salt Lake and both do quite well and have a strong customer base. They were so kind to us - picking us up at the airport, taking us on a tour of the city, showing us where Bob Redford eats when he's in town. They've been fans of our series since Day #1 and we really appreciate it.Below are some photos of our signings at the store:
Kill Shakespeare at Outerspeares Conference in Guelph tomorrow
Just finishing off my sojourn in Vancouver and prepping for my return to Ontario... And I will be hitting the ground running as Conor and I travel to Guelph tomorrow (Tuesday, November 1st) to take part in a Shakespeare adaptation conference.
Conor, Andy and I will be keynote speakers and talking about our experiences and interpretations of Shakespeare and his character/plays for a general crowd of Shakespeare fans. The conference is spearheaded by Daniel Fischlin, one of the top Shakespeare academics in Canada. We're quite happy to take part in the conference, which features some other fantastic speakers as well.
We are scheduled to appear from 11:45 - 12:45 so if you're in Guelph and would like to visit we'd be happy to see you!
You can find out more by clicking on the event poster.
We're LIVE on Comixology!
KILL SHAKESPEARE was launched on Comixology earlier today! You can download all twelve issues on the site for iPhone/iPad as well as your desktop computer (at a price of $0.99).If you haven't checked out the issues but would like to check out the digital versions click on the Comixology image and it'll direct you to the site.
Signing at Lucky's Comics in Vancouver
I will be swinging through Vancouver, BC later this month after attending the Sundance Institute's New Frontier Story Lab. While in the fair city (which I've never been to), I'm excited to do a signing at Lucky's Comics, one of the top comic book stores in Western Canada. I've never visited the store before but here incredible things about it.If you're in the Vancouver area, swing by Lucky's on Saturday, October 29th between the hours of 2-5pm. I will be signing individual issues, copies of our first graphic novel, and also (but can't guarantee it) have special advanced copies of our second graphic novel to sign.
KILL SHAKESPEARE CRACKS WASHINGTON POST'S "MUST BE MADE INTO A MOVIE" LIST
As many of you know Anthony and I have been working hard at translating our baby to other mediums. Notably we've cast a longing glance at the film and TV industries.Well imagine our happy surprise when the Washington Post's Mike Cavna came knocking on our door and told us we'd made his list of the top 5 comics that need to move to the big (or little) screen.Mike's very fun article can be read here. I think he nailed five pretty amazing books that all of us would want to see on the air one day. Hey, who knows, maybe Anthony and I will show-run Sandman one day?
Appearance in Salt Lake City this Weekend
Conor and I will be appearing at Night Flight Comics in Salt Lake City this upcoming Saturday (October 22nd). Coming early into Utah to take part in the Sundance Institute's New Frontier Story Lab, we're excited to appear at the two store locations and hang out with Mimi and everyone else.
We will be having a signing/reception at the Library Square location (210 East 400 South) from 1:30 - 3:00 and then the main store (6222 South State Street) from 5:00 - 7:30.If you're in the Salt Lake City area please swing by - we'll love to see you there!
Thanks to Everyone at NYCC!
We arrived back from the New York Comic-Con yesterday and have hit the ground running on a number of things - working out the details (and the script) for our live stage reading next month, prepping for the release of our second trade (also next month), and catching up on sleep (we may have to wait for this until... you guessed it, next month...).The New York Comic-Con was a huge success for us. We sold out of most of our product and (almost) broke our convention record! We met a lot of existing fans and made some new ones. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the show - those that stopped by to say hello, the organizers who did a good job, the artists and business people in our section, and those that put up with us for our times in New York.Here are some various photos from the weekend.
Sneak peak at Volume 2!
Conor and I just finished Preview Night at the New York Comic-Con and two hours before the show we received a very important package... a few boxes bearing a total of 100 copies of Kill Shakespeare Volume 2! We are selling these copies as a NYCC exclusive this weekend and they're already starting to fly off the shelf...Here is a quick photo taken at our booth.
The official release date has also been set - November 16, 2011. More details to come in the next couple of days.
Stephen Holt Gets Kill Shakespeare Update at TIFF
During the Toronto International Film Festival last month I sat down with uber-enthusiastic New York-based journalist Stephen Holt (one of the biggest fans of ours). In one of our interviews Stephen wanted a complete update on the project, which I give to him here:As well, I have become a sort-of Oscar expert over the last few years and I did a number of interviews with Stephen and some other Oscar experts at TIFF. Here are a couple of the spots:Thanks again to Stephen for allowing me to sit in and providing more coverage for us! As always, you can check out his blog, The Oscar Messenger, here.
SOME ART FOR YOUR LONG WEEKEND - WELL, FOR CANADIANS ANYWAY (the long weekend, not the art).
It has been a big couple of days here in Kill Shakespeare land.Not only do we have the big Sundance news but I have some great art to share with you from the next generation of Canadian comic talent. AND, here in Canada, it's TURKEY day this weekend -- yep Canadian Thanksgiving is here! Gobble, gobble!(Alright, before I fall into a tryptophan induced coma, I want to share with you some REALLY cool stuff.)The pieces below were sent to us by the awesome comic club at the Ontario College of Art and Design. These lovely ladies and men are all enrolled in one sort of graphic art or another at OCAD, but they still find time to meet twice a month (usually the second Thursday) and share their comic creations as well as talk about the medium we all love.Andy and the ever-talented Ramon Perez went with me to chat with the club last year and in return they sent us their amazing work.Enjoy (click on the images to see them in all their full-sized glory).
