Very Tiny Classic: The Iliad

Time for the second installment of my Very Tiny Classics series! Today we'll be taking a look not at Shakespeare, but at one of his classical influences: Homer's Iliad. 

It's all the fun of the Iliad, but it also doesn't last as long as a yellow traffic light and fits in your pocket! Let's take a look. 

If you want to print out and fold your very own Tiny Classics edition of the Iliad, download this pdf, print it out at full scale, and then follow these incomprehensible instructions to fold it into an adorable little mini-comic. To see more of my mini-comics, go here.

To learn more about the extremely fun art of mini-comics, check out these resources. Mini-comics are super-fun to make and distribute.

Shakespearean Character Spotlight: Jessica

It's Shakespearean Character Spotlight time again! 

I've seen three productions of The Merchant of Venice, but still don't feel that familiar with the play. Jessica seems to be to be one of those parts that is criminally underwritten. She has an immense impact on the play, and possibly is the root of Shylock's insane decision to claim his pound of flesh, but when you actually look at her speeches you find yourself wanting to know more. It's one of those parts that really needs an actor who can fill in the gaps in the text.(Shout-out to Sara Farb of the Stratford Festival, who was a remarkably poignant Jessica in their 2013 production.)

But regardless of how poignant the Jessica... trading your dead mother's ring for a monkey? That's just cruel, girl. 

In other news, have you signed up for The Weekly Tickle Brain e-mail newsletter yet? This week's edition will be going out on Monday, and will feature (a) a digest of this week's comics, (b) a round-up of all the fun stuff I've been posting while over-extending myself on social media, (c) my review of the most important Shakespeare DVD set in the world, and (d) a behind-the-scenes peek at how I draw my super-detailed and lifelike characters! Don't miss it! Sign up today! (I promise you can unsubscribe if you don't like it, and it won't hurt my feelings.)

Elections

As most of you probably know, the U.S. held its midterm elections yesterday. I generally aim to keep post-Stuart politics off of this blog, but I thought it might be fun to interview some of our favorite characters and find out what issues were important to them in this election. 

It turns out none of them are U.S. citizens, and thus are ineligible to vote, so this entire comic was an exercise in futility. Oh well. 

Shakespearean Autocorrects, part 2

It's time for some more Shakespearean autocorrects! 

In order to generate material for this series I sit on the couch and repetitively swipe Shakespeare quotations on my tablet keyboard. Being a cartoonist is hard work. 

In other news, today marks the launch of the The Weekly Tickle Brain e-mail newsletter! The inaugural issue features my thoughts on Dan Jones's new book, The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors, as well as a behind-the-scenes peek at how my comic's lettering has evolved. Don't miss another issue! Sign up now! It's not a cult, I promise you!