The graphic novel delivers exactly what the title promises. Having survived the events of their eponymous play, the young lovers became fierce warriors. Circumstance drove them apart as they joined other brave adventurers trying to find the man who controlled their destinies: William Shakespeare. When next they meet, no one but the bard can say if it will be as friend or foe.
Or rather, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Anthony Del Col can say. It’s been several years since he and Conor McCreery gave us an adventure set in their world of Kill Shakespeare. Every character from every one of Shakespeare’s plays can appear, and many surprising ones do meet. Though returning upstart Gemstone Publishing has collected those earlier tales, it’s still a challenge to get readers up to speed on all that has happened. Romeo Vs. Juliet meets that challenge.
Del Col collaborates with artist Stefan Tosheff to offer a soft reboot of the series. Shakespeare himself has gone into hiding once again, as all occasions do inform against him. Juliet has gotten to a nunnery in Illyria. Though Hamlet didn’t tell her to get there, she does carry his child. Maybe. But there was one tender night of reunion with Romeo, swiftly undone by how rash and impetuous he remains.
Worse now, Romeo has gotten ahold of an advancement in scientific weaponry. If in his quest to find Shakespeare he gets a little more personal revenge, then there is providence in the fall of a sparrow. Sorry. Getting steeped in this stuff does inspire allusions to Shakespeare’s plays. To enjoy the story, that’s really all you need to know, and Del Col and Tosheff communicate it swiftly.
Occasionally, characters paraphrase lines from the plays. It’s both appropriate and a little sad that Hamlet has turned to writing sonnets to Juliet that she has no patience to hear. Did you need to know they’re obviously Shakespeare’s actual sonnets? It’s just a clever easter egg along with Hermia of Illyria trying to recreate a certain set number of potions. She’s found 38 of them, but convinced of at least 2 more, matching historians’ view of Shakespeare’s plays.
Though Richard Isanove’s cover lends credence to this as a Western, that’s only in style. This is still firmly in a slightly mystical land in the 17th century. Those aren’t the cowboy hats and cloaks of Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name. Instead, it’s a riff on Puritan garb, no less imposing. Some of the side characters can be hard to tell apart, but that was true in the original as well. A Bardolph is as good as a Pistol. Though I think Pistol doesn’t appear.
But Puck does, and there’s hopefully more to that story. This particular story moves at a nice pace and continues the effective worldbuilding Del Col started with McCreery. Tosheff’s artwork is lush and kinetic, establishing its own vibe while building from the look established by Andy Belanger in the original run.
With 38, possibly 40 plays to draw from, the world of Kill Shakespeare can keep expanding for years to come. Especially if Will keeps hiding himself well. All’s well that ends Will?
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