By Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col (writers), Andy Belanger (art), Ian Herring (colors) and Chris Mowry (letters)
The Story: Juliet continues to rally the troops for the rebellion, while Lady Macbeth works her dark magic on Richard’s (and her own) behalf. Hamlet must choose his destiny once again, and Othello contends with Iago’s—changed?—nature.
What’s Good: This issue marks the halfway point of the Kill Shakespeare storyline, and it also marks a significant shift in focus. Although Hamlet is still the undeniable star of the story, the focus is less on him and his personal quest and decisions, and more on the meta-conflict brewing between the Prodigals’ rebellion and Richard’s army. This is actually a good thing, and mitigates the problem of having a protagonist who (to this point) has refused to commit to either side of the conflict that surrounds him.
The idea of Juliet as a military leader is still odd, but I do think it’s starting to grow on me. I still think that, say, Henry V would have been a better choice—especially given the cover of this issue, which I assume is a reference to one of his most famous speeches—or perhaps Viola or Portia if they wanted to keep the rebel leader female. Still, although it seems strange that Juliet is the only one acting wholly unlike her theatrical counterpart, I do like this Juliet as a character in her own right.
What’s Not So Good: It’s been six issues, and I’m still having trouble figuring out Andy Belanger’s artwork. He draws backgrounds and objects with the best of them—his half page ‘floating dagger’ panel is one of the coolest I’ve ever seen, and would instantly go up on my wall were it offered as a poster—but the way he draws humans just doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. There always seems to be something a little askew about them, whether it’s a proportion that’s slightly off, or an expression that’s just a little too exaggerated. The juxtaposition of the purity of the backgrounds and objects with the odd faces of the characters is an odd one, though not enough to distract or distract from the book as a whole.
Conclusion: This is an excellent issue, and a fitting beginning to this epic storyline’s dénouement. The Prodigal rebellion has truly begun, and watching how Richard meets this challenge to his authority—not to mention finally watching Hamlet forced into taking sides—is going to be well worth sticking around for. I, for one, can’t wait.
-SoldierHawk
Filed under: IDW Tagged: | Andy Belanger, Anthony Del Col, Chris Mowry, Comic Book Reviews, Conor McCreery, Ian Herring, Kill Shakespeare, Kill Shakespeare #6, Kill Shakespeare #6 review, Weekly Comic Book Review
