A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
It's time for some WEATHER. There's never any weather in Shakespeare that doesn't have a Purpose of some sort. Let's see what our buddy Casca thinks:
Fun fact! There were apparently umbrellas in ancient Roman times, but they were primarily used by wealthy women as sun shades, as opposed to rain shields, and men considered themselves too manly to use them.
Let's finally wrap up this scene!
Casca is probably my favorite character in Julius Caesar. He's just so sardonic and disrespectful. He's also got one of my favorite lines, which didn't make the cut for this comic:
CASSIUS: Will you dine with me tomorrow?
CASCA: Ay, if I be alive, and your mind hold, and your dinner worth the eating.
Try using this line the next time someone asks you over for dinner. It'll go over GREAT.
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!
