Profile of KS on Canada's InnerSPACE
The preparation for our Toronto The Tide of Blood Launch Party just over two weeks ago was covered by Canada's top "geek" program, InnerSPACE. The producer, the incredibly talented and knowledgeable Mark Askwith, visited us as we set up for the gallery show and interviewed Andy as well as myself (Conor was in Seattle that day for Emerald City Comic-Con).You can watched the segment by clicking on the photo below.
Photos from Toronto Comic-Con
This past weekend Conor and I took part in Toronto Comic-Con (formerly known as Toronto Fan Appreciation, I believe). Held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, it was much bigger than the usual spring show mainly because it was attended by most of the main cast from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Alas, we did not find Patrick Stewart and force him to read our book on the spot...The event was a great way for me, specifically, to warm up for the soon-to-begin convention world tour - it feels like just yesterday that I attended my last convention yet it was back in October.Here are some pictures from the show. You can also see more at our Facebook page.
Silver Snail Signing Photos
This past Saturday (the 23rd) Conor and I celebrated the release of The Tide of Blood #1 with a signing at Toronto's Silver Snail Comics. It was our first signing at their new location and it was a fantastically fun time for all of us!Joining us on this adventure was Maya Nord, who illustrated a Silver Snail Exclusive cover for Issue #1. Featuring the old and new stores, as well as employees of the Snail and characters from our series, it was a big hit on Saturday and will continue to be over the year - a definite collector's edition!Here are some pictures from the event:
Release Day Signing at Paradise Comics (Photos)
Back on April 14, 2010 the very first issue of Kill Shakespeare was launched (boy, that seems like such a long time ago...) and on that very day we did a signing at Toronto's Paradise Comics. To see a couple photos from that day you can click here.With the release of our new series The Tide of Blood we were able to repeat our release day signing spot and return to one of our home stores (we seem to have a few, seeing as how we're blessed to have a number of really great stores in Toronto; I was chatting yesterday with one of the top comics journalists and he made sure to point that out). It was great to visit Doug and Pete at Paradise and sell/sign some books.Here are some photos from our signing this past Wednesday (the 20th):
New Toronto signing announced! Silver Snail next Saturday (Feb 23rd)
We just confirmed late this week that we will be doing a third Toronto signing this month to celebrate the launch of our new The Tide of Blood series.One week from today, we will doing a Saturday afternoon (February the 23rd) signing at Toronto's The Silver Snail. It's our first signing at their brand new location, right at the busy intersection of Yonge/Dundas. We'll be there from 1-4pm.In addition to that, it will be the premiere of the Silver Snail exclusive cover of the issue. We - along with the Snail - commissioned Toronto artist Maya Nord to create a Silver Snail-centric cover, available only to those that purchase the issue through the Snail. It features the old and new locations of the store, and Kill Shakespeare characters helping Silver Snail employees with the move.
For those in Toronto that want this limited cover, visit the Snail beginning on Wednesday the 20th. For those from outside of Toronto that want to order it, you'll have to contact the Snail (you can find their website here).I'll also post more information about the cover in the next week.
Valentine Movies Guys Won't Hate (The Morning Show clip)
Conor and I appeared on Global TV's Morning Show again this morning, this time discussing "guy-friendly" Valentine's Day/romantic films. We appeared again with our excellent co-panelist Daniel Reynolds, a film/basketball blogger.It was a fun segment where we each listed two films that guys would enjoy on this day. What exactly were our picks? Check out the video footage below...
Release Date Signing!
To celebrate the release of our new The Tide of Blood series Conor and I will be doing a release day signing at one of our home comic shops, Paradise Comics. Paradise was the location of our first-ever signing (back in April, 2010) and we're excited to return to it.So if you have some free time on the evening of Wednesday, February 20th swing by the stores (3278 Yonge Street, Toronto) anytime between 4-7 and be amongst the first to pick up a copy of the series!
Check this out: Fabletown and Beyond!
In addition to prepping the upcoming issues of our Tide of Blood comic mini-series, we are also preparing for a very busy spring convention season (just as busy as last year's world tour - if not busier!). We're going to attend all of our favourite shows - Emerald City, WonderCon, the Shakespeare Association of American annual conference, C2E2, Calgary, etc. but one new entry in our schedule is an exciting gathering of mythic fiction fan and creators - FABLETOWN AND BEYOND.Hosted by Fables creator Bill Willingham (and his amazing assistant, Stephanie Cooke), Fabletown and Beyond is a celebration of mythic fiction storytelling, defined by the website itself as, "that magic-bound alliance of fairytales, folklore, myth, legend, talking animals and characters from literature, given new life, new challenges to face and new adventures to chronicle. And it’s also the strongest, most vital, movement in comics since superheroes moved in, took over and eventually dominated the comics marketplace for half a century."
The show, taking place from March 22nd - 24th in Rochester, Minnesota, will not only feature Conor and I as guests but also featured The Kill Shakespeare Bar, a local pub that has been turned into an Elizabethan treat for the entire convention (or, at least a cool place to hang out and drink the entire time). The guests are top-notch - Bill Willingham (of course), Mark Buckingham (Sandman, Fables), Kurt Busiek (Marvels, Astro City), Adam Hughes (Batgirl), Mike Carey (The Unwritten, X-Men), Chris Roberson (iZombie) and many others. You can see the full list of special guests here.If you're a fan of any of these artists/creators, or mythic fiction, I recommend the show. It's going to be a small, intimate event where you'll be able to hang out with us the entire time and discuss comics, literature, entertainment, anything.
Favourite Films of 2012
Conor and I were asked this week to appear on Global TV's The Morning Show to talk about our favourite (and least-favourite) films of 2012. Joining us was the uber-astute moviegoer Daniel Reynolds (a really great guy - and very smart viewer) in a roundtable format.
Our picks? You can check out the clip below to watch and find out. However, I'll hint a couple things - we talk about Sarah Polley's good and bad efforts, Ben Affleck's chest, and Ridley Scott's scripts...
The Tide of Blood Issue #1 now available for pre-order!
Now that December is here it is now time for comic shop retailers to order their stock for the month of February, 2013. And what specific comic title is being released in February? Kill Shakespeare: The Tide of Blood, of course!
For those that don't know, comic retailers place all of their orders through Diamond Comic Distributors, which list all of the titles being released in a specific month in a magazine/catalogue called Previews. Everything is ordered two months in advance and retailers will order based on how many copies they think they will be able to sell when it comes out.Conor, myself, Keith Morris and the rest of our team will be doing an extended marketing campaign to retailers this month to make them aware of the new 5-issue arc The Tide of Blood. But we need help from you! Tell your comic retailer that they need to stock lots of copies of our series. Our first issue (back in April, 2010) was sold out immediately and when a 100 Penny Edition of the first issue was released back in 2011 it also sold out immediately. Those facts, combined with the knowledge that we are now entering a fifth printing of Volume 1 (and sales of Volume 2 increasing quickly) means that retailers can play a big role in ensuring the success of our series.So pre-order a copy (or copies) of Issue #1 this month from your retailer!The creative team is back - myself and Conor are writing the issues and Andy Belanger is doing the art. And he's doing some amazing stuff! He gets to play with a lot of fun elements - mystical creatures, cannibals, wizards and, of course, our main heroes that are returning to deal with the magical Prospero.We will be releasing more information about the new The Tide of Blood arc over the course of the month but make sure to let your retailers know - in person, over email, through Twitter and Facebook - that you want a copy!
Andy and Conor talk comics, stage at NYCC (video)
Here is a video from Newsarama (taped at New York Comic-Con last month) that features Andy and Conor talking about the new comic series, the stage show, left-column readers, and most importantly... side boob...
Photos from New York Comic-Con
As mentioned in an earlier post, our trip to New York for the Comic-Con there was an amazing time for us. We had some great meetings, finally(!) went to see the memorable Sleep No More, and, of course, had a great Comic-Con. We sold out of all of our books and almost all t-shirts, the Live Stage Reading on the Saturday was a success, and he met up with a lot of old and new friends.Here are some photos from the weekend:
Official IDW Announcement of new Kill Shakespeare Series!
Hot off the Presses!
Award-winning comic Mash-up Kill Shakespeare Returns to IDW with New Limited Series
Thursday, Oct 11th, 2012
San Diego, CA (October 11, 2012) – IDW Publishing is proud to announce the return of the acclaimed comic series Kill Shakespeare to comic shelves! The first issue of the new five-issue limited series, entitled The Tide of Blood, will hit comic shops across North America and Europe in February of 2013.Series co-creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery returned to pen the five issues and original artist Andy Belanger is back as the series artist (and also adds cover artist duties). All three are at this week’s New York Comic Con to officially launch the new arc as well as present a special live stage reading based on the first twelve issues of the series that The New York Times called: “gripping, violent, dark, fun.”The five-issue series – a continuation from the first two books – will follow Hamlet, Juliet, Othello and Romeo as they face their biggest threat – Prospero, a rogue wizard who plans to destroy all of creation. Hamlet must embark on a perilous journey to a remote island whose inhabitants have gone mad and want the Dane’s blood – if a love triangle and Cupid’s poisoned bow doesn’t kill Hamlet first.“It is a dream come true for us to be back at the New York Comic-Con, where we first pitched Kill Shakespeare to IDW almost four years ago,” says Del Col. “We are incredibly happy that our fans and readers have been asking for more and have put together a new story that takes our characters in an exciting new direction.”To date, Kill Shakespeare has been collected into two trades: A Sea of Troubles and The Blast of War. Both were nominated for numerous awards and lists and Volume 1 is entering a fifth printing.“I had an awesome time working on the first two volumes of Kill Shakespeare,” said series editor Tom Waltz. “Tickling both my literary and action-adventure fancies, Conor, Anthony, and Andy have most definitely given me one of the most satisfying and unique experiences I've had as an editor at IDW Publishing. And, just as the first go round proved it's hard to kill Shakespeare, well, it's hard to kill a fantastic story concept, too, and I truly believe the best is yet to come from the Kill Shakespeare crew!”The series has also been brought to the stage with the creation of the Kill Shakespeare: Live Stage Reading theatrical show. It has been produced in various cities across North America and will be presented at the New York Comic-Con on Saturday October 13th at 11:00 AM on the Variant Stage. Special Kill Shakespeare and IDW prize packs will be given away to lucky attendees at this free show!Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books. IDW can also be found at http://www.facebook.com/#!/idwpublishing and http://tumblr.idwpublishing.com/ and on Twitter at @idwpublishing.About the seriesKill 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, Prospero) in a quest to track down and kill – or save – a reclusive wizard by the name of William Shakespeare. The series was nominated for a 2011 Harvey Award for Best New Comic Series the 2011 and 2012 Joe Shuster Awards for Comic Writing and has been selected to the YALSA and Maverick lists for top graphic novels for teens. The series has been covered by NPR, BBC, The Washington Post, CBC and The New York Times. In October 2011, Kill Shakespeare was chosen by the Sundance Institute as one of six projects for the inaugural New Frontiers Story Lab.“Gripping, violent, dark, fun…” – The New York Times“Bravo! Kill Shakespeare is a tale woven with the wit, magic and myth, worthy of Will himself.” – Des McAnuff (Stratford Festival, Jersey Boys)“Fresh and conceptually inventive… Easily one of the more exciting new projects bouncing around.” – Publisher’s Weekly“It’s a rare thing, indeed, to see such brilliant new talent deliver a series that immediately feels so fully formed and realized.” – The Washington PostAbout IDW PublishingIDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s DOCTOR WHO; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coasts Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; and the Eisner-Award winning Locke & Key series, created by best-selling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, and Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.IDW’s critically- and fan-acclaimed series are continually moving into new mediums. Currently, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney are creating a feature film based on World War Robot, while Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes and Sony are bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film.
Images from FanExpo
It's been a really hectic week so I'm a little slow in posting these images... FanExpo last weekend was fantastic! It's always great to attend the large show in your hometown (third largest in North America) and great to meet up with friends, fans and everyone in between. This year's show was great - sales were brisk (came just short of our all-time sales record!), we sold out of both volumes, I hosted a well-attended workshop, and more people became exposed to Kill Shakespeare!A big thanks to Keith Morris, our marketing intern extraordinaire, Geoff Moore (always be selling), Samara Nicholson (head of transportation), Sherri Chantler (head of Sunday snacks), Carol Zara (for her gift bag), Ian Herring (for putting up with us sitting beside him...), and everyone else that helped out over the weekend. Thanks to the organizers of the event, namely Kevin Boyd, who creates such a great environment for artists and creators at the show. And thanks to everyone who came up to our table to say hello, get their books signed, purchased books, or generally made us smile through the weekend!(Conor has more photos and should be posting them soon...)
FanExpo Schedule
In the last eighteen months we have traveled to comic conventions all over the world - all over North America, to England, and even to the Middle East. Most shows we love attending, and one of our favourites is definitely FanExpo Canada, held at the end of August every year. Probably the major reason that we love it is that it's the biggest convention in our hometown and it's great to see SO many people turn out to geek out on everything that makes its way here - comics, films, games, etc.
We will, of course, be attending next week's FanExpo Canada (Aug 23 - 26) and are looking forward to it (it's now been two months since the last show I attended and I'm starting to get the shakes from not pitching our books/shirts at a show...). We will be in attendance the entire weekend during the show. The hours are:Thur 4 - 9, Fri 10 - 7, Sat 10 - 7, Sun 10 - 5We (Conor and I) will be located at Tables P-04 and P-05 the entire weekend - in the row along the wall of all comic creators. Andy is scheduled to attend but has not been able to confirm as of yet.Also looking for out workshop on Thur, Aug 23 from 6 - 7pm in Room 714. We will be conducting our very popular "How to Create and Market Your Indie Comic" which was a standing-room only session last year (and at shows like Emerald City and C2E2 earlier this year) so if you can get to the show on the first day come and learn tips of the trade from us!We hope to see you at this year's show!
Happy birthday to *our* Joss Whedon, Conor McCreery!
On July 1st here in Canada we celebrate our nation's birthday, or Canada Day. But it's also a special day because today is co-creator Conor McCreery's birthday! Yes, fireworks are set off in the sky at night not just for our home and native land's fete but also Conor's!Two years ago I posted a photo comparison of Conor and Adam Savage from TV's Mythbusters. Of late Conor has also started to look a bit like the geek god Joss Whedon himself so I thought that I would repeat that Photoshop tribute with an updated one for the man himself. So here it is... Do you see any similarities?
Conor is currently in the midst of his honeymoon in South America but I'd like to take the time to wish my business partner, co-creator, co-conspirator and good friend Conor a smashing birthday!
Congrats to Conor and Crystal!
This past weekend was a really busy one for us. No, it wasn't another convention or a weekend full of writing and artwork, working towards a deadline...It was the wedding weekend for Conor McCreery!
On Saturday Conor married the love of his life, Crystal Luxmore. It was a great service and then an absolutely fun reception held at a circus school in eastern Toronto. Everyone that attended had a blast, including the key members of the KS team.Crystal has been along for the entire Kill Shakespeare ride since the beginning so she's been a great foundation and rock of support for Conor - and the project - during that time. I'm incredibly happy for the both of them and honoured to have attended the event.
The photos here were taken by Michelle Graham of Imagine My Photo, a good friend of Conor's from university. Thanks for providing these for us for our website!
Blogging Shakespeare!
One of the highlights of our trip to England for two weeks this month was meeting with some of the world's top minds on Shakespeare. One such individual is Dr. Rev. Paul Edmondson, who is currently the Head of Research and Knowledge of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Dr. Edmondson is also the General Editor for Blogging Shakespeare, which is the top website devoted to Shakespeare in the world.
We sat down with Dr. Edmondson to record a short interview which went live on the site. You can listen to it by clicking on the photo of us with Dr. Edmondson below.
Conor and Anthony analyzing this summer's comic book films
Conor and I appeared this morning on Global TV's The Morning Show, one of Canada's top AM talk shows.
We were there again in our role of "pop culture vultures" to analyze and discuss the upcoming summer film season and focus on some of the comic book adaptations being released. This is our third time on the show and it's always a treat to joke around and have fun with the hosts.Enjoy the clip below or go directly the show's website for the footage from our by clicking on the photo above...
Nominated for Joe Shuster Award (Best Writing)!
Just announced this morning is the news that we (Conor and Anthony) have been nominated for a 2012 Joe Shuster Award for Best Writing! This is the second-year in a row in which we have received a nod and we're quite pleased and touched by the nomination. We were nommed for our work on Issues 9 - 12 of the series, all of which were released in the first-half of 2011. Thanks to Kevin Boyd, who does a fantastic job organizing the entire process, the nominating committee, and everyone else associated (even Robert Haines... Boo...). And congrats to all of the nominees.A full list of the nominees can be found by clicking on the logo.
We'd be remiss for not expressing our disappointment that artist Andy Belanger failed to receive a nomination for his artwork for the series. Andy has done a superb job on the series (especially the last four issues - see sample below) and it pains us that he's not recognized. He definitely deserves to be - his layout and art is on the cutting edge and much stronger than most comic creators today.