Campaign Trials: The Debate, part 1

Let's sit down for the first (and, thankfully, only) presidential debate between William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe!

I'm being a bit unfair to Marlowe here, as his authorship of the infamous Dutch Church Libel (a poem in rhymed iambic pentameter that threatened recent Protestant refugees from France and the Netherlands, and which may or may not have led to his untimely demise) was never confirmed. However, it contrasts very nicely with the passage in Sir Thomas More on refugees, which is largely agreed to have been written by Shakespeare. I'll let Sir Ian McKellen take it from here:

Tune in again on Thursday for the rest of the debate! 

On a blatantly commercial note, I'm starting to sell out of various sizes of my never-to-be-reprinted Shakespeare/Burbage campaign t-shirt! If you want one, now is the time to get one! 

Campaign Trials: The Supporters

Our coverage of the Shakespeare vs. Marlowe campaign continues today as our intrepid reporter hits the streets to find out what the people think. 

My main takeaway so far from this series is that I really need to see Tamburlaine.

Tune in next week for Shakespeare and Marlowe's first (and only) presidential debate! And remember, time is running out to get your Shakespeare election swag!

Campaign Trials: The Issues

Let's see what the candidates have to say about some of this election's major issues... in their own words, naturally.

I'm not terribly familiar with Marlowe - the only one of his plays that I've seen so far is Edward II - but I just love "HOLLA, YE PAMPERED JADES OF ASIA", which Tamburlaine declaims as he enters on a chariot drawn by captive kings. It's so unapologetically dramatic. Plus, Pistol totally riffs off of it in 2 Henry IV. 

Tune in on Thursday to see what the popular support for Shakespeare and Marlowe is like. And remember to pick up your Shakespeare election gear from the Good Tickle Shoppe! (Sorry, Marlowe supporters...)

Campaign Trials: The Rivals

You can't (or rather you shouldn't) have a presidential election with only one candidate, and who better to challenge Shakespeare than his contemporary, that dramatic genius and trail-blazing playwright CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE!

The heavily-bearded gentleman is Edward "Ned" Alleyn, also known as Ben Affleck from Shakespeare in Love, who played many of Marlowe's leading men, including Faustus and Tamburlaine. It's a bit weird, when you picture him as a closely-cropped Ben Affleck, to find out that he actually had a great big bushy beard.

Tune in next week as the campaigns get underway, and don't forget to pick up some limited-time-only Shakespeare campaign gear from the Good Tickle Shoppe! 

Campaign Trials: The Annoucement

Aaaand we're back! Thanks for giving me a week off to catch up and work on other projects. Let's get back to business...

That's Richard Burbage, Shakespeare's leading man and business partner. They make a great team, don't they? I'd certainly prefer to see them on my TV every night as opposed to... certain other people. Person. Thing. 

Speaking of which, this is your last chance to pick up my election-themed t-shirts and bumper stickers from the Good Tickle Shoppe! These won't be reprinted (obviously) so get 'em before they're gone. I'll be wearing my t-shirt at the polls next month!

(PS - I am not in any way endorsing you to write in Shakespeare on your ballot. Please don't do that.)

Twelfth Night: Final Summary

Aaaand we're finally done with Twelfth Night! In case you missed the last four months of comics, and don't have time to go back and read them all, here's what happened:

Finishing a play means it's time to add up the numbers and decide whether it's a comedy or a tragedy. Let's take a look!

Three marriages and no deaths of named characters means this play is almost certainly a comedy. Hurrah! (Just don't ask me how long I think Sir Toby and Maria's marriage will last..)

Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5, part 1 | 1.5, part 2 | 1.5, part 3|2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3, part 1 | 2.3, part 2 | 2.4, part 1 | 2.4, part 2 | 2.5, part 1 | 2.5, part 2 | 3.1, part 1 | 3.1, part 2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4, part 1 | 3.4, part 2 | 3.4, part 3 | 3.4, part 4 | 3.4, part 5 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 5.1, part 1 | 5.1, part 2 | 5.1, part 3 | 5.1, part 4 | 5.1, part 5 | 5.1, part 6 | Summary

On Break! 

Hey all! Due to several time-sensitive projects that I need to wrap up (one of them being the long-awaited flowchart poster) plus the very inconveniently-timed mental breakdown of the hitherto-but-no-longer trusty computer on which I draw all my comics, I will be taking next week off. I'll be back on Tuesday, October 11 with your regularly scheduled Shakespeare comics. Thanks for your patience and understanding! 

Twelfth Night: Act 5, Scene 1 (part 6)

It's take a while to get through all the twists and turns and subplots, but we're finally here at the end!

Not pictured: Antonio, sent packing for being a notable pirate and not fitting in the heteronormative dramatic resolution. 

Tune in again on Thursday for a finally summary of Twelfth Night!

Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5, part 1 | 1.5, part 2 | 1.5, part 3|2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3, part 1 | 2.3, part 2 | 2.4, part 1 | 2.4, part 2 | 2.5, part 1 | 2.5, part 2 | 3.1, part 1 | 3.1, part 2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4, part 1 | 3.4, part 2 | 3.4, part 3 | 3.4, part 4 | 3.4, part 5 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 5.1, part 1 | 5.1, part 2 | 5.1, part 3 | 5.1, part 4 | 5.1, part 5 | 5.1, part 6