Kill Shakespeare: A Sea of Troubles
As a literature major at Old Dominion University, I have an extreme sweet spot for comics that lie in the literary realm (i.e. Fables, The House of Mystery, and The Unwritten). While browsing Barnes and Noble about a week or so ago I stumbled upon a gem of a two-part series titled Kill Shakespeare and the literature major (and William Shakespeare lover) in me squealed like a little girl and bought it immediately. The comic, co-written by Conor Mc Creery and Anthony Del Col, was originally published in a twelve issue run, and later republished in a two volume series titled Volume 1: A Sea of Troubles (2010) and Volume 2: The Blast of War (2011) by IDW Comics.
Hamlet washed ashore into the kingdom of Richard III
Within reading the first few panels I was hooked to the story created which takes the some of the most well known characters of William Shakespeare’s plays and pits them against one another to prove the existence of William Shakespeare as their creator. While Richard III and Lady Macbeth are on one side wishing to kill Shakespeare, and Juliet Capulet, John Falstaff, and Othello are on the other to prove his divinity as their creator and god; Hamlet dangles in the center of the two sides to be manipulated. All the while Iago, Othello’s old friend turned betrayer, is playing both sides to further his own agenda with Lady Macbeth. For anyone with a mind that is slightly inclined to the literary world, the writers of Kill Shakespeare have taken these characters and used their traits and stories to give birth to a masterpiece.
The art in the graphic novels, by Andy Belanger, is quite nice in my opinion, reminiscent of the art used in Fables, House of Mystery, and The Unwritten. The panels allow the reader to take in no much detail that a lack of dialogue does not impede the flow of the plot. The overall dark tone to the art lends to the dark tone of the story, full of violence and betrayal.
Overall I give this comic 5 out of 5 golden quills for literary value alone. An enjoyable read for all comic book readers open to the realm of literary-comic writing, and a decent price of $19.99 per volume makes this a top buy in my book.
Until we meet again,
Sarah
