Kill Shakespeare #6 – Review

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.