A couple of weeks ago, we posted the teaser trailer for IDW Publishing’s Kill Shakespeare, a new series that aims to group all of William Shakespeare’s greatest characters on a quest to find their creator. It’s been causing quite the stir amidst the comic book community, and the book finally hits shelves this Wednesday.
I got the chance to speak with co-creators and writers Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery about the progression of their story and hopefully, its future. You can also check out our review of Kill Shakespeare #1!
CraveOnline: Well Conor, Anthony, to start – thanks for your time today! First thing’s first: for those uninitiated, what’s the concept behind Kill Shakespeare?
Anthony Del Col: Kill Shakespeare is an adventure series in which all of Shakespeare’s greatest heroes… and all of his greatest villains… are pitted together in a quest to track down a reclusive wizard by the name of William Shakespeare. Actually, they’re pitted against one another. It’s a cross between Fables, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Northlanders.
Conor McCreery: Anthony nailed it right on. This is an epic story for everyone. Whether or not Shakespeare is your thing this story will grab you.
CraveOnline: That’s something I picked up from the first issue. It’s accessible, regardless of knowing Shakespeare or not. That said, you’re fooling around with Shakespeare! It’s clearly out of adoration, but is there any sense of trepidation covering such coveted ground?
Anthony Del Col: Well, we’re so confident in our writing abilities that we’re even BETTER than Shakey… Just kidding, of course.
Conor McCreery: We do worry a bit, but we have to hope that fans see this for what it is. An homage to the greatest writer of all time.
ADC: We’re both HUGE fans of the Bard.
CM: But, saying that, we do think we are writing a story that Shakespeare would be a bit jealous of (or at least admire).
CraveOnline: Is that intimidating for you guys, having all this hype built up around you?
ADC: Well, I don’t know if we’d classify it as THAT much hype. We’re still an indie title in a world of large Marvel and DC brands. But we’re really focusing on telling some greet stories with some great characters. We’ve been quite aggressive thus far in trying to spread the word about the book – reaching out to retailers, media, customers, fans, Shakespeare groups, academics, etc. As you know, the comic industry is a tough one and we think that once people read the first issue they’ll get into the story.
