Kill Shakespeare Vol. 2 – The Blast of War

Just in case you missed out on my first post about Kill Shakespeare Vol. 1 click here.

Authors Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col, and Andy Belanger have taken William Shakespeare and his greatest heroes and villains and put them together in a world where they either worship or detest their creator. Shakespeare is viewed as a godlike figure to some. Hamlet is the main character in both collections, and his trademark indecision is alive and well in this interpretation.

Kill Shakespeare, Volume Two: The Blast of War, nominated for a 2011 Harvey Award for best new comic series, and was nominated for a 2011 Shuster Award for outstanding comic writing.

I loved this volume just as much as the first! Volume 1 is leading up to the battle and introducing the characters into the plot line, but this volume has the beginning and possible end of the war against King Richard.

Hamlet, Juliet Capulet and Othello are training their people to stand up against the tyrant King Richard, to protect their freedom. Hamlet is on a journey to find the godlike Will Shakespeare who is to come and fight for the good of his children. Only Will possess the most sought after quill, that will protect the good from the evil.

There is blood, guts, beheadings and mythical creatures/monsters! There is romance, death, betrayal, laughter and sadness. This story has everything you’ve ever wanted and more!

As I said before, you don’t need to have taken a Shakespearean course in university to enjoy this comic. But in chapter two, when Iago and Othello are demonstrating the art of battle to their future warriors, they have a flashback to their torrid past. If I had not read Othello previously, I would have been a little lost in the foreshadowing of the tale. But it’s not required, because it consists only on a page or two.

Here the jist behind the feud between Othello and Iago. Just so you know. *Spoiler Alert (If you ever plan to read Othello)* Iago hated Othello because he passed him over for the position of lieutenant in favor of another soldier, Michael Cassio. Iago sought revenge and he concocted a plan to trick Othello into believing that Desdemona (the love of Othello’s life) was having a love affair with Cassio. Othello was felt so betrayed, and Iago used this vulnerability to manipulate Othello into killing Desdemona. Hence the hatred.

Overall this volume was easier to follow then the first. There are a couple of pages that threw me off in the beginning, but they began to flow much better throughout the rest book. I am was thrown because I, like most, read left to right on the left page, and then move to the right page. In this comic–as I assume they do in other comics–on some pages the story continues on to the right page and you must read the entire length. It gets confusing, but thank goodness there are only a handful of pages like these. As you can tell I am an amateur when I comes to comics.  

This book gave me a good chuckle, as well as a sad disposition as some points. A lot was wrapped up from the first comic, and I am filled with joy for volume 3!

I have not heard any word on when that might be ready for sale but I am following Kill Shakespeare on Twitter so I will keep you posted, or you can follow them as well @KillShakespeare.

Either way I hope you ENJOY this amazing tale, and I hope you let me know what you think once you’ve finished.

(Quote source: Blog Critics)

Kill Shakespeare Vol.1

I was putting away all of my amazing new books from Random House over the weekend, and stumbled upon a copy of Kill Shakespeare that was lent to me quite some time ago (sorry Tyler). I decided, that it would only take me an hour or two tops to read this graphic novel, so I dove right in, and needless to say, I was very impressed!

This is the first issue out of 12, the second issue is supposed to be released November 16th, 2011, according to the Kill Shakepeare Website, but Amazon states the release date is November 22nd. Either way–I cannot wait!

It is produced by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery, who also act as co-writers, alongside Andy Belanger as head-artist, Ian Herring as colourist and Kagan McLeod as cover artist.

In this first issue, we are merely introduced to the characters, and briefed on the plot of the tale. But I am already intrigued, and I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the second installation. Being a huge Shakespeare fan myself, I am overwhelmed with all the characters that have arisen so far.

The premise of this fable is one of good versus evil. On the side of good, we have: Hamlet, Juliet, Othello and Falstaff; who are pitted against the menacing villians: Richard III, Lady Macbeth and Iago. Hamlet is supposed to be the “Shadow King”, who is the prophecy that has been sent to save the people from the tyranny of King Richard III. But Richard III has his own plan to have Hamlet kill Shakespeare (who is looked upon as a God). But Hamlet does not know who to trust, or if he is indeed the “Shadow King”, some believe him to be.

If you are wondering, “What if I have never read any Shakespeare’s plays? Will I still understand what’s going on?” And the answer is yes! The friend who lent me this novel, has only read the plays he was forced to read in high school (which he probably doesn’t remember that well), and still enjoyed this book immensely. I find that because I have read all the plays that coincide with the graphic novel, I know a lot of background information on each of the characters; Iago especially (that sly fox!).

To have read Othello and to know Iago’s true nature, leaves you skeptical of every actions he makes. But I find that the creators of the tale, have exaggerated this detail for non-Shakespearean fans to grasp this concept.

The visuals alone would be enough to entice me to read this book. There are a lot of sword fights, brawls and blood. And I love every moment of it!!

“Kill Shakespeare is full of dark laughs, shocking alliances, bad puns and wild violence. Like the best of Shakespeare himself…” -Patton Oswalt (Comedian, Writer of Serenity, star of Ratatouille and King of Queens)

Go grab it and let me know what you think!! Enjoy!!

 

Movie vs Comic

After last nights post on The Walking Dead, I am loving the comic book theme, and I want to continue to run with it.

First off, The Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder. You’ve probably seen the movie, but have you read the graphic novel? I liked the movie, but I really enjoyed the comic. Every part of the movie is in the book, but there is also so much more (like always). You miss the background stories of the characters and most importantly the story of Edward Blake aka The Comedian. This information is vital to the plot line, and I don’t know how they could have cut it from the film (even though I heard that the DVD would have an extra hour worth of footage added).

Also, the most obvious changes deal with the things Snyder had to cut for time, at least some of which are going to be in the director’s cut. In particular, there’s the “Black Freighter” storyline, presented in Alan Moore’s Watchmen, as a comic-within-a-comic, a horror story being read by a young black kid hanging out at an old white dude’s newsstand. (The black kid and the old white dude are briefly seen at the end of the film, clutching each other as New York goes up in a flare of blue. The book includes a number of as-above-so-below scenes on the New York streets, where those characters and others—gang members, a local lesbian couple, a watch seller—play out their own minor dramas and in some cases, worry about the threat of nuclear war hanging over them, or otherwise react to the larger events of the comic. Don’t get me wrong the graphics in the film were awesome. But the graphics in the comic are close in comparison.

If you liked the movie than this is a must-read! I read the comic before the movie, and was a little disappointed (in the film) by all the missing components. So even if you weren’t completely thrilled with the movie do not let that deter you from experiencing the awesomeness that is THE WATCHMEN (the comic).

Another movie/comic book definitely worth checking out is Frank Miller’s Sin City!

In my opinion this is one of the best comic book/movie adaptation ever!! The movie was amazing!! I loved the cinematography throughout the entire film, and the acting was perfect! If you want to know how spot on the movie was to the comic you should pick it up! The comics are a work of art. I could not put them down, they were so enticing!

The film is primarily based on three of Miller’s works: The Hard Goodbye, about a man who embarks on a brutal rampage in search of his one-time sweetheart’s killer; The Big Fat Kill, which focuses on a street war between a group of prostitutes and a group of mercenaries; and That Yellow Bastard, which follows an aging police officer who protects a young woman from a disfigured serial killer.

ATTENTION! Sin City 2 is in development and it said to be released in 2013!!!!

I hope this will inspire you to pick up one of these graphic novels! What do you have to lose!?! You can complete these comics within a couple hours, and I can guarantee that it will be worth your while to do so! Enjoy!!

Here is a comparison from each comic to film adaptation.

For more comparison shots go to SIN CITY Comic vs Film

Source: The A.V. Club & ComicBookMovie

The Walking Dead (TV + Comic Book)

In preparation for tonight′s season two premiere of The Walking Dead, my husband and I spent last night cuddled up, watching season one. I was absolutely terrified, and I have already seen it! They made the first season very short, with only six episodes. I can definitely see why. They have movie quality graphics on a television show, and you wouldn′t want to have a large budget TV show bomb, and have all that money go down the drain. But it was obviously a success!!! Season two is going to be a full 20+ episode season, and I could not be more excited. Well maybe, I am petrified with fear when it comes to zombies. I do not know why, but they are the scariest of all the monsters in horror movies I have seen.

Dawn of the Dead is probably, by far, the scariest movie I have ever seen. Slow moving zombies (like Shaun of the Dead) don′t bother me as much, but the quick and resilient zombies or zombie like creatures (like 30 Days of Night or Resident Evil I) scary the living bejesus out of me!!

You know what it′s like watching a horror movie and you are on the edge of your seat the entire time, waiting for the next zombie to pop out of nowhere and start tearing the flesh off of some innocent bystander′s throat. If you are a suspense seeker, and love the feeling of anticipation, then you will love this show. In the movies, you hold your breathe for the hour and a half or so of the movies duration. But in this TV series, it is hour after hour of suspenseful torture (in a good way though).

I thought after my post about Cell by Stephen King, that this would be a great must-see show if you love zombies! Not only can you check out the book (no connection to the comics or the TV show, just an awesome read), but I thought I would promote the show and hopefully interest you into check out the comics.

The TV show is loosely based on the comics. The setting is the same and so are the characters, but the plot line is different, as I can tell so far in the first season. They are definitely worth checking out!!

I hope you enjoy your fright-filled evening ahead (if you are watching the show, or are picking up a horror novel or if you feel to just pop in a scary movie). Halloween is just around and we all love getting into the spirit by trying to scare ourselves as much as possible!!

ENJOY!!

Images: Image 1 – The Walking Dead Season One Poster. Image 2 – The Walking Dead Season Two Poster. Image 3 – The Walking Dead Issue #1 (Comic Book)