Courtesy @PhilRickaby on Twitter we get Two Panel Shakespeare, where comic artist Eric Kim does “all 36 of Shakespeare’s productions” (not really sure what that’s all about) in two panel comic form. A very neat idea indeed. The project is a book to be purchased, not an online effort, so I’m not really sure how 72 doodles (2 each, ya see?) constitutes a book. The linked article includes an example from King Lear.
(For those in grumpy moods, you may want to pass on this one — the moral of Romeo and Juliet in Kim’s world is apparently “couples should communicate.” WTF?)
Guh. I think what bothers me about this is the following stateemnt:
"I know I’m no Shakespeare scholar, but in doing this it’s fun to have reduced Shakespeare to something a little more approachable," he says. "Something where people read it and they feel as though they’re smarter than Shakespeare."
Is… that what we're meant to be aiming at? Bringing Shakespeare down so he can slide in just under the average intelligence? Personally, I wouldn't want to feel smarter than Shakespeare. I'm overwhelmed enough just realizing how smart he was, and I'm tickled pink just to be smart enough to get it, when I do.
But the flip side of that is that there's no reason people should have to dumb Shakespeare down. He's not that hard, honestly. But if we tell people he needs to be dumbed down for them to understand, then people will think he's hard and decide his words are beyond them without giving them the chance, and that's how ShakesFear happens.
Mind, I love Shakespeare derivatives — Hark, A Vagrant! posts some fantastic ones. Are they simplifications? Yeah, sure. But the point isn't to dumb Shakespeare down — it's more like an inside joke you can share with anyone in the world who's read the plays, which I think is awesome.
It's kind of a cute idea. I'd like to see what the end result amounts to. 'Coffee table' stuff one might assume. I do question his somewhat overreaching stated purpose:
“Something where people read it and they feel as though they’re smarter than Shakespeare.” That elicits a "WTF" from me. 🙂
Could this guy at least get the story right?
He's either got Gloucester carrying Cordelia or a blinded Lear (When does that happen?) carrying her.
Sorry to post gain, but I just saw this: “Something where people read it and they feel as though they’re smarter than Shakespeare.”
Don't you think they're more likely to feel smarter than Eric Kim?
Honestly, I did try to warn you guys 🙂