Kill Shakespeare #3
Writers: Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col
Artist: Andy Belanger
Colorist: Kagan McLeod
Full Color
32 pages
$3.99
It’s never too late to join a classic! Dying is easy; comedy is hard… Hamlet’s quest to track down the wizard Shakespeare takes an interesting turn with the entrance of the witty–yet mysterious–fool Falstaff. Together they flee from the relentless assassins unleashed by Iago while Richard attempts to wrestle control from his rival Macbeth with the support of the alluring Lady Macbeth. As Falstaff himself would declare, this issue features fights, frivolities, femme fatales, faeries, and fakeries, all forming one fantastic fable.
The Fool Doth Think He’s Wise. In this issue, we’re blessed with the focus being on Falstaff’s misadventures escorting Hamlet away from the dastardly fiends that include Iago and Richard III. The guys working on the title graciously provided a review copy so I can share my thoughts. How did it (renaissance) fa(i)re? Well, you’ll see behind the cut!
(Sorry about the lame joke)
Well for starters, I really liked their portrayal of Falstaff, who was a fool and kind of an overbearing fool at that, but also capable of moments of brilliance, even if he’s cross dressing to get away from the bad guys. Admittedly I don’t know much about the character other than his role in this book (I have never read or seen Henry IV), but McCreery and Del Col certainly seem to have a handle on the character. From Richard III to Lady Macbeth to, yes Falstaff, everyone seems to be fully realized characters that have been transferred from those Shakespearean classics to a new medium. My one issue is that after three issues, Hamlet is still pretty much a blank slate, going along with whoever is in front of him, without thinking about it much. I hope it’s because we’re setting up the rest of the ensemble first, and I have faith it is.
And once again, Andy Belanger pencils a great looking book. He also seems remarkable quick, as his penciled are extremely detailed and kinetic. At WonderCon, he told me he had a lot of fun drawing Falstaff, and you can really tell that’s true. I’m actually really looking forward to the next issue when Othello makes his debut, as Falstaff seems to be second only to him in terms of the amount of fun he has drawing him. That’s exactly what you want in a title. When an artist loves drawing it, the quality will go through the roof as opposed to one “simply” for a paycheck. I’m actually a little surprised he never mentioned how fun it was to draw Puck (!) as he was one of the most fun characters to look at in the book. But I might be speaking as a fan of Midsummer Night’s Dream fan. If you heard or read the interview from WonderCon, I have a strange obsession with Nick Bottom.
Overall, the book is still worth reading, despite my problems with the lack of a connection to Hamlet. The other characters were a lot of fun to read, even when they’re terrible people, and the art is just stellar. Check it out if you can, and support a really good creator-owned title.
Final Verdict: 7.2 – buy
