KS art in offices!

Fan David Peterson from the Burbank Public Library, who won an auction at the American Library Association Annual Conference back in June in Anaheim, emailed me recently to show me that he has proudly placed Andy's piece of artwork up on his office wall.  As he writes:"I wonder what effect upon my work productivity that I face from having Richard III looking directly at me all day long?"

Thanks for sending us the photo, David!

Hawaiian Students' Take on Falstaff

A number of months ago I was contacted by Lanaly Cabalo, a teacher from Roosevelt High School in Honolulu.  She teaches a number of classes there and introduced some of her students to Kill Shakespeare this past semester and they - along with some other teachers - really took to it and did a number of papers and art projects on the series.

The artwork project above was done by Mehana Verdadero, a junior at the high school.  She - quite obviously - really enjoys our take on Falstaff and wrote a paper on him as well.  A snippet from her report:"Even though there are many great characters, Falstaff is one of the best. Why? Well, if you love comedy, then you will totally love him. He is the funniest character in all the King Henry plays and The Merry Wives of Windsor... Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col changed him into a man of faith and wisdom, but they didn’t change the fact that he is the funniest character... in their book “Kill Shakespeare.”We love receiving messages and images like this from teachers.  So keep up the great work Ms. Cabalo, Mehana, and everyone else in the class.  It was a pleasure creating the series and we loved hearing how much your class enjoyed it.  And if we find ourselves in that part of the country we'd love to swing by and visit!UPDATE (Jan 4/11): Another student from the class - Simeon Crawford - sent their project to us - it's right here!:

Merchandise now available online!

After receiving many requests over the last couple of months, we have now answered... Our ShakesGeare merchandise is now available online!

These t-shirts have been available at comic conventions over the last couple of months but we are now super-excited to have them available for purchase - just in time for Christmas!  You can access the merch site by clicking the image above.

Shakespeare takes down Marlowe!

Well, at least in illustration form...At our signing at L.A. Mood Comics yesterday in London, ON we chatted with Steven J. Tiampo, a fan of ours who asked Andy Belanger to craft a very interesting illustration this past FanExpo in August.  An image of Shakespeare killing Marlowe with a knife in a bar-room brawl!  It's an amazing request and a great final product - and here it is!:

Andy B is always looking to do interesting sketches like this so if you're looking for a great Christmas gift you can reach out to us and get him to tailor something for you!

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!

Art Show for Kill Shakespeare!

Last night the Toronto Comics Workshop hosted an industry night with a gallery showing of Andy Belanger's art from Kill Shakespeare and J.Bone's Retroactive 1970's Wonder Woman #1.  It was a fun time with a good turnout.  Thanks to the Toronto Comics Workshop for hosting the event and Kevin Boyd for organizing it.A couple of photos:

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.

Issue #11 Artwork

After the fantastic work by Andy Belanger (pencils and ink) and Ian Herring (colours) - as well as the lettering by Chris Mowry - in our Issue #10, it might be tough to top it for our next issue, due out this week.  Well, I'll let you and all of the readers be the judge of that, but I think that the artwork in this issue is just as strong!Here are some early images from the issue (Issue #11: Once More Unto the Breach).  You can also check out a preview of the first six pages of the issue at this link.

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 - 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.

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

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!

Profile in Maclean's Magazine

When I was a teenager growing up in northern Canada (Timmins, to be precise) I wanted to get a better understanding of the world around me - both nationally and internationally.  To get this I signed up for a subscription to Maclean's magazine, Canada's general interest weekly magazine exploring news, culture, politics, science and everything else.  For a span of almost three years I read every single issue cover to cover.And now, many years later, we are profiled in Maclean's (click the cover image to go to the article)!

An issue hitting newstands this past Friday featured a full-page article by Claire Ward analyzing the project - its origins, present triumphs, and its possible future.  It's a very well-researched piece in which Ms. Ward contacted Shakespeare scholars James Shapiro and Stephen Greenblatt to comment on it (spoiler: one likes us, one doesn't).  It's a great piece and I recommend that you check it out if you're in Canada (it's on the issue featured above, page 58).

Issue #8 Artwork Samples

Issue #8 (Journeys End in Lover Meetings) cranks up the momentum of our story and features some great artwork by Andy Belanger and colours by Ian Herring.  The description of the Issue is:As word of the Prodigals' victory spreads a rebel army masses in Shrewsbury. Against this backdrop Othello and Iago cross swords, Richard and Lady Macbeth lock horns and Hamlet and Juliet's love blossoms. But will the Dane live long enough to enjoy Cupid's fruit?  Not if a ghost from Juliet's past has anything to say about it.Check out the art (click on the image for the hi-res image):

"A tour de force of the storytelling marriage of words and art"

My last post for the day (actually have to sit down and do some writing)... This might be the best review that we've gotten thus far, and may ever get.  ComicBookResources has just posted a review of Issue #7 and it is amazing.  They praise the story, the art, the characters and the series.  The best section:"This issue is a tour de force of the storytelling marriage of words and art that make comics the perfect medium for this tale. It also feels like this tale has jumped from being some sort of pastiche homage to actually being its own beast. This isn’t imitation; This is evolution. This comic is serious and fun and emotionally draining in all the right ways; a pure pleasure to become immersed in."We're really happy to receive this review but also happy for Andy - he put so much time and effort into this issue.  The artwork really is amazing.Click on the link below to read the full review.We were also listed in the site's The Buy Pile this week as well as a "Buy", the top ranking.  You can read it here.

Andy's Dream Comes True

We found out earlier this week that Andy's dream came true as Kill Shakespeare was reviewed by Fangoria magazine!  Andy has been a reader of this publication for the last 20+ years and it was great to see that not only did they review us but they REALLY LIKED the book!  A review of four skulls is pretty good and they describe Andy's artwork as:"Andy Belanger’s artwork is vibrantly exaggerated, and unflinching in the violence department; Belanger does not hold back when Richard III savagely gouges a soldier’s eyes out. You’ll be covering your face after you see Juliet hurl a spear through a man’s nose."Click on the logo to read the full review.

Scenes from an Exhibit

Last night was the opening night of The Art of Kill Shakespeare, a gallery showing at New York's Chair and the Maiden.  The opening night was a smash success with a large number of guests (so many that the place was packed and people spilled out onto the street).  The highlights included us grabbing Michael Moore, who was passing by on the street, to come and check out the art (he and Andy ended up singing the Canadian national anthem), hanging out with our publicist Lonnie McCullough, appearances from a number of top New York artists and musicians, and, of course, a stranger that stayed the entire night and ended up getting drunk and almost passing out...For those that missed this event, we are having a signing/showing at the gallery on Tuesday night from 6-8pm.  Don't miss it!Special thanks for last night go to J.Bone, Crystal Luxmore and Jen Heath for coming down from Toronto for the event, Vanessa King for connecting us to the gallery, and most importantly, John and David from Chair and the Maiden for organizing such a great time!Some photos here...

Toronto Launch Party!

As we prepare to head out to New York later this week for our gallery show and a couple signings, we are also prepping for the launch of the trade paperback here in our hometown of Toronto.  To celebrate everything that we've been able to accomplish, and to thank all of those that have assisted us along the way, we'd like to throw a party here in Toronto!The Toronto launch party for Kill Shakespeare Volume 1: A Sea of Troubles will be on the evening of Tuesday, November 16th from 6-10pm at 918 Bathurst Centre.  An old Buddhist temple, it has now been converted to an arts and media centre, run by some old friends of mine, Sean Lehane and Jeff Wright.(Click on the photo for a closer look at the invitation.)Details for the event are TBA but it will involve a gallery of the original art work from the series, food, beverages, books available for sale and a great theatrical event - we're going to host a Shakespearean Tournament of Champions which will have all of the Bard's greatest characters battling each other - and the audience will play a role in deciding who fights!  More information on this will come in the next week or so but this should be a great event.So all friends, Romans and countrymen in the Toronto area are invited to attend and celebrate all of our success thus far - and more to come!