A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
Let's check back in and see how Brutus and Cassius's Extremely Fraught Conversation is going...
This bit of the scene also contains the quote "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings", which is mostly famous now for inspiring the title of John Green's cancer-tear-jerker young adult novel The Fault In Our Stars.
When we last left our heroes, Caesar and the gang were off to watch men run around dressed in goat skins hitting people with whips, as you do on the Lupercal, while Brutus and Cassius lingered behind.
I love Brutus. He's so simultaneously self-important and incredibly earnest. I bet he's that really irritating kind of friend who tells you exactly how you've messed up your life, but only because he genuinely cares about you.
There are three super-famous quotes in Julius Caesar, and today's installment of A Stick-Figure Julius Caesar features one of them.
Nobody ever listens to soothsayers. It must be an incredibly frustrating occupation.
OK, let's start Julius Caesar with a big old street party.
This scene introduces us to Julius Caesar's arguably most important character: the mob. They get talked down here, but don't underestimate them.
The other two guys are the tribunes Flavius and Marullus. You will never see them again.
Yes, it's that time again... time to start another scene-by-scene journey through one of Shakespeare's plays! This time we're tackling Julius Caesar. As always, let's get started with a good, old-fashioned who's who:
Things I learned putting this together:
Julius Caesar has a LOT of random minor characters.
Seriously, there's tons of them. And they all have similar-sounding Roman names.
It's really hard to visually distinguish characters when they are almost all Roman men, who historically were all clean-shaven and, according to their busts, all had identical combed-forward hairstyles.
Seriously, I'm going to have to print this out for reference, and I'm the one drawing this stupid thing.
So... sorry about that in advance.
It's the last installment of "Stay Sane September"! Thanks so much for putting up with my recycled material from social media and Patreon. It's allowed me to relax and enjoy my visits to the Stratford Festival and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival without having to worry about all the work that wasn't getting done.
Being a full-time Shakespearean comic artist and author is pretty much the best thing in the world, but the creative process is not always straightforward. To wrap up "Stay Sane September", here's a behind-the-scenes look at the ups and downs of my chosen career, as originally seen on Patreon.
Thanks for sticking with me through "Stay Sane September" and special thanks to my supporters on Patreon (from whence I re-appropriated these comics) for helping me continue to develop Good Tickle Brain!
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting.
Today's comic was originally posted on Patreon while I was in the midst of drawing my Twelfth Night scene-by-scene comics.
This is probably one of my more obscure gags, but before I knew "M.O.A.I" from Twelfth Night, I knew "moai" from Easter Island. (IT'S NOT FUNNY IF YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT.)
Thanks to my supporters on Patreon (from whence I re-appropriated this comic) for helping me continue to develop Good Tickle Brain! For $5 a month, you'll get bonus comics like these every week!
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting.
Today's comics come from my time working at the University of Michigan Library. For a while I used to draw daily whiteboard comics depicting life in the International Studies division. Here's a series depicting The Great Microwave Crisis of 2015.
Just for the record, I did not actually abscond to a tropical island with the collected microwave money. I went out and bought everyone a nice new microwave. It came in a giant cardboard box, so naturally I turned the box into an airplane.
I still can't believe they put up with me for as long as they did...
Anyways, here's the conclusion:
I LOVE YOU, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES LIBRARY BUDDIES.
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
