By Emil Favila, Reporter

Have you ever imagined what William Shakespeare’s characters would be like in one story?  Dream no longer.  The team of McCreery, Del Col, and Belanger have taken all of Shakespeare’s beloved heroes and villains and thrown them together for you. You can follow the adventures of Hamlet, Juliet, Othello and Falstaff as they are pitted against Richard III, Lady Macbeth and Iago.  It’s Fables meets The Wizard of Oz, in an epic quest to kill or save the mysterious wizard William Shakespeare in Kill Shakespeare: The Backstage Edition Volume 1.

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but the cover for Kill Shakespeare is profound.  It’s binding and appearance are made to look like an old book with eye popping visuals of an ink feather.  The cover alone is enough to make even the most snobby book reader a little curious.  And they should be especially if they are a fan of William Shakespeare’s work.

If you are at all familiar with Shakespeare’s work (and hopefully you are), then you know he leans heavily on and metaphor to progress his stories.  Kill Shakespeare plays on that tradition to give you the feel of a Shakespearean tale while putting on it’s own spin.  McCreery and Del Col are not modernizing Shakespeare’s beloved characters, but giving their own take on how Shakespeare’s characters would react if they met each other and directly interacted in a shared universe.  The art is wonderful and Belanger draws each character’s facial expression beautifully as they react to meeting each other for the first time.Understanding  Shakespeare’s dialogue can be a little intimidating to those deeply versed in his work.  Luckily for us, Kill Shakespeare is annotated by celebrity guests and professors at the end of each chapter. Character breakdown and dialogue analysis are explained to those who haven’t read every involved story by Shakespeare. The annotations are strategically placed at the end of each chapter, guiding the reader before they move on.  It’s easy to skip ahead to the next chapter and ignore the annotations, but I highly recommend you read them. There’s even signature bound red and white book ribbons to help you keep your place.  It’s difficult not to appreciate the source material more after each chapter.

If you’ve never read Kill Shakespeare or even own the individual issues, I would still recommend picking this volume up.  The bonus stories “The Pirate Story” and “Gods Stand Up” are also included which have never been released.  I would say the annotations alone are worth reliving these tales of Shakespeare’s beloved heroes and villains. You will be amazed by the people who give their stamp of approval to Kill Shakespeare as they explain the meaning of each chapter.  Pick up your copy of Kill Shakespeare: Backstage Edition Volume 1 off Amazon today.

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives Kill Shakespeare: Backstage Edition Volume 1 4 out of 5 moors!

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