The Julius Caesar Death Clock

Time for some more Shakespearean Death Clocks! This week has a distinctly Roman theme, starting with Julius Caesar:

See, Brutus and Messala can't quite agree on exactly how many senators the triumvirate puts to death. Messala says 100, Brutus says 70. At any rate, it was a lot.

I've left off the other conspirators, such as Casca and Decius Brutus and all. They presumably all get killed off by Octavius and Antony, either before or after Philippi, but their fates aren't mentioned in the text. 

Tune in on Thursday for another Roman death clock... this one featuring SNAKES.

The Merlion and Me

This coming Sunday is Singapore's 50th anniversary of independence! To celebrate, I've drawn this exceptionally long comic for you:

In case my ham-fisted drawings didn't accurately convey what the Merlion looks like, this is what it looks like:

Here is the original Merlion statue, by local sculptor Lim Nang Seng.

Here is the original Merlion statue, by local sculptor Lim Nang Seng.

And here is the giant Sentosa Merlion edifice. You can climb to a viewing gallery inside its mouth and on top of its head.

And here is the giant Sentosa Merlion edifice. You can climb to a viewing gallery inside its mouth and on top of its head.

You can see the Sentosa video I mention here. While I have yet to find the original video I saw (with the CGI Merlion shooting laser beams at the storm, the Sentosa Merlion page still mentions it:

And finally, here is me getting attacked by Murray the Merlion. Majulah Singapura! 

The Macbeth Death Clock

I apologize if you're sick of looking at dead stick figures, but I'm having a hard time stopping now. 

You'll note that Macbeth's death procession is a fairly steady one. Unlike Hamlet, where most of the dying is crammed into the last scene, the murder and mayhem in Macbeth is fairly evenly spaced out. Some notes:

  • I've included Macdonald, who doesn't appear in the play at all, but is famous for being the poor sap who Macbeth unseams from the nave to the chops.

  • I've also included the Thane of Cawdor, because he's important to the plot.

  • The precise number of Macduff's children who are slaughtered is not specified, but it's definitely more than one, so I've added a random baby Macduff to make them plural.

  • It's not specified exactly how Lady Macbeth dies. Malcolm says she "by self and violent hands / Took off her life", which I've interpreted to mean "she stabs herself", because I'm getting really good at drawing stick figures stabbing themselves.

If you want to see how I drew this death clock, check out the latest edition of my e-mail newsletter, and then subscribe, so you never have to miss another sneak peek again!

A Good Tickle Shoppe note: I will be at the Ohio Light Opera for part of this week. All orders placed between August 5-8 will be fulfilled next Monday. Sorry for the slight delay!

The Hamlet Death Clock

I don't want to flog a dead (ha ha) horse, but you sick, sick people seemed to really enjoy my Titus Andronicus Death Clock from Tuesday, so I thought I'd try putting together another one. Here's a deathographic for Shakespeare's most famous play:

20150730-S-HamletDeathClock.jpg

I hate to say it... but in this particular sphere, at least, Hamlet really pales in comparison to Titus Andronicus. Look at that big empty bit with absolutely no deaths! Lazy, that's what I call it. 

Shameless Plug: Don’t forget to check out my t-shirts and comics in the Good Tickle Brain Shoppe!

The Titus Andronicus Death Clock

Have you ever said to yourself, "Wow, I really wish there was a handy way to keep track of all the deaths in Titus Andronicus"? Well, are you ever in luck! I am here unveiling the first ever Good Tickle Brain deathographic! (It's like an infographic, but with more death.)

Starting with Alarbus and proceeding clockwise, this chart gives you a chronological rundown of who gets killed when, and by whom. Print a copy out and bring it along the next time you go to a performance of Titus, to help you keep track of where you are in the play.

Don't forget to check out my goodies in the Good Tickle Brain Shoppe! There's no actual Titus death clock available yet, but you never know...

The Joys of Bicycling

I've recently been trying to bike more (something not made easier by the fact that I live in a rather hilly neighborhood). My good friend here is inspiring me by biking everywhere, but, as you see, she has an ulterior motive. 

I try not to do two non-Shakespeare comics in a row, but I really wanted to do this one and I've got a big multi-part Shakespeare coming up next week, so here you go. We return you to your original Shakespearean programming next week!

(Also, my apologies for this comic being up a bit late - I shifted my day job schedule around this week, with the consequence that my brain was totally befuddled as to what day of the week it was at any given moment.)

Review of "Possible Worlds" at the Stratford Festival

Two weekends ago I went up to the Stratford Festival with my co-worker to see Possible Worlds. Here is my review!

Let's get the water thing out of the way: the entire stage was several inches under water. Visually and thematically, it was really really cool, especially given the revelations at the end of the play. However, it also meant that my co-worker and I, being obsessed with the physical workings of theatre, spent a lot of time thinking things like "I wonder what sort of non-slip coating they put on the stage," "I'm pretty sure their shoes are all made out of rubber'" "what are those banker's boxes really made of, they can't be cardboard or they'd be disintegrating in the water," and other such ruminations. 

Again, it is to the actors' eternal credit that the production managed to keep us engaged in the story (and not just the striking methods of storytelling) throughout the performance.  It was, all in all, a mesmerizing production and, despite having reservations about the source material, we both really enjoyed ourselves. 

On the whole (being, as previously mentioned, an inherently frivolous person)  I prefer my plays with more jokes and/or chaotic battle scenes, and less philosophical ruminations on the nature of human imagination and reality, but offhand I can't imagine (ha ha) seeing a better production of this play.

You might bring a towel with you, though, in case you happen to be seated in the "splash zone"...

Shameless Plug Line: Don't forget to pick up at Good Tickle Brain t-shirt and/or comic book at the Good Tickle Brain Shoppe!