Three Days in Boston (this weekend)
It's a busy week for us with prepping the final issue of The Mask of Night (Andy Belanger's artwork is really amazing, and the issue should really allow for colorist Shari Chankhamma to shine as well), putting together the hard cover Backstage Edition, doing some work on our upcoming Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini series, and a bunch of other things. As well, I'm gearing up for one of my favourite shows...Boston Comic-Con 2014!
I will be at Table D709 the entire weekend. It's great as I'll be seated next to fellow Canuck creator Ramon Perez and amazing artist Marcio Takara. You can access a floor plan for the show here.I am also reprising my How to Pitch Your Comic workshop on Sunday at 11am in Waterfront Ballroom 1 (full event schedule here). It was a packed crowd last year and I received a great response and they asked me to return, which I am honoured to do. If you're trying to break into comics it's a great way to learn the ins-and-outs of the pitching process.So if you're in Boston please come and visit - last year was a great time and this year should be even better!
Hard Cover BACKSTAGE EDITION to come in October!
We're quite excited to announce that the long-awaited BACKSTAGE EDITION, which collects the original twelve issues of our tale, will be released in October of this year to comic book shops (and book stores)! With a leather hard cover, annotations by some of the top Shakespeare scholars in North America, an original Kill Shakespeare story, and original artwork designed by Andy Belanger, it's perfect for the biggest fans of our series!This is just a mock-up of what the cover will look like (we'll have it finalized in the next month):
You can pre-order copies at comic book shops this month (go now - order code is AUG140500!) or pre-order it online or with a book store. We're excited to see it first-hand in the very near future!
First Pages of The Mask of Night #2
With only a couple days before the release of The Mask of Night #2, here are the first three pages for your reading pleasure...
Our New Project!
Though we tend to blog almost exclusively on our Kill Shakespeare ventures, I figured that I would put a mention here of an upcoming comic book series that Conor and I are working on - and has just been announced this morning!Conor and I will be working with Dynamite Comics on SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. HARRY HOUDINI, a new five-issue series debuting this October in comic shops around the world!Looks like BleedingCool.com got the scoop on the series and posted the press release here. It appears as though they have my name wrong (I guess I'm now Spanish...?) but other than that it's great to see the news become public.And here is one of the covers - really cool!
Both Conor and I are quite excited about the series (I'm a big fan of the BBC Sherlock of recent years) and I can't wait for everyone to read it when it comes out!
Cover B of THE MASK OF NIGHT #2 Revealed!
Yesterday I posted the first cover THE MASK OF NIGHT #2. Today I'm posting the special sub-variant cover (aka really rare), created by artist J.K. Woodward for our upcoming Kill Shakespeare board game.Guilty or innocent? What says you?
The Mask of Night #2 cover!
It's scary how quickly time passes... We're now only two weeks ago from the release of The Mask of Night #2 (due in comic shops on Wednesday, July 23rd)!We've been pretty busy in the last couple of weeks with finalizing the rest of this mini-series (as well as some other things that will be announced soon) but we're excited to present our second issue of the series, picking up with Captain Cesario and his lover Viola, harboring Hamlet, Juliet, Othello and Shakespeare, and at the mercy of the Lavinia, Titus' main vessel. It's a tale of mutiny and love and should be one of our finest.Here is the first cover of the issue, done by our own Andy Belanger:
Check out the issue in two weeks at all comic book shops around the world!
Happy Birthday Conor!
Today (July 1st) is Kill Shakespeare co-creator Conor McCreery's birthday! So if you have a moment leave him a quick birthday note below, or on our Twitter or Facebook pages! Special points for those that leave him a note in iambic pentameter...
Happy birthday Conor!
Toronto Launch Event this Wednesday!
Now that we're back from L.A. Conor and I will be returning to our old stompin' ground of Toronto's Paradise Comics this Wednesday (the 26th) for a signing of the first issue of our new series, THE MASK OF NIGHT! It's where we have our first signing of our original series, as well as our sequel (The Tide of Blood) last year so we're looking forward to returning and hanging out with Doug, Pete and everyone else at Paradise.
We're signing from 4-7pm that day so come by and visit us and check out our new series!
The Mask of Night is revealed tomorrow!
Conor and I are currently in LA for meetings but being here will also give us a chance to celebrate the release of our new series, THE MASK OF NIGHT!The award winning series returns with a high seas tale of pirate battles, vengeance and lost love. Hamlet, Juliet, Othello and Shakespeare become pawns in a deadly game of survival between the legendary masked pirate Captain Cessario, his first mate Viola, and the new terror on the water, Titus Andronicus’ forbidding war ship The Lavinia.
Look for it in comic shops across North America tomorrow - Wednesday, June 18th!
First Page of The Mask of Night
With just over a week before the release of Kill Shakespeare: The Mask of Night #1 (released next Wed, Jun 18th) we're excited to release this first page of the issue. You can check out the amazing artwork by Andy Belanger (with colouring by Shari Hess) here:
This first page of the series introduces a brand new character into our story - the masked pirate Captain Cesario, who has a very interesting backstory and tie-in to one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters.Keep checking back for more sneak peaks!
Kill Shakespeare in New York!
It feels like such a long time since I've attended a convention (when in reality it's only been about six week or so)... But that (self-perceived) drought ends this weekend as I'm attending Special Edition: NYC!
This is a new convention and an extension of the uber-popular New York Comic-Con held every year in October. I figured that since I'm currently staying in New York I should check out the show and bring with me copies of our three volumes as well something brand new - copies of the first issue of The Mask of Night before it's even released (released next Wednesday, June 18th)!I will be at Table O2 all weekend so come by and visit!The show is on Saturday (the 14th) and Sunday (the 15th) at the Javits Centre North (for those that have been to NYCC before it's where Artists Alley always is). It'll be a smaller and more intimate show so I'm really looking forward to that aspect, as well as hanging out with some really talented fellow artists and creators.So come on by and check out the show!
Where it all began
I was going through my files recently and discovered this - the original treatment for Kill Shakespeare, written so many years ago. Wow. How this one doc changed my entire life and put me (and us) on this crazy and amazing ride...
Cover #2 for The Mask of Night!
Two days ago I previewed Cover A of the first issue of our new upcoming mini-series THE MASK OF NIGHT. The reaction online was really positive - people got excited about the art (by Andy Belanger) and the series.Today I'd like to post a preview of our second cover (Cover B), this time by renowned artist J.K. Woodward. J.K. was brought on by IDW Games to create the art for our upcoming board game Kill Shakespeare: The Board Game, and the art was so good that we decided to include it on the covers for the new series (which is a tie-in to the game). Here is the cover designed by him:
The Mask of Night revolves around Viola, the heroine from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In our take she has become a bloody pirate and her discovery of Hamlet, Juliet, Othello and Shakespeare leads to a series of events that challenges her, her love, and her devotion to the sea.J.K.'s done a great job here of capturing Viola in action and I think will become a very popular piece of art in the Kill Shakespeare canon.Look for The Mask of Night #1 at comic shops on Wednesday, June 18th!
A Sneak Peek of Our New Tshirts
Here is a design that will debut later this month... Do you like it?
Our new series is around the horizon!
"Though know'st the mask of night is on my face..."Yes, it's been a while since I've posted an update on our new upcoming series but that's because I've been quite busy (working from New York) and we've got a lot on the go. The thing I'm most excited about, though, is our brand new comic mini-series, KILL SHAKESPEARE: THE MASK OF NIGHT. And great news - the series debuts this month!I'll be posting art from the first issue over the next two weeks but the current release date of the first issue is Wednesday, June 18th! Yes, in just over two weeks from today!And here is a look at our first cover of the series, by series artist Andy Belanger (the B cover is by J.K. Woodward, based upon art from our upcoming board game). One of the central characters, the pirate Captain Cesario, is defined by his mask, which appears on Andy's first cover.So keep checking for more information - we'll be posting quite a bit in the next couple of weeks!
The winds blowing back from Chicago!
I know that it's been two weeks since I've posted anything on the site and I profusely apologize. I've been quite busy with a number of personal things (including moving!) and I am only now catching up on correspondence and follow-up on events of the last few weeks.Three weeks ago I attended C2E2 in Chicago and it was - as usual - a great time. Chicago is a great theatre town and it's great to see the amount of knowledge and enthusiasm about Shakespeare, the arts, theatre and everything else. We sold out of all of our book early on Sunday and almost out of tshirts as well.Thanks to everyone that attended - you made it a great show for me. I've been to Chicago at least once a year and I really like the city and look forward to visiting it again sometime soon.Here are some pictures from the weekend:
Wondrous WonderCon!
I'm in the midst of a move (details to come soon!) so I've been pretty swamped the last couple of weeks. But I wanted to take a moment to post some photos from our appearance at WonderCon in Anaheim two weeks ago (March 18 - 20).As usual, it was a great show for us - we sold out of books, sold a whack of tshirts, and gained a whole new legion of fans. Thanks so much to everyone who came by our booth as well as those that helped us out - Alex from WonderCon, Mimi Cruz from Night Flight Comics, and everyone from IDW Publishing, especially Dirk Wood, Chris Mowry, Mike Ford and everyone else.Here are some glimpses of our time at the show:
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks in the Windy City
After a great weekend at WonderCon (more on that in the next day or two - with photos!) Conor and I have returned to Toronto for a brief stopover before heading out this weekend. While Conor heads to Calgary (he'll post more on that) I'm heading to Chicago to take part in what has quickly emerged as one of the top comic conventions in the world, C2E2.
This will be the third year in a row that we've attended the show and it's one of our best shows. Chicago, being the theatre-centric town that it is, has really embraced our series and at last year's show Strawdog Theatre mounted a small production of their acclaimed Kill Shakespeare theatre show.
This year I'll be at Booth 126 (close to Marvel and the other comic publishers) and will be selling/signing books and our ShakesGeare all weekend. So swing by to say hello and find out more about our upcoming projects, including the board game, the new The Mask of Night series, and everything else!
WonderCon here we come!
I believe that I've written this before but WonderCon has a very special place in my heart. Back four years ago it was at this show (in San Francisco) that we officially launched Kill Shakespeare - doing some signings, meeting with media, and sitting on a panel.Four years, three volumes (with a fourth on its way), too many conventions to count and we're coming back again - and really looking forward to it! I've had the privilege of representing us at this show the last two years but this year I'm joined by Conor. With our hectic schedules it's actually rare to see us at the same show - mainly it's only New York Comic-Con and FanExpo in Toronto.
We will be selling and signing books and ShakesGeare all weekend at Booth D-13. Come by and visit us and we'll sing a song, crack a joke, or give you a Canadian-ism.Conor is also sitting on an IDW panel (details TBA) so look for that as well.Anaheim, here we come!