COMIC QUESTIONS
Q: What is Spider-Hamlet?
A: It’s an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, using art from silver age Spider-Man comics (primarily from the late 60s to early 70s).
Q: Wait, —what?
A: It’s Hamlet (the famous play), starring Spider-Man. Now that it’s completed, it’s a webcomic that is also a 100-page graphic novel adaptation of Hamlet.
Q: Is the entire play summed up in 100 pages?
A: Mostly, yes. Understand that Hamlet is a LONG play, and it sometimes goes off into tangents. I did nip and tuck dialogue here and there, partly in an effort to trim and streamline the plot, and occasionally because I had difficulty in finding art to adapt it. Those familiar with the play will note that some minor character parts were trimmed (the traveling actors) or removed entirely (Reynaldo, the ambassadors, one of the two gravediggers)— but 90-95% of the play is intact.
Q: How was this webcomic made?
A: Well, I read a LOT of Spider-Man, and saw so many similarities that lined up with Hamlet, that I thought it would be fun to combine the two together. It’s basically a Venn diagram combining Spidey and Hamlet; if you like these two things, you should LOVE this.
Q: Is this the first time Spider-Man and Hamlet have ever been combined before?
A: When I started this project, I assumed this was the first time; diligent online searching since then has proven me wrong. However, I would wager that this adaptation will (hopefully) be the best by far.
Q: What process went into making the comic?
A: The short answer is that I took screenshots of digital pages, photo edited those pages to “remove” the original word balloons and text boxes (and attempted to recreate the art that would have been behind those balloons and boxes), and then added new word balloons with actual lines of dialogue from the play. This often had to be done panel by panel, because the panels from the original comics had to be cut and pasted into a new order to tell this new story.
Q: Why are the words so confusing?
A: What you’re reading is the actual text from Shakespeare’s play, which was written over 400 years ago (and in a poetic form called iambic pentameter, too). If you’re not used to this type of language, reading it can be a challenge. My hope is that the comic art helps to tell what is going on in each panel– although if can’t tell what certain lines mean, there are great resources online that offer modern translations (often side-by-side with the original lines, for comparison’s sake). You shouldn’t have to do homework just to read a comic– but it’s an option, if it helps.
Q: Why do the characters’ clothes and backgrounds change so often from panel to panel?
A: That’s the downside to mixing up panels from over 70 different comic book issues in a whole new order. To turn The Amazing Spider-Man into Hamlet, I had to search through hundreds and hundreds of comic panels looking not only for specific characters (and combinations of those characters), but often specific facial expressions and even handheld props as well. And while Spidey’s costume didn’t change much through the 60s and 70s, Peter Parker’s fashion sure did! (Actually, it’s amazing how often he wore that ugly yellow jacket of his!) Anyway, I’m sorry if the constantly changing clothing and backgrounds become disorienting, but there wasn’t really an elegant way around it.
Q: Doesn’t Hamlet have sword-fighting in the play? Why isn’t Spider-Man sword-fighting?
A: The reason is simple: there aren’t any silver age comic panels of Spider-Man or Peter Parker ever holding a sword (at least, as far as I could find). This is an instance in which the perfect panels simply don’t exist– and I’m NOT about to digitally add swords to such classic comic art– so I’ve picked comic panels that try to match the play as closely as possible –and in some instances, we’ll simply have to apply a little imagination.
Q: If you wanted a comic of Spider-Man as Hamlet, couldn’t you have just drawn something from scratch?
A: Firstly, no, I’m not much of an artist (and if you look closely enough, you’ll notice I’m not much of a photo editor, either). More importantly though, my intent, in addition to being educational, was for Spider-Hamlet to be a love letter to silver age Spidey fans. While some might just see random comic art, fans (such as myself) will recognize many classic moments from this seminal Spider-Man run (which I will explain in more detail below).
Q: Since Spider-Man is owned by Marvel (Disney), is this an official Marvel comic?
A: No. This comic was created through fair use, and not for commercial use; this is why I’m making the comic free for everyone. What’s more, it has educational value as it helps readers understand Shakespeare’s most famous play even better. My day job is as a high school English teacher, and I’ve already begun showing the comic to my students. (Note that most of my high school students turn their noses up at comic books, but the ones who don’t will have a much better handle on the play!) In addition, I read comics to my own kids all the time, and by the time they get to high school, they will likely already be VERY familiar with Hamlet.
ARTWORK QUESTIONS
Q: John Romita Sr. Is credited as the artist. Who is he?
A: He’s a longtime American comic book artist, famous for being the second artist to draw the Amazing Spider-Man title (from 1966-1974), and is considered to be one of the greatest Spider-Man artists ever (if not THE greatest). He also drew the Spider-Man comic strip from 1977-1980, and was Marvel’s Art Director for over 20 years.
Q: Why are other artists (Kane, Buscema, Andru, and others) credited as well?
A: Romita was the main artist on Amazing Spider-Man from 1966-1974, but there were gaps in which other artists filled in, as well as issues in which Romita did this pencils but not inks, or vice versa. Gil Kane, John Buscema, and Ross Andru (who replaced Romita on the title) were some of the major names whose work is included in Spider-Hamlet— but the vast majority of art used in the webcomic is Romita’s.
Q: So is all of the art used from 1966-1974?
A: Mostly, yes. Eagle-eyed readers will recognize some newer art from Romita (such as from the 1990s and 2000s), but it is primarily from Romita’s silver age run.
Q: Was Romita involved in creating Spider-Hamlet?
A: No. Aside from creating occasional new art, he retired over 20 years ago. If he ever hears about Spider-Hamlet, I hope that he approves and likes it.
(For what it’s worth, I have come to appreciate his detailed artwork all the more while making this comic. As part of the process, I had to recreate portions of art that had been previously covered by word balloons– causing me to notice even the tiniest of artistic details. For example, I learned he was really, really good at drawing window blinds!)
Q: Would Shakespeare approve of this comic?
A: I have no idea.
