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“Toil & Trouble” #1 Is A Fresh Take On A Classic Tale [Advance Review]

By | August 10th, 2015
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Something is rotten in the country of Scotland.

No, wait, that’s the wrong play. The tragedy of MacBeth is one of Shakespeare’s most enduring plays and peers deep into the darkest parts of the human soul. What happens, then, when you take one of the most classic plays in human history and turn it on its head by not only adapting it as a comic, but changing perspectives?

Find out in our spoiler free review of “Toil & Trouble” #1 down below.

Written by Maighread Scott
Illustrated by Kelly & Nichole Matthews
What’s to Love: Throw out your textbooks, this is not the Macbeth you remember. Mairghread Scott (Transformers: Windblade) and artists Kelly & Nichole Matthews have reinvented Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, but this time the power is in the hands of the three witches. These ladies aren’t all “double, double, toil and trouble.” They’re the power controlling kings and the fate of Scotland.
What It Is: The three fates—Riata, Cait, and Smertae—have always been guiding and protecting Scotland unseen, indirectly controlling the line of kings according to the old religion. When there is a disagreement in the sisterhood, Riata and Smertae will use men as pawns, and Smertae will direct Macbeth to a crown he was never meant to have.

One of the reasons Shakespeare’s works have been so enduring throughout the years is how readily they can adapt to new takes and new settings to recontextualise the story as it was originally told. Hell, one of the most well known interpretations of Hamlet features cartoon lions. His work speaks to many universal themes of tragedy and love and the darkness of men’s hearts and the corrupting power of ambition and, wow, the guy was kind of a downer, wasn’t he? But one of the things that endures the most in adaptations of Shakespeare’s works, despite how often the setting and time and contextualisation of the events will change, is how closely it will stick to the actual text. You can set Romeo And Juliet in the 90s on what is essentially Venice Beach while keeping Shakespeare’s Elizabethan dialogue intact and it still, somehow, works.

“Toil & Trouble” #1 is a comic that looks to change how we look at MacBeth in a big way. There have been adaptations of the play that have taken visual inspiration from the Soviet Union and there was even one set in Pennsylvania. However, writer Maighread Scott and artists Kelly and Nichole Matthews have shaken things up by completely changing the perspective of the main character in the story. Instead of following MacBeth on his ill-fated quest to become King of Scotland after a prophecy from three witches plants the seed in his head, “Toil & Trouble” tells the story of those witches and their involvement in the downfall of MacBeth.

When you talk about Shakespeare, many people shut down and say that they have no interest in his works because his plays come off as stuffy and old-fashioned. I was like that once too. What Maighread Scott has done with “Toil & Trouble”, however, is take the backdrop of MacBeth’s tragedy and used it to spin a fresh take on the story. The comic follows Smertae, the third witch of Shakespeare’s play, as she returns to Scotland and her meeting with her two sisters is a new look at the first scene of the play. Scott frames the meeting of the three witches not as the mysterious weavers of fate as Shakespeare did, but as sisters who hold the fate of Scotland in their hands as they decide on who shall be the next king. This is what kicks off Scott and the Matthews sisters’ take on MacBeth as Smertae struggles with her sisters on the choice of who the next king should be.

What makes “Toil & Trouble” feel so fresh and unique is how Maighread Scott makes the dialogue feel appropriate to the feel of the play while allowing it to feel more natural. This isn’t an adaptation that keeps all of Shakespeare’s dialogue intact as this first issue both expands on existing scenes in the play while creating new scenes to show Smertae’s perspective. Scott does a great job of making the new dialogue in keeping with the times while incorporating parts of Shakespeare’s dialogue in certain scenes. This still does feel like MacBeth, just not quite the MacBeth you remember.

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However, those unfamiliar with the play may find this issue quite slow. Adapting a play into another medium can be difficult as plays are largely built around the structure of having people just standing around in a room and talking to each other and then switching to a different room with different people. In this issue, I think Scott and the Matthews sisters do a great job of keeping the pace lively and the conversations never feel like a drag, but I can imagine that some people will think otherwise if they aren’t as familiar with the source material.

This is a slow burn of a comic that focuses on exploring the viewpoints of characters that, if you’ve read or seen MacBeth, bring a unique spin to the story. While I wonder if that will translate to someone with no experience of the original play, I think the engaging dialogue and characters and simply gorgeous art as well as keeping what made the play so enduring intact will mean that anyone can find something to enjoy here.

And make no mistake, the art is gorgeous. Kelly and Nichole Matthews are an art team of two sisters and their art is jaw-droppingly gorgeous here. They bring an ethereal quality to the comic that mixes a realistic sense of 11th Century Scotland when it comes to the clothes, weapons, armour and landscape of the world with a slight sense of fantasy in how the witches are portrayed that just feels perfect for the effect the story is going for. While the darkness of Shakespeare’s tragedy still bubbles under the surface of the comic, the switch in perspective from MacBeth to the witches allows for a lighter touch to be applied and the Matthews sisters’ style embodies that perfectly.

The colours of “Toil & Trouble” #1 are stunning. There’s something of a watercolour paint effect applied to the backgrounds of the rolling green hills and the dark and clouded skies that continues that ethereal effect. The colour palette feels more in keeping with a fantasy comic than you might expect going into the comic as the witches themselves spring off the page as they glow with incandescent magicks. It brings an otherworldly quality to the story and while many adaptations have otherwise kept the supernatural elements of Shakespeare’s writing to a minimum, “Toil & Trouble” embraces them wholeheartedly to capture something entirely unique.

Regardless of whether you know “MacBeth” inside and out or you’ve never encountered the play before, there’s something in “Toil & Trouble” for you to enjoy. In the writing, Maighread Scott has clearly worked hard to reward fans of the play by exploring a side of the story that has never been seen before while keeping the story open and accessible to anyone just stumbling across the comic. However, not matter your familiarity with the play, everyone can appreciate just how beautiful the artwork is here. With vibrant watercolours that paint the hills of Scotland greener than I’ve ever seen them and an ethereal style that brings the fantasy of the witches existence to the forefront of the story, Kelly and Nichole Matthews have shown themselves to be artists well worth following with this issue.

“Toil & Trouble” #1 is the first issue in a six issue series that presents a fresh spin on the tragedy of MacBeth. It’s written by Maighread Scott with artwork by Kelly and Nichole Matthews. The issue will go on sale September 2 and final orders are due August 10.

Final Verdict: 8.0 – A gorgeous debut for a series that takes one of the most classic stories of all time and brings a fresh perspective to it. Definitely one worth checking out.


Alice W. Castle

Sworn to protect a world that hates and fears her, Alice W. Castle is a trans femme writing about comics. All things considered, it’s going surprisingly well. Ask her about the unproduced Superman films of 1990 - 2006. She can be found on various corners of the internet, but most frequently on Twitter: @alicewcastle

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