Giddy Minds

It’s no secret that I love Shakespeare’s history plays. When I was a kid I loved them for their numerous sword fights and battle scenes. Now I love them for everything else. And also the sword fights.

This scene is from Henry IV, part 2, which is admittedly my least favorite part of Henry IV. This deathbed scene between Henry IV and his son, Prince Hal, however, is pure gold. Henry IV’s reign has been overshadowed by the fact that he usurped the throne from his predecessor, Richard II, and was directly or indirectly responsible for his death. As a result, Henry IV’s reign has been plagued by political discontent and outright rebellion. Fortunately he has a really solid plan to fix everything:

Anyways, Prince Hal becomes Henry V and invades France and distracts everybody from his domestic troubles and everything is fine forever.

Just don’t look at what happens in the three parts of Henry VI… 😬

Golden (as sung by Hamlet)

Exorcising all my earworms for this year by turning them into Shakespeare songs…

In case you don’t have any kids in your life, here is the original song:

And in case you want MORE Shakespeare-themed song parodies, check out my holiday songbook, full of Shakespearean twists on seasonal classics complete with ukulele chords and murder.

The Shakespearean Holiday Songbook, vol. 1
The Shakespearean Holiday Songbook, vol. 1
$8.00

Popular (as sung by Lady Macbeth)

With all the talk of Wicked: For Good going around I thought it would be a good time to revisit the classic Shakespearean tale of witches. And so today I’m presenting a song from Wicked: For Bad.

(Original song here, if by some miracle you’re not aggressively familiar with it already.)

“Once I’m with King Duncan
My whole life will shine,
’Cause when I kill King Duncan
His crown will be mine!”

Fun & Polyps: A Beginner's Guide to Colonoscopies

I know this is primarily a Shakespeare webcomic, but I thought I would take a moment today to share something that’s been at the forefront of my mind lately… colonoscopies!

If you really need a Shakespearean hook to pull you in, think that I am simply showing you how, as Hamlet says, “a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.”

Please feel free to share this comic with everyone you know and spread the good word about colonoscopies. You can also download a PDF of it, print it, and fold it into a little booklet, like so:

Print it portrait, double-sided, flip on long side. All I ask is that you don’t resell it or use it for commercial purposes. Now, go out there and be good to your guts!

Santa or Falstaff?

As the holidays approach, we here at Good Tickle Brain would like to issue a Public Service Announcement: please make sure you are allowing the correct white-bearded individual into your house this Christmas.

Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt

One of them is the anthropomorphic representation of the Christmas holiday season amalgamated from numerous Christian and pagan folk traditions, and the other is a felon.

Sign up for Shakespeare News!

If you want more Shakespeare nerdery and joy in your life right now, I highly recommend signing up for Shakespeare News, a weekly e-mail newsletter round-up of all the Shakespeare stuff that is happening right now. It is brilliantly compiled and written by my consulting pocket dramaturg Kate Pitt, who infuses her trademark blend of dry humor and impeccable research (complete with footnotes) into every issue. It is very possibly the only thing I am ever pleased to see arrive in my Inbox. If you enjoy Good Tickle Brain I am confident you will find a lot to enjoy here too. Sign up now!

Thanks for still reading Good Tickle Brain

If you’re reading this, thanks for still being here! This has been the hardest year of my life so far but I survived. As ever, I’m hoping to get Good Tickle Brain up and running again, but I appreciate your patience and understanding as I continue to wrestle my way through the mental and practical hurdles life has handed to me. I’m sure that 2025 will be a worse year for humanity in general, but I’m hoping that I can figure out how to at least make it a better year for me so I can get back to creating fun Shakespeare comics, because I think we could all use more laughs in our lives right now.

I'm Just Hal

Grab your mink robe of state, kick back in your Mojo Dojo Castle House with a brewski small beer, and sing along to this:

In case you are somehow not familiar with Ryan “No Known Relation But I’m Not Ruling It Out” Gosling’s epic performance of this song from last year’s Barbie movie, please check it out immediately.

Now Available: A STICK-FIGURE HAMLET!

I am thrilled to report that my epic guide to Hamlet is finally finished and available for purchase!

A Stick-Figure Hamlet comic book
Sold Out
A Stick-Figure Hamlet comic book
$20.00

SOLD OUT, will be reprinted Q1 of 2026.

This is the definitive (and possibly only) stick-figure guide to Shakespeare’s greatest longest play, Hamlet!

More than double the length of my previous publications, this mammoth tome is 110 pages of solid Hamlet content, featuring my complete scene-by-scene adaptation of Hamlet plus 45 pages of additional content, including extensive commentary, numerous random fun facts, previously Patreon-exclusive outtakes, and so much more.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the greatest thing I have created so far. I am immensely proud of this book (which is perfect bound, not stapled, because it was so freaking long) and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

“To be or not to be,” plus an entire page of incredibly illuminating and hilarious analysis and commentary!

On a personal note, I started working on my version of Hamlet back in the fall of 2019, when my father was undergoing treatment for cancer. I finished compiling this book in the fall of 2023, just as we learned his cancer had recurred. He died a month later. He was my best friend in the whole world, unfailingly supportive of me and my work, and I will miss him forever.

My dad was very proud of me for finishing Hamlet after an extremely difficult year of moderate injury, ongoing chronic pain issues, frustrating mental and creative struggles, and increased parental care responsibilities. Despite me now having an immensely complicated and slightly toxic relationship with this relentlessly morbid play about dead dads, I am very proud of this book. I hope that it makes Hamlet — and the world — just a little bit more fun.