Today happens to be National Shakespeare Day, which is the perfect time to reveal that the acclaimed comic book series Kill Shakespeare is making a comeback. Pulitzer Prize-winning creator Anthony Del Col is continuing this saga with a new original graphic novel titled Romeo vs. Juliet: A Kill Shakespeare Adventure.
IGN can exclusively debut the cover art for this new graphic novel and its Free Comic Book Day 2024 preview issue. Check them out, along with interior art from the upcoming Kill Shakespeare 1st Folio compendium, in the slideshow gallery below:
Romeo vs. Juliet: A Kill Shakespeare Adventure is written by Del Col, with art by Stefan Tosheff, letters by Becca Carey and cover art by Richard Isanove. This new graphic novel is the debut release from Gemstone, the company best known for publishing The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.
For those not familiar with Kill Shakespeare, the franchise explores a world where all of Shakespeare's stories and characters exist in one shared universe. While Romeo vs. Juliet is designed as an accessible entry point into KIll Shakespeare, for those who want to catch up on this unique universe, Gemstone will be publishing two Folio collections that reprint the earlier IDW Publishing graphic novels.
“Hamlet. Juliet. Othello. Lady Macbeth. These are some of the greatest characters ever created,” said Del Col in a statement. “I'm so excited to be back in the world of Kill Shakespeare where they—and many others—all co-exist (and sometimes battle, naturally) and to be working with Gemstone on this. Our new story Romeo Vs. Juliet is a great entry point for everyone—a Shakespearean western in which Juliet Capulet has survived her ordeal with Romeo and has reinvented herself as an independent warrior-for-hire. In order to help protect a small nunnery and border town from her ex-lover, Juliet must reunite with old allies, including Hamlet, Othello, and Puck. And did I mention Juliet’s pregnant? And the father could be either Hamlet… or Romeo? What could be more Shakespearean than that?”
Look for the Romeo vs. Juliet saga to begin with the release of the FCBD 2024 special on May 4, followed by the full graphic novel on November 19. Kill Shakespeare 1st Folio will be release on September 24, and 2nd Folio will follow in Spring 2025.
In other comic book news, the Avengers are about to cross over with the Aliens universe, and we've got an exclusive preview of IDW's Batman: Year One Artist's Edition hardcover.
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