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.
Kill Shakespeare Volume 1
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Simon Tavener
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I received this today and am thrilled with it. I am a Shakespeare geek and so thought I would dip my toe into the world of Graphic Novels/Comics for the first time with this inventive and very stylish piece of work.
The world is very well rendered with classy use of a limited colour palette as well as some detailed (but not distracting) artwork.
The story is imaginative and feels as if the creators know their stuff.
I haven't finished it - as I want to take my time to appreciate what they have done.
Worth exploring
The world is very well rendered with classy use of a limited colour palette as well as some detailed (but not distracting) artwork.
The story is imaginative and feels as if the creators know their stuff.
I haven't finished it - as I want to take my time to appreciate what they have done.
Worth exploring
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars
15 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Vaulting Ambition proves valiant dust
21 Mar 2011
By J. A Magill
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Kill Shakespeare is a work of vaulting ambition. Sent away to England after accidentally killing Polonius Prince Hamlet is attacked by pirates. He awakens to find himself in the court of none other than the villain Richard III. Richard feigns goodness and offers Hamlet a deal: he'll resurrect the prince's father in exchange for Hamlet killing the wizard Shakespeare and bringing back his magical quill. While Hamlet accepts the commission, he quickly realizes that all is not what it at first seems; A group of Richard's subjects, known as Prodigals, are in open rebellion, led by Juliet, Othello, and Falstaff.
Vaulting Ambition proves valiant dust
The premise will no doubt bring Bill Willingham's "Fables" to mind for many readers. //Kill Shakespeare// likewise takes well known characters and tries to combine and grown them in ways both entertaining and unexpected. Just as I won't be the first person to make this comparison, I suspect I won't be the only one to conclude that, despite many strengths, Kill Shakespeare proves wanting.
Series creators Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col have a demonstrable affection for this material, but will irk many readers with short comings in both textual understanding and language. Most crucially of all, the writers rarely make the creative leap into taking these well known characters in directions that are both novel and engaging (Iago and Lady Macbeth being two delightful exceptions). More often than not, the writers move these iconic characters in the opposite direction, reducing their depth in the service a rather convoluted narrative.
These criticisms may be made harsher by a combination of my love of Shakespeare and my high expectations of this book. This series grasps at such a high concept that success was almost certain to prove elusive. On occasion, the action and dialogue proves amusing. I enjoyed the appearance of characters from the cast of some of the less widely read plays (and was more than a little disappointed to find them remain in minor roles). On the whole, however, this work's faults lie not in its stars but in itself.
Vaulting Ambition proves valiant dust
The premise will no doubt bring Bill Willingham's "Fables" to mind for many readers. //Kill Shakespeare// likewise takes well known characters and tries to combine and grown them in ways both entertaining and unexpected. Just as I won't be the first person to make this comparison, I suspect I won't be the only one to conclude that, despite many strengths, Kill Shakespeare proves wanting.
Series creators Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col have a demonstrable affection for this material, but will irk many readers with short comings in both textual understanding and language. Most crucially of all, the writers rarely make the creative leap into taking these well known characters in directions that are both novel and engaging (Iago and Lady Macbeth being two delightful exceptions). More often than not, the writers move these iconic characters in the opposite direction, reducing their depth in the service a rather convoluted narrative.
These criticisms may be made harsher by a combination of my love of Shakespeare and my high expectations of this book. This series grasps at such a high concept that success was almost certain to prove elusive. On occasion, the action and dialogue proves amusing. I enjoyed the appearance of characters from the cast of some of the less widely read plays (and was more than a little disappointed to find them remain in minor roles). On the whole, however, this work's faults lie not in its stars but in itself.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting start
28 Aug 2011
By Andy Shuping
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
If you're a fan of Shakespeare and a fan of the Fables series by Bill Willingham, then this comic should be right up your alley. The authors take the world of Shakespeare and turn it upside down. The characters are self aware and realize that there is some higher power that controls their world, but one faction seeks to kill this higher power--Shakespeare, and take his power for their own. At the center of the battle is Hamlet who has been case out of his home and finds himself in a strange land with two groups battling to control him, for they fear and hope that he is the one that can be the final piece of the puzzle.
Here's my word of advice...brush up on your Shakespeare before reading this volume. So many different characters and plots from the plays are thrown at you that it's hard to figure out some of the references if you haven't read the plays in a while. The overall story is decent enough although it does suffer a little bit from some gaps in the transitions and trying to cram a lot into the page which can prove to be a bit overwhelming.
The artwork isn't bad, although it appears that the characters can never be happy as they always look angry or confused...mostly angry. It fits well with the story, but there isn't anything that just jumps out at you as amazing. It lacks some of the polish that you can find in some series, such as Fables or "Y: the Last Man" and so background colors can overwhelm the foreground or both just blend together a bit.
It's an interesting series and I'll keep any eye on it. I just wish I didn't have to bone up on all of the plays to make sense out of some of the characters or places mentioned.
Here's my word of advice...brush up on your Shakespeare before reading this volume. So many different characters and plots from the plays are thrown at you that it's hard to figure out some of the references if you haven't read the plays in a while. The overall story is decent enough although it does suffer a little bit from some gaps in the transitions and trying to cram a lot into the page which can prove to be a bit overwhelming.
The artwork isn't bad, although it appears that the characters can never be happy as they always look angry or confused...mostly angry. It fits well with the story, but there isn't anything that just jumps out at you as amazing. It lacks some of the polish that you can find in some series, such as Fables or "Y: the Last Man" and so background colors can overwhelm the foreground or both just blend together a bit.
It's an interesting series and I'll keep any eye on it. I just wish I didn't have to bone up on all of the plays to make sense out of some of the characters or places mentioned.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Good Start
13 Dec 2010
By Everett Robert
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
As a comic book fan and a Shakespeare fan I was delighted to find this Vol. 1 TPB at a Borders. I flipped through the pages, but decided to buy it, based on the introduction from Darwyn Cooke and an endorsment from Patton Oswalt on the back.
I was not disappointed. This is a fun, fresh take on Shakespeare while obviously owing a debt to Fables and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Taking Shakespeare's familiar characters and putting them in a "shared" universe. Where Falstaff meets Hamlet, where Don John and Othello fight, where Richard the III has an agreement with the McBeths and mentions Titus and Lear.
The writing is sharp with plenty of references to Shakespeare's works. Some are subtle (Hamlet washes ashore in Richard's kingdom thanks to a "tempest"), others not as subtle (a whorehouse where Falstaff disguises himself as a woman is called "The Merry Wives of Windsor") and some are funny (a pub called "Bottom's Up"). There are also several lines spoken that came from various Shakespearean plays. Authors McCreery and Del Col know what they are writing abou t. Hamlet has a fine mixture of pathos, whining, uncertainty, and heroism. Iago is perfectly deceiving and Falstaff is just PERFECT!
The artwork I'm less impressed with. It's good, and the characters don't shift. It's certainly not the worst artwork I've seen out of IDW (their Expendables comic comes to mind), but I guess I was looking for something cleaner and not so comic like. Personal opinion of course.
Overall a 4 star review and I can't wait to see where Vol 2 takes us.
I was not disappointed. This is a fun, fresh take on Shakespeare while obviously owing a debt to Fables and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Taking Shakespeare's familiar characters and putting them in a "shared" universe. Where Falstaff meets Hamlet, where Don John and Othello fight, where Richard the III has an agreement with the McBeths and mentions Titus and Lear.
The writing is sharp with plenty of references to Shakespeare's works. Some are subtle (Hamlet washes ashore in Richard's kingdom thanks to a "tempest"), others not as subtle (a whorehouse where Falstaff disguises himself as a woman is called "The Merry Wives of Windsor") and some are funny (a pub called "Bottom's Up"). There are also several lines spoken that came from various Shakespearean plays. Authors McCreery and Del Col know what they are writing abou t. Hamlet has a fine mixture of pathos, whining, uncertainty, and heroism. Iago is perfectly deceiving and Falstaff is just PERFECT!
The artwork I'm less impressed with. It's good, and the characters don't shift. It's certainly not the worst artwork I've seen out of IDW (their Expendables comic comes to mind), but I guess I was looking for something cleaner and not so comic like. Personal opinion of course.
Overall a 4 star review and I can't wait to see where Vol 2 takes us.
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3.3 out of 5 stars
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