Killing Shakespeare in his own city!
I returned just over 24 hours ago from a whirlwind trip to London where I took part in the London Comic-Con (the weekend of Oct 24-26th). This was my third time over the pond for a show and I'm growing more and more attached to the city. In addition to the show I swung by the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the Globe Theatre. Both incredibly inspiring spots.Here are some pics from this weekend.
- Shocked by the content of Holmes vs. Houdini!
Kill Shakespeare in London!
Though I'm still recovering from the melee that was the New York Comic-Con this past weekend, I am now preparing for one final comic-con (for me) this year. And is it not fitting that it'll be in the place that Shakespeare became famous - London, England?
Yes, I'm heading to London next week for the London MCM Comic-Con. Conor attended the show back in May and I attended a couple of the show last year and they were all great. It's an amazing city with a huge appetite for anything geek (and Shakespeare). There are a great group of organizers involved and the crowds are huge and wild.The show takes place next Friday (October 24) until Sunday (the 26th) and I will be there all three days. Once I have my exact table number (and panel info) I'll post them online but it shouldn't be too hard to find me at the show.So if you're in London please spread the word - the Canadian is invading! The Canadian is invading!
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:
Pre-Order a Copy of our Board Game on Kickstarter!
Today is a big day. Launching just a few hours ago was a Kickstarter campaign for pre-sales and purchase of additional items and features for our forthcoming Kill Shakespeare Board Game.IDW Games, with Nate Murray and Jerry Bennington running point, has done a strong job putting the game together and now this campaign is the next step. Games will be retailing for about $60 upon release but the first 250 people that purchase the game online can get it at a price of $40. Also included are other features such as original art from the game, a collector's edition carrying game, dice, etc.You can check out the Kickstarter campaign here.
Spread the word - let everyone know! This isn't a game just for those that have read the books but any game fan, comics fan or Shakespeare fan.A few hours in and we've already made it to over 20% of our funding goal of $25K but beyond that we have a lot more, including special surprise rewards. So keep checking back and promoting the game and the campaign.We'll post updates as the next 25 days go on.
Tickets available for Kill Shakespeare in New York!
I posted two weeks ago that Kill Shakespeare: Live Graphic Novel will be performed in New York in March of this year (March 1-5) and tickets are now on sale! If you'd like to purchase tickets (going for $15), you can do so at this link.And the official press release is here.
If you're in New York - go check out the show! It's an amazing cast and production company that really, really love the production. I may try to head down there myself to check it out too...
The Kill Shakespeare Stage Show Is Going to New York!
Last year our KILL SHAKESPEARE: LIVE GRAPHIC NOVEL played in a number of cities (and internationally in Dubai) so we figured that it would be tough to top that year in terms of shows and performances. Well, 2014 is getting off to a great start for the show as it will be making its official New York City debut in March of this year!The creative Gideon Productions will be putting on the stage show for five performances from March 1 - 5th as part of the HERE: Coop's Sublet Series. The production will be directed by artistic director Jordana Williams (one of NYTheatre.com's 2012 People of the Year) and feature a great cast of equity and non-equity actors.
Yes, you may recall that Gideon put on the production at the 2012 New York Comic-Con but that was an abridged version of the tale. This will be a full production and, knowing the cast and crew, one that will really make the visuals and story fly.Tickets are not available for sale yet but once they are we will keep you updated.
Ophelia's Letter to Santa... (McSweeney's)
As I celebrate the holidays here in Canada with loved ones I figured I should post something quite funny my sister just showed me... Letters to Santa from Shakespeare Characters, created by McSweeney's a few years ago. You can check them all out here.
My favourite, from Ophelia:Dear Santa:How does my lord? I am fine. I believe ’tis possible you did not receive my wish list last year, or that it fell into unsavory hands and was rudely tampered with before reaching you, as all you brought me was a chastity belt and some granny underpants. I pray that this one flies to you untainted since this year hath really sucked. I wish for the following:— He’s Just Not That Into You (book and DVD)— “All About Me” Lock and Key Diary— National Geographic Flower and Leaf Pressing Kit— Coastal Deluxe Automatic Inflatable Life VestFingers crossed, Ophelia
Ye Olde Black Friday Sale!
Yes, everyone is off to the races this year for Black Friday in the U.S. (and even here in Canada more and more every year)... So in that spirit we figured we would get into the spirit by offering our ShakesGeare tshirts on sale for the holiday season!
Starting today all of our tshirts purchased online are 20% OFF, or now $15.99 (down from $19.99). This sale will go for the next five weeks so take advantage of it now - they make excellent holiday gifts for the Shakespeare geek in your circle!Click here, or on the image of our Super Shakespeare Fighter shirt to check out our online sales site.
All the World's the Globe Stage!
It has been an amazing time here in England and one of the highlights was my experience last night (Tue, Oct 22).I was invited by Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper to speak to her Shakespeare adaptation class about Kill Shakespeare, our interpretation of the characters, our next steps, etc. It was a great chat and we discussed everything from feminism to Game of Thrones.Thanks to all the students who came out to the class.And then afterwards Dr. Karim-Cooper offered me the opportunity to hop on stage. The stage wasn't in use that evening so they turned on the lights and let me walk the boards. It was a simply amazing experience and one that I will never regret! I couldn't hide my glee and felt better when Dr. Karim-Cooper mentioned that Dr. Stephen Greenblatt, one of the world's top Shakespeare academics, had a similar reaction.I am still on a high from this, 24 hours after the fact.Here are some photos from the day:
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.
Vloging from Stratford-upon-Avon
Conor and I visited Stratford-upon-Avon earlier today and had some great meetings with a number of top Shakespearean scholars, movers and shakers. The rain-and-then-sunny-then-rain-again couldn't keep our spirits down as the day began with a trip to the Shakespeare Birthplace - the house that the Bard was born and raised in (and then took over and converted into a pub when he returned to Stratford as a successful playwright).Here is a brief video that I took while there... and look for a cameo from Conor (along with an educational insight)...
C2E2 Camera Connection!
I know that it's been two weeks since C2E2 in Chicago but I'm only now getting around to posting some photos from the trip. I apologize for this - the last two weeks have been quite busy with the Middle East Film & Comic-Con trip, then catching up on everything. I'll also post the Dubai photos later this week.My trip to Chicago was fantastic. It's a great theatre town so obviously there were already a lot of Kill Shakespeare fans there - and we were able to make so many more! My only regret is that our book stock is pretty low so we sold out early Sunday morning.I have a LOT of people to thank for making Chicago so great. I'd like to thank my booth helper for Saturday and Sunday - the fantastic Sarah Hunter. I'd also like to thank Christina Hall and Diego, who helped out for a few hours on Friday evening. I'd like to thank the amazing team at the ALA - especially Tina Coleman - for including us in their scavenger hunt (I'll see you in June at the conference in Anaheim!). Lys Fulda for helping me out with accomodations in the city (go Chinatown!). Jenny and Chris from ReedPop who helped us secure our spot at the show. Everyone who came out to my STANDING ROOM ONLY workshop on pitching and marketing your comic. And finally, the amazing Kate Kotler for helping out through the weekend and serving as a city tour guide (from a remote distance - she was 'M' to my James Bond through the city)...Next year will be even better! I look forward to visiting the city again.Here are some pictures:
Blowing winds take us to C2E2 this weekend!
The past few weeks have been an absolute blur - and blast - which have found me in Anaheim/LA (WonderCon and meetings), Seattle (Emerald City), Boston (SAA) and, in a few days, Chicago. Which, of course, will be very promptly followed by Dubai (but more on that tomorrow...).
I'm heading to Chicago later this week to take part in C2E2, one of the largest (and fastest growing) cons in the U.S. It should be a great time - it's a city with a great theatre crowd and I know that we've sold well in Chi-town stores. I look forward to meeting with existing readers, convincing more to check us out, and hanging out in the city (it's my first time there). Amongst other things I'll be checking out the Improvised Shakespeare Company on Friday night - they are a talented troupe the improvises a Shakespeare production on the spot - should be a good time.If you're in the Chicago and surrounding area (or a surrounding state) come by and check us out! I'll be located at Booth 703 the entire weekend. Also helping me out with be the amazing Sarah Hunter as well as Christina Hall.
All the World's the SAA!
Conor and I just got back from the Shakespeare Association of America's 2012 conference, held in Boston the past three days. Despite my lack of sleep I'm still on a high from the days there. The SAA is an organization devoted to the study of Shakespeare and his plays and how they from a part of the culture.
It was a great conference for us for SO many reasons: we got to meet up with some old friends, meet up with a lot of our Facebook and Twitter followers, were fortunate to sit in on the Friday morning plenary presentation by Dr. Peter Holland (University of Notre Dame), who discussed our project in the presentation "Shakespeare, Humanity Indicators, and The Seven Deadly Sins"), discovered that two other academics profiled our project in other papers (including one, "Screw Shakespeare", that discusses the sexual and pornographic images in our series" - who knew?), sold a lot of books and t-shirts... but MOST importantly, left feeling even more energized about the potential of our series to reach larger audiences and a better appreciation of how great Shakespeare is.Thanks to everyone who chatted with us this weekend - you were all great to talk to and you each inspired us. Thanks for that!And next year we look forward to attending - especially as it's right here in Toronto!Here are some pictures from the weekend...
Shakespeare Plenary Presentation
Conor and I are currently at the Shakespeare Association of American Annual Conference in Boston and winning over a LOT of people to our series. It's been a great time and the highlight was this morning when Peter Holland (University of Notre Dame) profiled us in his plenary presentation this morning to all delegates. Here is a pic:
More information to come!
What character(s) should we add?
We are currently investigating the possibility of continuing our series based on feedback and support. While we do so, we'd like to pose a question to our followers/fans/readers - what character(s) would you like to see in a continued or future series? We've thrown this question out into the social network sphere but would also like your opinion here. Would it be the wizard Prospero? The battling sweethearts Beatrice and Benedick? A little-known character? A well-known character? We're all ears...
What's the best beer to drink while reading Kill Shakespeare?
It's generally not my policy to post every review we find on Kill Shakespeare - there simply wouldn't be enough space and time for me to post everything. However, there was one posted yesterday that I thought quite funny...
The great iFanboy site has a regular column called Comic Shots. They describe is as such: Each week the iFanStaff passes along a tasty drink recipe and an even tastier comic book recommendation. The cocktail (or beer, or wine, or booze) and the comic can both be enjoyed independently, but they have a common theme and when served together they can make for the perfect reading experience.And this week it was Kill Shakespeare.And the drink? Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout by Rogue.Reviewer Ryan Haupt describes the drink and then gives it a good review. As for the book? As he says, "it... serves as a fine example of what can be accomplished with basic ingredients used in the right way."I'll let you enjoy the article - and perhaps the drink sometime...(Click on the image to read the review of the book and drink.)
Another Kill Shakespeare Appearance in the Digital World
We were approached by Daniel Fischlin, a professor at the University of Guelph and the Director of the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project (CASP), earlier this year to be involved in a cool new digital project they were putting together. After a few months of development and beta testing, the product is in!
ROMEO & JULIET: THE SHAKESPEARE APP is now released and available on iTunes for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is described as such:Simply the most complete, media-rich app. of a Shakespeare play ever created, the InteractiveReaders’ version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet gives you the full play with integrated easy to use notes, facts, critical readings, and multimedia, including videos with well-known Shakespearean experts talking about the play, and all the source texts Shakespeare used to write the play. Read Shakespeare like you’ve never read him before. Use the cleverly designed interface to take notes and search the play. Discover unusual facts about the play. Learn vocabulary. Interact with a variety of media that allow you to explore how Romeo and Juliet has been adapted and remade over the centuries since Shakespeare wrote it. Look up words or phrases you don’t understand. Get act-by-act plot summaries. Get important information about all the characters in the play. Access hard-to-find source materials Shakespeare used to write the play. See how pop culture has adapted the play into graphic novels and movies.There is a section in the App that gives a preview and synopsis of Kill Shakespeare so it's great to see other applications incorporate our tale into theirs.You can go directly to the iTunes page for the App by clicking on the image above or going here.Also, we will be presenting at a Shakespeare Conference that Dr. Fischlin is putting together on November 1st of this year in Guelph so look for more details in the near future.
Pics from Toronto's FanExpo
We had an absolute blast at FanExpo this past weekend. We enjoyed taking part in the WGC adaptation panel on Thursday evening, I enjoyed talking to the packed-crowd for our How to Create and Market Your Indy Comic on Friday, and, of course, we had a great time talking to fans, readers, geeks and everyone else that came by our poorly-placed booth.A few photographic highlights of the weekend...
Fight the Bear in Toronto!
Off the heels of a very successful Baltimore Comic-Con, we will be appearing at this upcoming weekend's FanExpo Canada. We had a great time last year and this year should be even better! We will be selling our trade, our issues (including the just-released Issue #12), original artwork, and our new ShakesGeare merchandise (photos to be loaded to the site in the next day or two).The show runs from Thursday to Sunday (check out exact times here) and Andy, Conor and I will be at BOOTH 112, sharing space with cover artist Kagan McLeod and the other talented artists from Andy's studio.
We will also be taking part in two panels."The WGC Presents: Respecting the Fanbase" - Thu, Aug 25 - 8-9pm (room 714): A look into the process of adapting successful properties, we will be sitting on the panel along with our story editor Howie Wiseman and the creators of The Murdoch Mysteries. More info here."Kill Shakespeare Presents: Creating and Marketing Your Own Comic" - Fri, Aug 26 - 5-6pm (room 717): This workshop will feature advice, lessons and tips on how to create your own comic book series, from idea generation through to securing financing, publishing deals, retailer awareness, marketing, advertising and everything else in-between.