The Tragedy of Young Siward

I've always had a soft spot for Young Siward from Macbeth. He's got four lines and a swordfight, during which he promptly dies, so one cannot rightly say he is one of Shakespeare's great roles. However, he gets a badass fight scene (usually) and basically kickstarts the entire final bloodbath, so I'm always excited to see him appear. 

And so when actor Rodrigo Beilfuss, playing Young Siward in the Stratford Festival's upcoming production of Macbeth, posted this photo of the cover of his script, complete with an alternate subtitle, I felt compelled to do Young Siward justice by making him the star of his very own mini-comic.

As with all my mini-comics, you can print out and assemble your own paper copy by downloading this pdf and following these incomprehensible instructions. Be sure to check out my other mini-comics as well. 

Campaign Quotes, part 1

As you just might have heard, the U.S. presidential campaign is well underway now. I thought it might be useful to start collecting some of the most appropriate Shakespearean quotes related to politics.

I love the phrase "scurvy politician".

Disillusioned with the current crop of candidates? Support the Players' Party and pick up some Shakespeare/Burbage gear at the Good Tickle Shoppe! </end shameless plug>

A Leek and Battery

It's Saint David's Day! As a proud 1/32nd Welshwoman, I am always delighted to have an excuse to celebrate my fractional Celtic heritage. 

Today's comic is actually my entry to the Graphic Shakespeare Competition being run in conjunction with this year's Elsinore Conference. For the competition, artists were asked to adapt and illustrate a scene from Shakespeare, either one of several pre-chosen scenes or one of our own choosing.

Naturally, I opted to adapt the scene that would allow me to draw people getting hit by leeks.

If you want to see some of the other awesome entries to the Graphic Shakespeare Competition, check out these links:

• Andrew Wales (King Lear, 1.4)

• Paul Shinn (Macbeth, 1.1)

• Rachel Ang (Macbeth, 1.1)

• Наталья Глушенкова (The Tempest, 1.1) Part 1, Part 2

• Angelina Popelnykh (The Tempest, prequel)

• Leah Yael Levy (The Merchant of Venice, 5.1)

• Katya Vakulenko (The Tempest, 2.1)

• Alexandra Chubar (The Tempest)

• Lizabeth Zaft (The Tempest, prequel)

• Margreet De Heer (Romeo and Juliet)

• Michi Mathias (A Midsummer Night's Dream, 3.1)

• Em Evans (Hamlet, 3.1)

• Lena Kozlova (The Tempest)

(There are a lot more than just those entries, but those are the ones I have links for. Will update it as I get more links.)

A Mid-StarWars Night's Dream, Episode 7

Well, here we are, finally at the end of my decongestant-fueled, action figured-aided jaunt through A Midsummer Night's Dream. If you're just joining us, get caught up on Episodes One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six of the Rude Galacticals' misadventures in amateur dramatics.

I just could not get that Luke figure to properly stab himself. Most uncooperative.

THE END

Thanks for putting up with this somewhat meandering tangent. People seemed to really like this series, and I must admit I had quite a bit of fun putting it together, so there might be more action figure comics in the future. After all, now I can't let my Lord of the Rings action figures feel like they're being excluded from all the fun....

A Mid-StarWars Night's Dream, Episode 6

We're almost done with this misguided saga, I promise you. If you're just joining us, catch up on Episodes One, Two, Three, Four and Five. 

The whole "Ninny's tomb" thing always cracks me up. 

Vader is such a drama queen. 

Tune in Thursday for what should be the conclusion of this travesty!

A Mid-StarWars Night's Dream, Episode 5

I've been stuck on the sofa for about four days with a hideous cold (my second of the year - ease up on me already, viruses), so this was put together hurriedly last night under the influence of decongestants. Judge it accordingly. 

Oh, and you might want to get caught up on episodes One, Two, Three, and Four.

Tune in next week for the violent and bloody conclusion of Darth Pyramus and Thisbe Skywalker!

A Mid-StarWars Night's Dream, Episode 4

Here we are again with some more of the Rude Galacticals' bizarre performance of Pyramus and Thisbe from A Midsummer Night's Dream. If you haven't read Episodes One, Two, and Three yet... well, it won't really matter, because it's not like any of this makes sense anyways. 

I'll be honest. I have no idea what's going on here anymore. I'm just along for the ride. Sorry. 

Happy Singles Appreciation Day!

It's Valentine's Day today, and everyone seems to be sharing all sorts of wonderfully soppy and romantic quotes from Shakespeare. But for those of us who remain single on Valentine's Day, there's one very important thing to keep in mind...

..being in a romantic relationship, especially in Shakespeare, isn't always all it's cracked up to be.