Fun Facts About "King John"

July 18, 2014

So, I'm counting down the days until I get to go to the Stratford Festival. One of the Shakespeare plays they are performing this season is King John, which is definitely one of the less-popular Shakespeare plays. I saw it once on stage before, at Stratford in 2004, and have watched the 1984 BBC Shakespeare TV adaptation, but have never sat down and studied it. I'm in the process of reading the play, but here's what I've picked up so far from my other bits of research:

I hope you read that carefully, because I've got a couple more King John comics lined up for next week!

Chim Chim Chimney

July 15, 2014

After all the excitement of the Shakespeare World Cup, I thought I would sneak a non-Shakespeare comic in here, just for a change.

As some of you might know, when not occupied drawing Shakespeare cartoons or cataloging books for Southeast Asia I can often be found at my local rock climbing gym, getting into all sorts of literal scrapes. Recently my gym put up a new route that mimics chimneys, or rock fissures that are wide enough to fit your entire body in them. In order to climb them you have to sort of wedge yourself in the chimney and use your body tension to inch your way upwards. It kind of looks like this:

Not me. I found this photo on this blog, and the climber's expression perfectly sums up my opinion of chimney climbing, so I borrowed it.

It's not very common to see chimney routes in gyms, so I was very excited to see one in my gym. This is what happened when I tried to climb it.

The friction coefficient of my gym shorts has never seemed so important. (In case you're wondering, I did eventually make it up, thanks to my climbing partner's patience and advice.)

Check out my other rock climbing comics here. Normal Shakespearean service will resume on Friday!

The Shakespeare World Cup: Final Summary

July 14, 2014

The dust has settled. After one month of non-stop action, the Shakespeare World Cup has finally come to an end. Let's take a look at what happened:

So, out of the entire field of 32 Shakespearean characters, the one that came out on top was the ruthless, single-minded, efficient and emotionally-repressed trained solider. What a surprise.

Congratulations to Germany, to Coriolanus, and to all my readers for putting up with my World Cup antics! Check back again in four years for the next edition of the Shakespeare World Cup!

The Shakespeare World Cup: Semi Finals Summary

July 11, 2014

And we're in to the home stretch! Only two plays are left standing after the last round of games. Let's take a look at how the action unfolded...

So there you have it! Two Roman plays have made it through a crowded field of opposition to reach the final. We know the result is going to be a tragedy... but for whom? Check back on Monday for the (hopefully) thrilling conclusion to the Shakespeare World Cup!

The Good Tickle Brain Guide to Stick Figures

July 9, 2014

Given that the Netherlands vs. Argentina semi-final hasn't been played yet, I thought I'd take a break from the Shakespeare World Cup and share this mini-comic that reveals the secret foundations of my iconic artistic style! Or possibly it's just a tiny guide to drawing stick figures. Take your pick.

Use this knowledge for good, readers, not evil.

If you want to print out and fold your very own guide drawing to Good Tickle Brain-style stick figures, download this pdf, print it out full scale, and follow these incomprehensible instructions to fold it into an adorable little mini-comic. To see more of my mini-comics, go here.

The Shakespeare World Cup: Quarter Finals Summary

July 7, 2014

I can't believe we're into the last week of the Shakespeare World Cup! It's all gone by too quickly. I don't want to say goodbye, but we lost four more plays this week. Take a look:

And so we're down to the final four! Will Innogen, buoyed by home support and generous refereeing, manage to take down the implacable and relentless machine that is Coriolanus? Will Richard II manage to talk his way out of another tight corner, or will Antony demonstrate his prowess as one of the most feared generals in the Empire? STAY TUNED!

The Shakespeare World Cup: Round of 16 Summary

July 4, 2014

The first round of World Cup knock-out games is over, and teams have been dropping like flies! Let's check back in with their Shakespearean counterparts and see how everyone is doing...

I'm really proud of my Dutch penalty drawing. If you take away Richard II's crown, hair and beard, he looks just like Arjen Robben. Look:

It's uncanny, if I do say so myself.

Anyways, here's part 2...

A moment of silence, on this American Independence Day, for Helena, who, despite using all her wiles, was unable to stand up to that big military bully, Henry of Monmouth.

.....

OK, that's enough of that. See you on Monday for a round-up of the quarter-finals! Who are you cheering for?

Cloudy with a Chance of Gloucester

July 2, 2014

I've talked before about my tragically inappropriate tendency to giggle when Gloucester hurls himself off the not-Cliffs of Dover. I thought it might be instructional to look at some of the many King Lear productions that have been preserved on film to see how each one's Gloucester manages it.

Did I say "instructional"? I meant "funny". Sorry.

DISCLAIMER: MANY GLOUCESTERS WERE HURT IN THE MAKING OF THIS POST, BUT NONE OF THEM WERE KILLED BECAUSE, HA HA, THEY WEREN'T STANDING ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF AFTER ALL, HA HA HA.

Michael Hornden's Lear (1982) - Norman Rodway as Gloucester

This is a very poor showing. I'm not going to blame Mr. Rodway, who is an excellent actor and whose forward lunge (accompanied by an appropriately anguished cry of "Eeeuuuuuuurgh!") is dynamic and committed, but the director completely messes it up by staying in close on Edgar, so we don't see the entire second half of the fall. This only gets a score of 3 from me.

James Earl Jones's Lear (1974) - Paul Sorvino as Gloucester

Mr. Sorvino appears to be going for the dramatic fall/faint combination, which, to his credit, he executes very well. Unfortunately Gloucester is supposed to be throwing himself off a cliff, and I'm not getting the necessary forward momentum from this that I expect from my Gloucesters. He gets a 4.

Patrick Magee's Lear (1974) - Ronald Radd as Gloucester

Oh, now this is interesting. Most Gloucesters tend to do their falling from a static position, usually on their knees, but Mr. Radd decides to run off the edge of the cliff, which, if you ask me, seems to be the most practical way to throw one's self off a cliff. However, the problem with this, as Mr. Radd discovers, is that a running Gloucester has to eventually realize that he is not, in fact, plummeting to his death. Mr. Radd attempts to covers his tracks by turning his run into a faint, but, as I noted with Mr. Sorvino's effort above, this isn't a fainting contest. It's a falling contest. He scores a 5, with a point added for originality.

Ian McKellen's Lear (2008) - William Gaunt as Gloucester

The director's choice to stay in a close-up shot for the actual jump prevents us from getting a good look at Mr. Gaunt's overall style, but the diving-board move he does with his hands at the beginning of the jump is classy and original. He's definitely going over a cliff. I also like his little rolling maneuver at the end, so I'll give him a solid 7.

Paul Scofield's Lear (1971) - Alan Webb as Gloucester

Mr. Webb prefaces his fall with some very convincing wobbling, which I had to cut from the above GIF due to file size constraints, as he wobbles for a long time. His actual fall is very solid, and, while he twists around to avoid a face-first impact, he still hits the ground with considerable finality. I'll award him a 8.

Ian Holm's Lear (1998) - Timothy West as Gloucester

Mr. West must be praised for his commitment. He just flat out plummets onto his face, with significant velocity. That's the kind of dedication I like to see in my Gloucesters. I'm giving this one a 9, with a one point deduction for the convenient smoke screen that blocks our view of the actual impact.

Laurence Olivier's Lear (1984) - Leo McKern as Gloucester

Now that's more like it. A full-blooded, no-holds-barred face-plant onto the ground. You can't hear it in the GIF, but Mr. McKern also goes "AAAAAAAAAAAH" as he falls, which is to be commended. While I dislike the camera cut, which lessens the impact, I'm going to give this a full 10 points. Well done, Mr. McKern. You win my "Best Filmed Gloucester Fall" award!

REMEMBER, KIDS... The Gloucesters you have seen here are trained professionals. Don't try this at home.

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