Kill Shakespeare, Vol. 1: A Sea of Troubles

Presented as the first half of a longer story, this volume features an intriguing concept: what if Shakespeare's major characters coexisted in a magical land, so that easily misled young Hamlet was duped by clever tyrants Richard III and Lady Macbeth until Falstaff enlightened him and they joined a band of rebels led by Juliet? And what if Shakespeare was considered a wizard, lurking behind the scenes, with ultimate magical power residing in his quill pen? A fantastic world containing this swarm of vivid individuals should be a wonderful basis for a story. Unfortunately, so far, the comic has been a fairly routine sword and sorcery adventure. McCreery and Del Col's script doesn't make the characters, with the exception of the irrepressible Falstaff, especially distinctive; their dialogue is standard heroic comics talk, sprinkled with a few "thee"s and "thou"s. Likewise, Belanger's art is adequate—clean and easy to follow—but nothing special. (Nov.)