Shakespeare Shakenby Wolfen MoonsgetReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 Compiled by Enrica Jang, Shakespeare Shaken is a sizable assortment of comics, vignettes and even pin-ups that offer new perspectives on the works of The Bard, be it by changing the context, following a character through scenes we never saw, or offering some other sort of creative twist. Despite the shared subject, the offerings here are highly varied in tone and visual style, with everything from cartoons to paintings to photos. With 36 collaborators (including editor Jang and Shakespeare), whether you're more a fan of Shakespeare or of indie comics, you're likely to find something that appeals to you here! (Note that there are adult themes involved, including nudity, non-explicit sex, and some graphic violence.)As far as the pin-ups go, my favourite is the romance novel parody cover featuring the ass-headed Nick Bottom surrounded by adoring fairies that seem ready to pry open his pants. Another, about Hamlet, was an amusing comic book parody. The recurring "Brave World" comic, however, while the art was appealing, didn't really hold my interest; it might have at least flowed better if it was published all together rather than spread throughout the volume. "The Iron Tongue of Midnight," written by Dirk Manning and illustrated by the Brothers Moogk-Soulis, features Queen Mab whispering into Mercutio's ear about how he must sacrifice himself so that one woman will be spared in the war between the Montagues and the Capulets, thus ensuring that a certain child will be born years later who will preserve the legacy of the fairies. I'm not too fond of the art in the story — there's some fantasy illustration appeal, but the figure rendering is lacking. Also, at times the writing felt a bit too forced in the effort to stick to iambic pentameter. Still, it's a very interesting concept, one nicely expanding on one of my all-time fave Shakespearan characters (Mercutio), so ultimately I liked it! "Surviving Shakespeare" is a collaborative work from Mitch Hyman, Andrew Jerz, Shawn Harbin, and Alex Cormack. It's basically A Midsummer Night's Dream reimagined as a highly violent and sexualised Reality TV show, although it doesn’t really delve into the play, just mostly focuses on the production team of Oberon, Puck, and Shakespeare. I appreciate the clever analogy between the original take and our modern entertainment, how effective of a commentary on the latter it is. I also like the animated quality of the linework coupled with a more painterly approach of the colouring. (On the other hand, if you have a weak stomach, you may want to pass on this one.) "Wheresoever Lies Tragedy if Love Endureth Forever?", from the creative team of Scott Mullins, Matthew J. Fletcher, Mark Mullaney, and Erica Shultz, is even more fantastical than its source inspiration, Hamlet. Not only are there ghosts, but robots and tentacle monsters! It's also more uplifting than the original tale, to which this is a coda; the language suits The Bard well. I like the heavy, stylised line-art, too; it looks like it could be storyboards for 9 or The Iron Giant. Being a fan of the song "Irish Rover," I got a kick out of Andrew Jerz's "One Million Bags of the Their Best Sligo Rags," which borrows some of the lyrics of that song for this modern retelling of The Tempest. "Irish Rover" itself is a ballad about a shipwreck, so it's a fun play to use one story to pay homage to another in a third. The art isn't exactly pretty to look at, but well done for the terms of its own style, something reminiscent of Mad Magazine, highly fitting the amusing parody nature of the story. "Mantua Country," from the creative team of Erick Radvon and Seva Kihbkin (with letters by Erica Shultz), is a character study of the apothecarist from Romeo and Juliet, written in modern language and set in the modern day. The story is interesting enough, but the unfinished-feeling art doesn't really appeal to me. "S.H.R.E.W." is a sci-fi retelling, written by Sherezada Kent, drawn by Jerrod Perez, and coloured and lettered by Mark Mullaney. In this version, Katherine is an uncooperative super-soldier, and there's a fun twist at the end. The art's so-so; I like the colours, but the anatomy has issues that I don't think can be entirely chalked up to style. "War of Studios" is a noir piece penned by Bobby Harper, with art by David Fernandez, and colours and letters by Andre Frattino. Don't be put off by the cover page, which is poorly-inked and even still shows the underpencils — it gets dramatically better after that. Rather than being inspired by a specific work of Shakespeare, this one is inspired by the rivalries amongst the drama community in his day. True to noir form, it's a murder mystery with a twist ending. "Star-Crossed," by writer-artist team James McGee and Mark Mullaney, asks what if Romeo and Juliet didn't die, but rather had to deal with their marriage (and the likely realization that they were young and foolish when they'd married), and uses a trailer park as the setting to do it. Not too keen on the art for this one, but it's a cute, amusing story. "Red and Violet," written by Jonathan Santana and illustrated by Ashley Lanni, is a sci-fi reimagining of Anthony and Cleopatra, in a world of drugs and assassins. I quite like the art, but the story is a bit too vague and psychedelic for my tastes. Alex Cormack and Ashley Cook's "The Hamelin Murders" is the most "shaken" story of the lot, a bizarre, fun, modern mash-up of Macbeth and Hamlet, one which speaks of Shakespeare within the work. I like the art, but there is a bit of gore. "All Our Yesterdays", written by Rich Douek and illustrated by Jason Strutz, is Macbeth meets Star Wars. Strongly visual but also a bit muddled, it's more trailer-like than a story, but you get a strong sense of "MacBethad," particularly his love for his wife and how she was the near-literal center of the universe. "Falstaff's Arena" was written by Marta Tanrikulu, with art by Micheal Reisner, colours by Ahsley Lanni and letters by Gabriel Dunston. It features the title character as a wrestling manager — and more. The art is decent, with a comic book feel, and it's an moderately amusing story, but the twist is pretty obvious, and I'm just not into wrestling. "No. 130 For Love," written by Amber Love and Kristen McHugh with art by Jhazmine Ruiz, is based on a sonnet rather than a play. It's a futuristic gladiatorial story with a strong steampunk flavour. I looooove the artwork, and the story is poignant, a fantastic feat in such a short space! I even felt for one of the background characters. In case it's not obvious, this is my absolute fave piece in the collection; I would love to see more by this team. "The Play is the Thing", by writer Shaun Noel and artist Andre Frattino, is another amusing mashup, with an assortment of Shakespeare's characters at a basketball game. The story, as playful as the art, riffs on lines and personalities and even terminology associated with Shakespeare. Written by Ryan L. Schrodt, "Dark Mistress" features photography taken and artistically edited by Mark Mullaney. Another modern piece, it tells of a serial killer who kills in homage to Shakespeare. While bloody, it's not all that gory, given the lack of realism being superimposed over photos. The story seems kind of flat — until you get to the twist(ed) ending. Jeremy Whitley and Gabriel Dunston's "Zombie Hamlet" introduces itself as an attempt to make Shakespeare more "accessible" to the "Twilight Generation." This intro is exceedingly off-putting, since it suggests that the work's true intent is to mock the interests and intelligence of teens that like Twilight, a very tiresome trend, rather than celebrate Shakespeare. Ignoring that introduction, though, it is amusing, and the art is likable. All in all, it's a creative celebration of Shakespeare and his inspirational effect on the legacy of storytelling. Written: December 23, 2012
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