Reviews
Kill Shakespeare: Backstage Edition Volume 1 by Anthony Del Col, Andy Belanger, Conor McCreery
pagesofpins's review against another edition
2.0
The author could have done some clever things with the mashup of Shakespeare plays in a world where he is worshipped/feared, and I hoped this would be a good intro to the bard for older teens. Instead, the violence and bawdy jokes reflect Shakespeare's style, but minus the wit.
psykobilliethekid's review against another edition
3.0
This was just ok. I felt the description on the back of the book and the summary on Wikipedia gave more than what this volume had to offer. This is only the first of two volumes of the core story, but I started to get bored at the end. Maybe things start to pick up in the next volume but I wasn't that impressed with this one.
buer's review against another edition
2.0
Effing A. I just wrote a really long review of this and for some reason when I tried to submit it I got an error and my review disappeared.
The short of it is that this a great idea executed poorly. It is similar to the Fables series, but Fables had the distinct advantage of having more universes to draw from and characters with less developed personalities. At this point in the series, I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that Fables' overarching plot of "Kill the Adversary who is making all of us move to stupid unmagical 21st Century NYC on Earth" is much better than Kill Shakespeare's overarching plot of "Find and kill William Shakespeare and/or steal his quill because it is magical." Actually it sounds kind of cool when I say it like that, but the execution. is. poor.
And the thee/thy/thou thing is excessive and clearly done by someone who has no idea how those words are supposed to be used/has not read Shakespeare in a while and is therefore not great at imitating his style.
From what I can tell, this book appeals most to people who don't like Shakespeare, but like the idea of Shakespeare (the introduction is a very enthusiastic endorsement of the book by a self-professed Shakespeare hater and from the reviews I've skimmed on Goodreads, it seems like the more familiar a person is with Shakespeare, the less they like the series.
There were a few things that I liked about the book. Juliet is kind of bad ass (although her good cop/bad cop routine with Othello got boring in two pages), there are enough interesting developments starting up that I'm at least curious about what will happen next, and the habit of all of the characters to say things like "By Will's beard!" and "For Will's sake!" is pretty cute (although it also doesn't make sense. Hamlet had never heard of Shakespeare before King Richard kidnapped him, so that's messed up.)
The art is good but not great. It is sometimes confusing. In particular there was one conversation between Hamlet and Falstaff that I had to read three times because it wasn't clear that Belanger had decided to run the art across both pages. There's also a scene where Lady Capulet and King Richard trap her husband in a crypt, but it looks like he's just fading in and out of consciousness until the last minute. Belanger also didn't communicate really well with McCreery, because Hamlet is buff and scruffy even though Juliet describes him as being young, weak-looking and wet behind the ears.
TL;DNR: I am disappointed that I bought this. I will probably read the next one, but won't buy it unless shit randomly gets really good.
The short of it is that this a great idea executed poorly. It is similar to the Fables series, but Fables had the distinct advantage of having more universes to draw from and characters with less developed personalities. At this point in the series, I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that Fables' overarching plot of "Kill the Adversary who is making all of us move to stupid unmagical 21st Century NYC on Earth" is much better than Kill Shakespeare's overarching plot of "Find and kill William Shakespeare and/or steal his quill because it is magical." Actually it sounds kind of cool when I say it like that, but the execution. is. poor.
And the thee/thy/thou thing is excessive and clearly done by someone who has no idea how those words are supposed to be used/has not read Shakespeare in a while and is therefore not great at imitating his style.
From what I can tell, this book appeals most to people who don't like Shakespeare, but like the idea of Shakespeare (the introduction is a very enthusiastic endorsement of the book by a self-professed Shakespeare hater and from the reviews I've skimmed on Goodreads, it seems like the more familiar a person is with Shakespeare, the less they like the series.
There were a few things that I liked about the book. Juliet is kind of bad ass (although her good cop/bad cop routine with Othello got boring in two pages), there are enough interesting developments starting up that I'm at least curious about what will happen next, and the habit of all of the characters to say things like "By Will's beard!" and "For Will's sake!" is pretty cute (although it also doesn't make sense. Hamlet had never heard of Shakespeare before King Richard kidnapped him, so that's messed up.)
The art is good but not great. It is sometimes confusing. In particular there was one conversation between Hamlet and Falstaff that I had to read three times because it wasn't clear that Belanger had decided to run the art across both pages. There's also a scene where Lady Capulet and King Richard trap her husband in a crypt, but it looks like he's just fading in and out of consciousness until the last minute. Belanger also didn't communicate really well with McCreery, because Hamlet is buff and scruffy even though Juliet describes him as being young, weak-looking and wet behind the ears.
TL;DNR: I am disappointed that I bought this. I will probably read the next one, but won't buy it unless shit randomly gets really good.
phillyhufflepunk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
queersubtext's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nkives's review against another edition
3.0
This started off really strong. Like Fables, which takes classic stories and put all those characters into a single world, and this does the same with Shakespeare characters. But the last chapter and a half or so started to drag on with a bit too much repetitive conversations. As of now, I am still thinking of checking out volume 2.
talon1010's review against another edition
4.0
The art style felt a little crusty, but there is not a more on-target shot for me than modernized, graphical, raw, Avengers of Shakespeare characters.
jasminerosekoop's review against another edition
2.0
So, I'm not too sure how I feel about this one, actually. It was interesting to see Shakespeare's characters portrayed as they were, but I think I'll stick to the originals...
georgiaand's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0