THE WORLD ’ S MOST FAMOUS LOVERS ARE NOW SWORN ENEMIES DUELING TO THE DEATH
An interview with Anthony Del Col
Pulitzer Prize-winner writer Anthony Del Col ( Luke Cage : Everyman , I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp ) and artist Stefan Tosheff reboot Kill Shakespeare with this fantasy Western that ’ s tailor-made for fans of Neil Gaiman , Fables and Lore Olympus .
In this Shakespearean Western , warrior-for-hire ( and pregnant ) Juliet Capulet is hired to protect a border town nunnery from the evil forces led by her ex Romeo . As they prepare , she reluctantly reunites with her old allies , including Hamlet , Othello , Puck ( a “ Magnificent Shakespeare Seven ”) but they soon discover something rotten in the state of the nunnery and a magical force that dreams are made on … all while Juliet must determine if the father of her child is Hamlet … or the man she must kill , Romeo .
Read the interview below !
DIAMOND : For those who aren ’ t familiar , can you tell us what readers can expect from this series ? ANTHONY DEL COL : Romeo vs . Juliet a good ol ’ fashioned Shakespearean western story . Yes , you read that right … The book is a reboot ( loose sequel ) of my acclaimed Kill Shakespeare series , in which the Bard ’ s greatest characters all co-exist and are in a battle to find / save a mysterious entity known as … William Shakespeare .
Romeo vs . Juliet focuses on Juliet , who survived her ordeal with Romeo ( and the events of the earlier series ). Convinced to help protect a border town nunnery from invading forces , she rallies a group of her former allies ( which include Hamlet , Othello , Puck and more ). As they prepare for battle , they discover that the invading force is led by … Juliet ’ s ex , Romeo . Oh , and did I mention that Juliet is pregnant ? And that the father may be Hamlet … or Romeo ? The story hurtles towards a climactic high-noonesque showdown between Juliet and Romeo .
So readers can expect a fun action story with the greatest characters of all-time , some cool magic and – most importantly – an examination of how long true love can last and in what forms .
How did this project come about ? During the pandemic my Kill Shakespeare co-creator Conor McCreery and I were able to get back all rights from our partners ( publishing , television , etc .). And it was during that time that I sat back and finally had an opportunity think : If could tell another story in the Kill Shakespeare world , what would it be ? And immediately the image of a high noon-style showdown be-
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