Kill Shakespeare Volume 1 - Softcover

McCreery, Conor; Del Col, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1600107818 ISBN 13: 9781600107818

Publisher: IDW Publishing, 2010

Synopsis

What Fables does for fairy tales, Kill Shakespeare does with the greatest writer of all time.

This dark take on the Bard pits his greatest heroes (Hamlet, Juliet, Othello Falstaff) against his most menacing villains (Richard III, Lady Macbeth, Iago) in an epic adventure to find and kill a reclusive wizard named William Shakespeare.

About this title

From Booklist

A narrative device that could easily have crashed and burned instead proves engaging and, at times, enlightening in this clever extrapolation of the Bard’s narratives and characters. Foulest of the foul, tyrant Richard III and the seductive Lady Macbeth trick an anguished Hamlet into a quest for the quill of a mysterious wizard known as William Shakespeare. Though in the care of the king’s man Iago, Hamlet soon finds himself in the company of the deceptively buffoonish Falstaff, who brings him before Othello and Juliet, leaders of a rebellion against the king. Though its heavier on action than Shakespeare ever was, authentic interpretations of the cast (particularly master manipulator Iago and the rascal Falstaff) and several scenes faithful to the playwright’s themes make for a much more enjoyable read than many Shakespeare-phobic students are likely to expect. The art opens up the world and offers some impressively imagined backgrounds at the same time that it keeps the characters grounded and real and the entire production appropriately theatrical. A grim epilogue promises more in the offing. Grades 9-12. --Jesse Karp

Review

“A fantastic concept, cleverly executed with style and smarts. Lots of cool Easter Eggs for the literary-minded, but still plenty entertaining for the rest of us dummies!” —John Layman (Writer of Chew and former literature major)

“Bravo! Kill Shakespeare is a tale woven with the wit, magic and myth, worthy of Will himself.” —Des McAnuff (Artistic Director, The Stratford Shakespeare Festival)

“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)

About this edition

• Publisher: IDW Publishing
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1600107818
• ISBN 13: 9781600107818
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 148