As we saw
earlier in the day, it's the birthday of the man we call the Immortal Bard (despite him dying in 1616):
Will.I.Shakespeare! Not to be confused with
this here feller:
Panel from Archie's Madhouse Annual #5 (1968), artist uncredited
But that only goes to show just how often Mister Shake appears in comic books. I'm not talking only his plays being adapted into comics (like, f'r instance,
here and
here, but actual
comic book characters (
and the real life Benjamin J. Grimm) quoting the Whatchamacallit of Avon (like
here). Let's look at some of the many fine comic book characters who know Shakespeare, starting with the Man of the Year,
Alfred Pennyworth!
Alfred knows Shakespeare!
Page from Batman: Gotham Knights #27 (May 2002), script by Devin Grayson, pencils by Roger Robinson, inks by John Floyd, colors by Gloria Vasquez, separations by Wildstorm FX, letters by Bill Oakley
In fact, don't forget Alfred was a Shakespearean actor! He was so successful an actor back in those in those days that he could afford a toupee,
infuriating his fellow thespian Patrick Stewart. Oh, the squabbles they had!
Panels from Nightwing: Alfred's Return one-shot (July 1995), script by Alan Grant, pencils and
inks by Dick Giordano, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Albert DeGuzman
Which probably makes it no surprise that
Robin knows Shakespeare!
Panel from Batman #682 (Early January 2009), script by Grant Morrison, pencils by Lee Garbett, inks by Trevor Scott, colors by Guy Major, letters by Jared K. Fletcher
In fact, Dick Grayson had a love for the Bard (and hot girls in diaphanous gowns) even after he became Robin the
Teen (Yet Still in Green Shorts) Wonder!
Panel from Batman #216 (November 1969), script by Frank Robbins, pencils by Irv Novick, inks by Dick Giordano
However, that didn't extend to Dick learning that there's
no such thing as a surviving play script in Shakespeare's hand.
And it appears that Alfred didn't teach
anything about Shakespeare to Bruce Wayne:
On the other hand,
Professor Xavier knows Shakespeare!
Panel from Uncanny X-Men #379 (April 2000), plot by Alan Davis, script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Tom Raney, inks by Scott Hanna, colors by Brian Haberlin, letters by Richard Starkings and Saida Temofonte
And he probably taught it to his students, because
Storm knows Shakespeare!
Panel from Uncanny X-Men #151 (November 1981), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Jim Sherman, inks by Joe Rubinstein, colors by Bonnie Wilford, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Oh, wait: that's not Storm, that's
Emma Frost. In Storm's body. Man, she just can't stop impersonating X-Men, can she?
Anyway,
Wolverine kinda knows Shakespeare.
Page from "Follow the Leader" in X-Men Unlimited v.2 #5 (December 2004), script by Scott Killinger, pencils by Rael Lyra, inks by Jay Leisten, colors by Transparency Digital, letters by Dave Sharpe
Nemesis knows Shakespeare!
Panel from "Operation: Overkill" in The Brave and the Bold v.1 #192 (November 1982), script by Cary Burkett, pencils and inks by Dan Spiegle, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Adam Kubert
(Even though most of us don't remember
Nemesis.)
Page from Who's Who in the DC Universe v.1 #16 (June 1986), text and colors by these guys, pencils and inks by Dan Spiegle
Yes, all the most admirable characters in comic books know their Shakespeare! And then that
jerk John Wilkes Booth goes and ruins it for everybody:
Panels from The Kents #7 (February 1998), script by John Ostrander, pencils by Timothy Truman, inks by Michael Bair, colors by Carla Feeny, letters by Bill Oakley
John Wilkes Booth. Actor, murderer, bigot,
lousy fan of Shakespeare.
So, on his 448th birthday, please celebrate the birthday of
William Amadeus Shakespeare by refraining from committing
Shakespeare-related crimes, won't you?
Panels from "Enemy No. 1" in Batman v.1 #29 (June-July 1945), script by Bill Finger, pencils and inks by Dick Sprang, colors by Bob McCay, letters by George Roussos
Oh for Pete's sake!
Penguin! You're just
ruining it for
everyone!
Splash panel from "The Penguin's Apprentice!" in Batman v.1 #27 (February-March 1945), script by Don Cameron, pencils by Jack Burnley, inks by Jerry Robinson, letters by George Roussos
A lot of things we take for granted in our everyday ordinary twenty-first century lives won't survive to the twenty-third and twenty-fourth century. Famine and poverty on Earth will be wiped on, as will Earth culture's dependence on money (tho' you can count on those wily Ferengi to see a need and fill it with slips of gold-pressed latinum). Gene Roddenberry was insistent that no one smokes in the 23rd century. And apparently by the time of Captain Kirk, slim, multi-purpose cell phones with touchscreens and computing power will be replaced by clunky single-purpose communicators. But we can always count on one constant in the universe of the future: that Starfleet captains are a total bunch of kickass problem solvers who cut through the Gordian knot of galactic problems with machismo (Kirk), diplomacy (Picard), and beagles (Archer). No, wait, make that two constants: as today, as it was in the seventeenth century, so it'll be in the 23rd and 24th: those guys love Shakespeare. Seriously, Harry Potter and Jack Ryan may no longer be read by the age of warp drive, but the Bard survives and is celebrated in that star-trekkin' future. On his 445th birthday (and looking forward to his 700th in the same year James T. Kirk takes command of the U.S.S. Enterprise), let's look at two great tastes that taste great together: Star Trek and William Shakespeare!
