In my opinion Kat Nicholson is one of the best comic colourists to come out of the UK in a long time -check out
Thundercats magazine for more evidence to back up this fact. Some great art, too. And Jason I saw sketching a
superb Power Girl at the May Expo in Bristol.
Kat is waaaay too nice, though. I suspect that she is in reality a
super villain preparing to hatch an evil master plan involving a giant
rabbit. I could be wrong, though. Let’s roll with that, though.
I decided that it was time to re-post this piece on
A MidSummer Night’s Dream because Nicholson and Cardy excell here and I think they need far more pushing into the eye-line of comic buyers/publishers.
So, read on….
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There is one thing that I never really have to write but, as some of
you newbies out there may not be familiar with Classical Comics, I
shall. The quality and production on Classical Comics books is always
of the highest standard. Despite some of the previous editions having
been thoroughly thumbed through and facing the ravages of the conditions
in the Black Tower, they have neither fallen apart nor been
creased/torn as lesser books might be.
Firstly, the presentation. The cover is so scrummy and eye-catching
and the colour! Believe me, covers are a pain in the bottom (heh heh) to
get right. If this one does not attract a lot of attention then I give
up. Could Titania look any more alluring than she does on the Plain
Text cover?!
John McDonald has done a superb job in adapting the
Shakespeare play into a graphic novel format. The problem when adapting
plays or even old text stories into comic strip form is that it can be
hard. Can you leave in every scene with full dialogue? Well, there is
Original Text which actually answers that question. John deserves cream
buns and several pots of tea for this (I’m sure he’ll prefer the
pay-cheque,though). So, John –thumbs up!
Jason Cardy –aka:The Wild-Maned Welsh Marvel, was interviewed on CBO and you can find out how he works here:
http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2010/03/18/jason-cardy-transforming-wizard-of-wales/
Kat Nicholson,
who seems far too nice to be involved in comics, was also interviewed
on CBO and between Jason and her interviews you can see how they work
together:
http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2010/03/17/kat-nicholson-having-a-mid-summer-nights-dream/
I think it fair to say that neither has ever worked on anything like
this before. A full 132 pages graphic novel in full colour for a
hellish, slave-driving perfectionist boss like
Clive Bryant!
I’ve asked a few artists, mainly more experienced ones, what their
reactions would be if presented such a challenge? Most said it
would
be a challenge but they were long-time comic hacks. There was still
that tone in their responses; Cardy and Nicholson are not long standing
professional comic artists so how on earth are they going to do this
book –could they?
The truth is that they have drawn the book and the result is a pure
joy. Lovely artwork, lovingly rendered scenes and more faery-folk than
you could find in Cottingley (oh, just google it). It makes reading
Shakespeare fun and I’ve baulked at reading any more Shakespeare after
1980 (yes, I’m that old). Shakespeare has always had that stuffy
reputation and it has been hard for non-Shakespeareans to work out what
is going on and to picture scenes. Not any longer.
Nicholson and Cardy have made a book that those into faery lore will
want to get, and I know that there is a major market for books connected
to that subject. Hey, maybe a few cosplayers will start dressing up as
characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
If the Shakespeare adaption collectors are out there…get your kids
interested in the Bard via these books! They won’t even realise it’s
educational!
I think that, if you are a parent and want something with substance
for your child to read then the Quick Text version of this book is
perfect. You can even go the whole parent-child reading class way with
this.
Of course, as with most of the Classical Comics books, their use for education has so many possibilities.
There are a lot of pupils now in education from non-English
backgrounds so if English born kids are having difficulty with
Shakespeare—! I think these books are perfect. Everything is broken
down into eye-catching pictures so that clothing of the period,
buildings and so forth become clearer. The three text versions should
work at different educational and age levels.
Remember: there is a Teaching Resource Pack available.
There are also the text features looking at Shakespeare, the Globe
Theatre, a history of the play and how the pages were drawn. It is a
complete package. And as none other than the great Sir Derek Jacobi
writes:
“Classical Comics is truly inspirational, creating an accessible and
fascinating mix of visual and audible drama. The stage and the page
brought vividly to life. Highly recommended for any student of
Shakespeare!”
And Sir Derek frikkin Jacobi wrote that!!
Schools need these books. Theatre students and set design students
need these books. Public libraries (if they aren’t all closed down) need
these books. Families need these books to start their own little home
library. Apart from standing naked and screaming this on the M5 can I
make it any plainer?
I think it was Olivier Cadic of Cinebook who said that I was
“Evangelical” about European comics and their promotion in English.
Well, yes. But I’m also quite passionate about Classical Comics and what
Clive Bryant is doing. People were laughing when I told them there
were graphic novel adaptions of Shakespeare coming out and they looked
great. “Who the **** is going to read a Shakespeare comic?” was the
response, along with a prediction that both Classical Comics and
Cinebook had drastically mis-judged the UK market and would be gone in a
year.
Who is laughing now?
And, personally, I do still remember the Greenway Secondary Modern
Boys School play of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Disaster. It was a very
rough school so asking “who wants to be a faery” didn’t go down well.
And telling the school thug that he was “Bottom” and the grief he got…I
remember the big school fire of ’72!
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
William Shakespeare
“The course of true love never did run smooth;”
Shakespeare’s best-loved play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream endures as
an obvious choice for outdoor theatre on a warm summer evening. The
marriage of Theseus to Hippolyta serves as a backdrop to tangled loves,
amateur dramatics, and an argument between the Fairy Queen and King,
Titania and Oberon, with events spilling over from their Fairy Kingdom
into the real world of the forest.
| Script Adaptation: |
John McDonald |
| Characters & Artwork: |
Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy |
| Lettering: |
Jim Campbell |
|
|
| Publication Date: |
UK: February 2011
US: July 2011 |
| Format: |
144 pages
full colour
paperback
246x168mm |
Versions:
(click here for info) |
Original Text (full and unabridged)
Plain Text
Quick Text |
| Cover Price: |
£9.99 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Original Text Version
ISBN: 978-1-906332-89-1Click here to preorder from:amazon.co.uk |
Plain Text Version
ISBN: 978-1-906332-90-7Click here to preorder from:amazon.co.uk |
Quick Text Version
ISBN: 978-1-906332-91-4Click here to preorder from:amazon.co.uk |
|
|
Original Text Version
ISBN: 978-1-907127-28-1 |
Plain Text Version
ISBN: 978-1-907127-29-8 |
Quick Text Version
ISBN: 978-1-907127-30-4 |
