about the book
This graphic novel is a tragedy, but be forewarned, dear reader, it is definitely not your daddy’s Shakespeare! In this tale, the Bard himself is a central character. and it is hard to tell whether he is a wizard, an evil being, or a god!
The tale takes place in a parallel universe in which all of characters from the classic plays are present, but the story is all about the bad guys versus the good guys. There is a magical dagger, a mystical quill, and an awesome prophecy which foretells that a great hero, the Shadow King, will judge whether Shakespeare lives or dies!
The tale begins with Claudius killing his brother, the King of Denmark. To avenge his father’s death, Hamlet kills the nobleman Polonius and is banished for the crime. Before boarding a ship bound for England with his companions Rosencrantz and Guildenstein, Hamlet encounters a strange mist that speaks to him; it appears again during the voyage. Hamlet’s companions die when the ship is attacked by pirates, but Hamlet barely escapes, hanging onto a piece of wreckage.
In England, King Richard III asks for Hamlet’s help. If Hamlet can find the Bard and retrieve Shakespeare’s quill, the source of all power and life, Richard will resurrect Hamlet’s father! Hamlet agrees to this Faustian bargain but has no clue how to go about it.
Iago offers advice on how to make a secret path appear in the woods. Deep in the forest, Hamlet is knocked out and kidnapped by Falstaff. Taken to a brothel which is attacked by bandits, Hamlet and Falstaff escape dressed as women. They meet up with Juliet Capulet and Othello, the leaders of the Prodigal rebellion. That is when Falstaff informs Hamlet that he is the Shadow King! In the meantime, the evil Lady Macbeth joins up with the equally nasty Richard III.
Think this plot is complicated? Just wait! Hamlet saves Juliet’s life and ends up kissing her. Romeo Montague enters the scene. The dead King of Denmark shows up as a ghost. Hamlet uses some untapped power to find another secret path that leads to the Globe Theater and Shakespeare himself. From there, dear reader, the story gets really exciting!
about the author
Anthony Del Col was born and raised in Timmons, Ontario, Canada. He has been a Shakespeare buff ever since Mr. Michener’s tenth grade class. George Cribbs, another favorite teacher, arranged trips to Stratford every year.
Anthony majored in business in college and minored in film studies. He made a name for himself producing two independent feature films and managing the international pop star Nelly Furtado. He was also involved in the television industry and was the co-writer for the revived Sherlock Holmes vs Harry Houdini series for Dynamite Comics and the new Assassin’s Creed series for Titan Comics. When the idea for Kill Shakespeare (an epic quest to bash the Bard) popped into his head in 2005, he was too busy to pursue it at the time, but he and co-creator, Conor McCreey, intended to make it into a video game followed by a movie.
In 2009 Anthony and Conor attended the New York Comic-Con and their Shakespearean concept sparked a lot of interest with publishing companies. Anthony’s strength is writing story structure and Conor’s is dialogue. The first comic book issue appeared on April 14, 2010, and the story arc ran for twelve issues. In 2012 and 2014, IDW issued two special new limited series which continued the original story line. The Kill Shakespeare series was nominated for a Joe Schuster and a Harvey Award and was adopted into a live staged reading which has been presented at venues all across the world. A feature film and a board game are also in the works.
Anthony, though a very proud Canadian, chooses to live in Brooklyn with his wife, Lisa.
Sources:
Official series page: Kill Shakespeare
Article on author: Timmins Press
Author page: Amazon
Behind the Curtain: Kill Shakespeare
Author interview: Dork Shelf
Kill Shakespeare page: Wikipedia
Video Interview: Oddly Together
Also by Anthony Del Col:
Assassin’s Creed : 1 : Trial by Fire. Titan Comics. July 2016.
Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini by Carlos Furuzono. Dynamite Entertainment. 2015.
Kill Shakespeare : 4 : The Mask of Night with Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2014.
Kill Shakespeare : 3 : The Tide of Blood with Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2013.
Kill Shakespeare : 2 : The Blast of War with Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2011.
Kill Shakespeare : 1 with Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2010.
about the author
Just like his friend and co-writer, Anthony Del Col, Conor McCreery is a diehard Shakespeare fan. For both, the interest in the Bard began way back in elementary school. A production of The Tempest that Conor saw in seventh grade sparked his passion, and he still attends the Stratford Festival every year!
Though Conor studied business at Wilfrid Laurier University, he minored in theater, and his career has been in film, television, and journalism. He has contributed over a thousand stories and articles about everything from stock market apocalypses to celebrity gossip and has provided expert analysis for Canada’s business news network.
Kill Shakespeare is his first comic book and graphic novel experience. He liked it so well that he paired with Anthony again to assassinate the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini in the Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini series for Dynamite Comics. In this series the famed sleuth Sherlock and brash showman Harry combine forces to defeat a mysterious mystic dedicated to destroying Harry’s career and killing anyone who gets in his way.
Conor lives in Toronto with his wife Crystal and his daughter Peregrine.
Sources:
Creators’ bios: Kill Shakespeare
Author interview: Dork Shelf
Author profile: LinkedIn
Kill Shakespeare page: Wikipedia
Video Interview: Oddly Together
Also by Conor McCreery:
Assassin’s Creed : 1 : Trial by Fire by Anthony Del Col. Titan Comics. July 2016.
Kill Shakespeare : 4 : The Mask of Night with Anthony Del Col. Idea & Design Works. 2014.
Kill Shakespeare : 3 : The Tide of Blood with Anthony Del Col. Idea & Design Works. 2013.
Kill Shakespeare : 2 : The Blast of War with Anthony Del Col. Idea & Design Works. 2011.
Kill Shakespeare : 1 with Anthony Del Col. Idea & Design Works. 2010.
about the illustrator
Anthony Belanger is a commercial illustrator and a comic artist who works out of Montreal-based Studio Lounak.
In the past, he has worked with award-winning writer Becky Cloonan on her Southern Cross series for Image Comics as well as DC’s Swamp Thing and Marvel’s Wildstorm and Devil’s Due. He is also the creator of Zuda’s Comic’s Battle of Awesome and self-publishes the medieval horror comic Black Church.
Lately, he has been kept really busy working with writers Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery on the very successful Kill Shakespeare series. The twelve original comics were extended twice with limited series additions, adapted into a graphic novel, and a staged reading, and plans are underway for a full length feature film and a board game. The series is also garnering rave reviews from teachers who enjoy using these new versions of Shakespeare’s characters in their classrooms.
Anthony claims that Falstaff is his very favorite character to draw. He envisions this hard-drinking, brothel visiting guy as a troublesome mentor to Hamlet.
Sources:
Creators’ bios: Kill Shakespeare
Video Interview: Oddly Together
Also illustrated by Anthony Belanger:
Kill Shakespeare : 4 : The Mask of Night with Anthony Del Col& Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2014.
Kill Shakespeare : 3 : The Tide of Blood with Anthony Del Col& Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2013.
Kill Shakespeare : 2 : The Blast of War with Anthony Del Col& Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2011.
Kill Shakespeare : 1 with Anthony Del Col & Conor McCreery. Idea & Design Works. 2010.
read more!
Kill Shakespeare : 2 : The Blast of War by Conor McCreery & Anthony Del Col
When Hamlet joins his love interest Juliet, the warrior Othello, the wise fool Falstaff, and the spy Iago in their plot against evil Richard III and Lady Macbeth, their rebellion leads Hamlet closer to their reclusive creator-god, William Shakespeare. When Hamlet finally meets Shakespeare, however, he soon realizes this creator-god is far from what he envisioned and now must decide whether he should be saved or killed.
Manga Shakespeare : The Merchant of Venice by Richard Appignanesi
This graphic novel is a colorful and fast moving adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice.” Antonio borrows money from Shylock, a Venetian money lender, to give to his friend Bassanio. But when Antonio’s fortunes fall, the lender seeks his revenge by forcing Antonio to repay him with one pound of flesh.