Read ‘Em: Shakespeare in the Comic Shop
Plays are not meant to be read. This was one of my first lessons when I began pursuing a degree in theatre some indeterminable number of years back. They’re meant to be performed. Comics, however, are a great compromise between reading and performance. They are a two-dimensional way of staging great plays. No playwright has been more influential nor as famous as William Shakespeare. Whether you’re a Shakespeare snob on the level of Harold Bloom or just starting to get into The Bard, here are some comic books that will look great next to your First Folio. Shakespeare Comics This is one really for the newbies. Shakespeare Comics is an educational imprint dedicated to taking all of Shakespeare’s works and putting them into comic book format. There are no fun adaptations or riffs on the original works, just the original plays done with words and pictures. Shakespeare Comics also offers teacher’s books to assist in the learning process. Manga Shakespeare So you have a passing familiarity with old Billy’s works? Manga Shakespeare is a line from Self Made Hero that adapts a variety of Shakespeare’s works into manga format, mostly set in future or near-future Japan. These are abridged works using a variety of writing and artistic talent. Like Shakespeare Comics, the team at Manga Shakespeare is working to make the Complete Works more accessible. To Be or Not To Be Named after the famous monologue from Hamlet,
