A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
WE'RE HERE. IT'S HAPPENING.
It's really interesting how comparatively silent Caesar's assassination is. Apart from Casca, nobody says anything until after Caesar is dead. Usually in Shakespeare people say things like "Take that!" or "There's for you!" or just plain "DIE" when they stab someone, but the conspirators are all business here.
Anyways. Everything is going to go massively downhill now. I'm sure this doesn't come as a shock to you.
WE'RE HERE. FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS, IT'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY ACT.
LOOK BEHIND YOU, CAESAR.
It's Giving Tuesday! If you can, take the time today to donate to the charity or non-profit of your choice. I'm a big fan of supporting local arts practitioners, so I will be donating to Shakespeare in Detroit, my local Shakespeare company.
I will also be donating to the Redeeming Time Project, a labour of love and compassion by a friend of mine which runs rehabilitative theatrical arts workshops (including a lot of Shakespeare) with the incarcerated in Minnesota.
There are more groups doing great theatrical and community work out there than I can possibly name here. If there is a group near and dear to your heart, leave a note in the comments or share it with me on Twitter and I'll endeavor to spread the word today.
It's Thanksgiving in America! Here are some handy Shakespeare quotes for you to use.
You can also check out my exposé of the (in)famous "thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks" quote.
This is the fifth Thanksgiving to pass me by since I started Good Tickle Brain, so once again I'd like to thank all of you for reading and supporting this little comic. It's been so much fun, and I look forward to thanking you on many more Thanksgivings to come.
A special shout-out, as always, to my supporters on Patreon, who have helped make it possible for me to work on Good Tickle Brain full time. I really appreciate all of your support. It makes a difference, believe me!
Of course, you know what Thanksgiving also means...
Just a reminder that starting tomorrow, November 24, at 12:00am EST, everything in the Good Tickle Shoppe will be 20% OFF if you use the incredibly imaginative discount code BLACKFRIDAY2017 at checkout! The code is good through 11:50pm EST on Monday, November 27.
All sizes of my Complete Works t-shirt (spotted at major Shakespeare theatres around the world) back in stock...
...and I have TWO new comic books! The first is the second edition of my Complete Works of Shakespeare in Three Panels Each comic book, with updated illustrations and text...
...and the second is my BRAND NEW collection of A Stick Figure Romeo and Juliet, featuring all my Romeo and Juliet scene-by-scene comics with exclusive additional commentary! It's at the printer right now, but will be in stock in time for Black Friday. Here's a sneek peek:
Plus, of course, my flowchart poster, Macbeth comic book, Complete Works tank top and various other t-shirts are also available.
So, to recap:
WHO: You!
WHAT: 20% off everything Black Friday sale!
WHERE: The Good Tickle Shoppe!
WHEN: Friday, November 24 through Monday, November 27!
WHY: Because you need holiday gifts and I need to sell this stuff!
HOW: Use the code BLACKFRIDAY2017 at checkout!
We're getting closer and closer to the Main Event! Let's check back in with Portia, who, in the interim, has been clued in to her husband's plans and is appropriately freaking out about the whole situation.
This is the last we see of Portia. After this she goes home and has a nervous breakdown offstage. Its fallout is pretty spectacular, but more on that later.
Yes, it's that time of year again... the time of year where everyone selling something tries REALLY HARD to get you to buy more of it! Apparently in some circles it's also known as the "holiday season".
Anyways... this coming weekend I will be running my annual Black Friday sale. Everything in the Good Tickle Shoppe will be 20% OFF from Friday, 11/24 through Monday, 11/27. Just use the incredibly imaginative code BLACKFRIDAY2017 at checkout.
Not only are all sizes of my Complete Works t-shirt (spotted at major Shakespeare theatres around the world) back in stock...
...but you can pick up not one but TWO new comic books! The first is the second edition of my Complete Works of Shakespeare in Three Panels Each comic book, with updated illustrations and text...
...and the second is my BRAND NEW collection of A Stick Figure Romeo and Juliet! Featuring all my Romeo and Juliet scene-by-scene comics with exclusive additional commentary. It's at the printer right now, but will be in stock in time for Black Friday. Here's a sneek peek:
Plus, of course, my flowchart poster, Macbeth comic book, Complete Works tank top and various other t-shirts are also available.
So, to recap:
WHO: You!
WHAT: 20% off everything Black Friday sale!
WHERE: The Good Tickle Shoppe!
WHEN: Friday, November 24 through Monday, November 27!
WHY: Because you need holiday gifts and I need to sell this stuff!
HOW: Use the code BLACKFRIDAY2017 at checkout!
So far, Julius Caesar has ignored all the vague premonitions and unscientific ill omens that have surrounded his going to the Capitol this morning. IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD SPECIFICS ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BEFALL HIM AND WHO PRECISELY IS INVOLVED.
Enter Artemidorus!
In case you're curious as to how Artemidorus knows exactly what is going to happen to Caesar, consider this: Artemidorus was a renowned Greek diviner who literally wrote the book on the interpretation of dreams, the Oneirocritica, in the 2nd century CE...
...which would be around 200 years after Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE...
...which means ARTEMIDORUS IS A TIME TRAVELER WHO IS TRYING DESPERATELY TO PREVENT CAESAR'S ASSASSINATION. It's the only logical explanation!
The things they don't teach you in English class...
Let's check back in with our title character!
Did you forget he was the title character? He doesn't show up that often, to be honest.
We've met Portia, who accounts for 50% of the women in Julius Caesar. Now let's spend some time with Calpurnia, the other 50%. She's a little less badass than Portia, but basically is working up to the biggest "I TOLD YOU SO" in history.
OK, Brutus has been brooding in his courtyard for some time now. Let's wrap things up.
Can we all just acknowledge that Portia is kind of badass? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am 100% against stabbing yourself in the thigh to prove to your husband that you're strong enough to keep a secret. That's a terrible idea. But it does take guts.
Brutus seems to finally have made up his mind regarding killing Caesar, so let's bring in some fellow conspirators!
Apart from Brutus, Cassius, Casca, and, to a much lesser extent, Decius Brutus, the conspirators are a fairly nondescript bunch who never really develop individual personalities. However, because their names are repeated out loud several times throughout the play, they somehow give the impression of being more present than they actually are.
Don't get too attached to any of them, is what I'm saying.
