Review: Kill Shakespeare Past Is Prologue: Juliet #1

By Reboot

"And if a gentleman showed himself, I'd be happy to take his arm."

Conor McCreery is at it again with trying to kill Shakespeare! That's right, IDW's Kill Shakespeare created by Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col is back in a fifth installment for the prequel, Past Is Prologue: Juliet. This time Conor McCreery is flying solo as writer with artist Corin Howell, colorist Shari Chankhamma, and letterer Chris Mowry.

So how does issue #1 of this new installment stack up? I was just getting to that.  But before I do let me give you the premise, especially for those unfamiliar with Kill Shakespeare as this is also a good starting point for the series.

Kill Shakespeare is a world where Shakespeare's creations, heroes and villains alike, are all real and he's looked up to as a powerful background figure like the Wizard of Oz. Earlier installments have shown off many of the different characters interacting including Juliet, but we never quite got her full backstory.

As many of you are hopefully aware, Juliet from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet dies at the end of the play. In Kill Shakespeare: Juliet #1, it's immediately revealed that she had survived the poisoning. Sad and Resentful, Juliet wants to escape from her family to end her life and be with Romeo, but plans don't always work out the way we originally envision them, especially of you're created by William Shakespeare.

Conor McCreery weaves a story here that is dealing with a few less characters than previous installments. It's also a bit of a slow burn. Previous installments have started with a bang and slowed down after, or start with a mystery to keep you turning the pages. Conor's approach here is to take it slow, lay down the groundwork and build on it all the way to the end. It's different from some of what I've seen before in Kill Shakespeare, but it works here.

Corin Howell debuts as the new Kill Shakespeare artist and it's a fantastic debut. I'm not sure how much of it is Conor's scripts or how Corin lays out the pages, but they're mostly very dense with the overwhelming majority of pages being a minimum of five panels. You really feel like you're getting a lot of story in this comic. These layouts are honestly incredible. Most of the pages do an excellent job of bringing your eyes from top center down to bottom center in a way I don't often see done. The last page is the best example of this, and is honestly the best page in the whole comic.

Shari Chankhamma had previously colored Kill Shakespeare which really helped give the book the feel of previous volumes. Shari does an excellent job through the book, but in particular for me the second to last scene where Juliet meets The Player is gorgeously colored and shaded, and the last page is colored perfectly. Really, that page is so incredibly executed.

While Kill Shakespeare: Juliet #1 is somewhat of a departure from the formula we've seen in the previous four volumes, it's an excellent, well paced march to tragedy that is nearly impossible to pull off in a prequel. It's also a great introduction to the series, so please, if you haven't read any of the series yet and want to jump in, this is the way to do it.

Kill Shakespeare Past is Prologue: Juliet #1 hits the shelves on Wednesday, April 5th.


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Gold Comics are Announced for FCBD!

Today they announced the Gold Sponsor comics for Free Comic Book Day.  Yes, Free Comic Book Day isn't for 6 months but I don't care!  I'm excited and cannot wait!!!  

The complete listing of Gold Comics was revealed on The Hollywood Reporter, but only a few really caught my eye.  Just like always, Marvel and DC have books, but they are yet unrevealed in storytelling.  However, these two comics promise to be interesting and unique. 

Review: The Other Dead #1

By Reboot

Today, I review the first installment of IDW's The Other Dead. This comic is brought to you by co-creator's comic's veteran Joshua Ortega and Art Asylum co-founder Digger T. Mesch, with art by Qing Ping Mui, colors by Blond, and with creative consulting by indie comics legend Kevin Eastman. Additionally, this comic is based on a film treatment by Digger T. Mesch.

The premise of The Other Dead is that something is causing dead animals to be reanimated in Southern Louisiana. We see these events unfolding primarily around one dysfunctional family. I don't want to give away any hints the story gives as to why they're coming back, but it does have some subtleties to it so keep your eyes peeled!

Sunday Links for Feb. 27

This past week was filled with sadness at the news of the sudden passing of Dwayne McDuffie. There have been some touching remembrances of him from many places including The New York Times, Comic Book Resources, The Beat, Bleeding Cool, The Nerdy Bird and iFanboy. As a huge fan of Static Shock cartoon, I am saddened by this news. I wish I had gotten a chance to meet him and thank him for such a great superhero. Our condolences to his family.

DC has a lot going on this week. There are rumors that they are canceling the First Wave line completely for poor sales. If this is true, this is the second major DC cancellation this month. Robot 6 is speculating that they are looking to grow their stable of artists in hopes of growing their big name talent.

The Eisner Hall of Fame inductees were announced this week, with the surprise of four inductees rather than the standard two. The inductees picked from four areas of the industry to insure that people weren't being overlooked for their significant contributions. The inductees are Ernie Bushmiller, Jack Jackson (Jaxon), Marty Nodell, and Lynd Ward. Congratulations to all of the inductees!

In movie news this week, IDW's Zombies vs. Robots has been optioned by Sony Pictures, with Michael Bay attached. In other movie news, you can read why I am so excited about the new Superman movie.

In [insertgeekhere] news, have you join our campaign to get Seth Green as host of Saturday night Live? Check out our Five Reasons Why Seth Green should Host SNL and a Video Friday edition all about Seth Green! Make sure to sign up for our Facebook group, because the bigger our group, the louder our voice! We have already gotten support from Matt Senreich and Clare Grant and Seth Green himself said thanks!

Are you excited for the Oscars? To get ready for tonight, check out the winners of the Golden Razzies, the premier awards ceremony for crappy movies! If you want to influence an awards ceremony yourself, head over to Buffyfest and vote in the Whedon Oscars! Just make sure you leave enough time to compare your Oscars picks to Oscar the Grouch!

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