A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
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.
I am thrilled to report that my epic guide to Hamlet is finally finished and available for purchase!
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.
Hey! I’m back! Sort of. I've been way too stressed and burnt out lately to write new comics, due to a series of not-major-but-also-not-that-minor life disasters, but that's OK because I've found a new author to help me out!
Check the date! Love you! Bye!!!!
I’ve been spending a lot of time recently angsting about how my tech usage is eroding my attention, creativity, and general quality of life. Fortunately, that led me into imagining how various Shakespeare characters would use the internet and all the wonders and terrors it provides.
There will be more of these. The wilderness of the internet is infinite.
My celebration of Shakespeare Month continues with this charming (?) little throwaway line from Hamlet.
Will never not be morbidly amusing.
A “wound man” is a medical illustration depicting the world’s most stoic man and the many near-fatal diseases and wounds it is possible for the human body to suffer.
A “Hamlet wound man” is essentially the same thing, documenting al the various places Hamlet receives his fatal scratch in his final duel. I’ve taken the liberty of reviewing all the filmed Hamlets I have been able to find to and documenting the scratch locations, but feel free to add your own in the blanks provided.
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
In the many live Hamlets I have see, I remember seeing one face wound (cheek) and one that looked suspiciously like he was stabbed in the butt (also cheek). Variety is the spice of life.
Some more bonus content courtesy of my Patreon supporters! The genesis from this comic came from conversations I had with my pocket dramaturg, Kate Pitt, while working on my Hamlet adaptation. I ended up depicting the closet scene in a fairly conventional way, but I adored Kate’s suggestion for this very meta staging choice:
Seriously, I’m not sure why Kate has a better instinct for medium-busting visual jokes than I do. I’m supposed to be the artist in this partnership. It’s not fair.
Time to once again revisit and renovate some old classics! Let’s polish up some Shakespearean Selfies!
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
And here’s the original, from waaaaaaay back in 2013, just a few months after I started Good Tickle Brain.
You’ll note that back then I hadn’t yet settled on the “triangle and circle” stick figure aesthetic I prefer again, and actually wasted lots of time drawing CLOTHES and stuff. I’ve learned a lot since then.
