Written by Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col
Illustrated by Andy Belanger
As word of the Prodigals’ victory spreads a rebel army masses in Shrewsbury. Against this backdrop, Othello and Iago cross swords, Richard and Lady Macbeth lock horns and Hamlet and Juliet’s love blossoms. But will the Dane live long enough to enjoy Cupid’s fruit? Not if a ghost from Juliet’s past has anything to say about it.
This book is the ultimate theater geek’s fantasy and has been so consistently for 7 issues now. The concept of characters existing in a shared universe is nothing new within the world of fiction and especially not within the world of comics. However, despite the fact that the characters being brought together in this series have been well known by even the lowest layman for hundreds of years, their use over the course of this maxi-series has been wholly unique and an absolutely phenomenal tribute to the work of The Bard. Now entering its final act, how does Kill Shakespeare hold up after eight issues? Click below to find out!
While, admittedly, this issue didn’t advance the story all that terribly, this is the first straight character focused issue seen since the top of the series and it speaks volumes about McCreery and Del Col’s grasp of these characters. It takes lot of thought and preparation to write a character that wasn’t originally created by you and effectively continue their story. However, when you take into account that the characters they are working with are some of the most well known and important literary archetypes known to man, it takes even more thought and even more prep and also an IMMENSE amount of courage, since lets be honest…screwing up Hamlet carries a lot more weight that screwing up Spider-Man in the grand scheme of things. Thankfully though, the co-writers have absolutely done their homework, and the actions of the characters in this issue absolutely convey that. That said, this is also one of the first time we see the character mesh well. Its one thing to bring characters from, effectively, different universes and have them co-exist in one universe, but its even harder to make that move seem like anything more than a marketing or storytelling ploy. However, be it the jovial antics of Hamlet and Othello or the confrontation between Richard and Lady Macbeth, this issue proves more than any seen so far that these characters actually could co-exist and interact and indeed that they SHOULD do so. In showing this type of interaction, I think this series has finally found its voice and I could not be happier with it. Plus, WHAT a cliffhanger!
While continuing with and expanding on the voice of Shakespeare is daunting in and of itself, portraying it visually and respectfully is even harder than that. Thankfully, Andy Belanger is the perfect man for the job. While his locations and background are as detailed and full as any artist worth their salt can create, it’s his character work that really shines. Drawing characters that have been portrayed differently for hundreds of years depending on the person entering the role is a daunting task, and it appears that for all intents and purposes Belanger has gone back to the source material for his depictions of them now. As someone who has read far more Shakespeare than he has seen performed, I can safely proclaim that these characters fit perfectly with what existed in my mind’s eye (I figured Hamlet was a little older, but this works just as well.) However, what really catches my eye is not the art itself, but the way in which it was presented. Much like the writing team has clearly studied their source material; Belanger has clearly taken the time to understand how to compose a comic book page. More than that though, he uses established conventions and expands on them to create some truly unique page layouts and the story flourishes immeasurably as a result.
Overall, I am completely on board with this book. While I remain skeptical that non-established Shakespeare fans will find a lot of enjoyment within these pages, ultimately who cares about them? I get the feeling that, more than anything else, this was a by the fans for the fans tale, and in that regard it is excelling.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy
