Friends, Shakespeareans, gamers, lend me your ears! IDW Games has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a Kill Shakespeare board game, based on the graphic novel series.

With a goal of $25,000, Kill Shakespeare is the first joint venture between IDW Games and Pandasaurus Games. The campaign includes perks such as lithographs, posters, custom dice and of course the game itself, at a deeply discounted rate. Stretch goals are also in place to expand game content to include additional characters and quests.

The game itself is a semi-cooperative board game where players are one of Shakespeare’s heroes battling against his villains while completing quests from the Bard himself.

With Sam Keith recently tapped to relaunch a remastered version of his cult hit The Maxx through IDW, it only makes sense that the publisher would try to bring the famed creator in on another one of their franchises. While licensed titles with most companies fall flat, IDW is one of the few to take them and run to success by staying true to the original content but working well within the confines of comics. It ends up seeming like a natural pairing to put the man who created a purple clad giant with perpetual middle fingers that roamed the outback to take on one of the most comically messed up invasion forces ever.

Mars Attacks: First Born takes place in the aftermath of the failed Martian invasion. With the world devastated, people must begin to rebuild but the Martians have left something behind in a secluded neighborhood. Found by a group of kids, there is a Martian infant left amongst the rubble and the aftermath that follows it. The miniseries was written by Chris Ryall and coplotted by Sam Keith and Ryall with Keith taking sole duties on the covers and artwork.

It is time to face the facts: My Little Pony is a worldwide phenomenon. The My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic from IDW has now sold over 1 million copies in less than one year. The first issue is also the best-selling comic in IDW’s history.

“We have a great relationship with Hasbro, one we’ve always been very proud of, so selling a million copies is a really big deal, but to be able to celebrate the achievement with Hasbro makes it even sweeter, ” said Ted Adams, IDW CEO & Publisher.

In celebration of the milestone, Hasbro and IDW are producing a rare variant cover for issue #12 of the comic, which is due out this month. Only 12 copies of the cover will be available to win through contests and charity auctions.

Everyone knows that Wednesday is new comic book day. While picking up your new issues consider looking at some of the trade paperbacks and hard covers of past issues and story lines. But which ones should you choose?

That’s why every Tuesday, The Flickcast will recommend a collection of comics that are just as good, if not better, than the issues you are currently buying. Books that deserve to be read, and bought the next time you walk into your local comic book store.

The trade paperback you should check out this week is Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by IDW Comics. Locke & Key is one part horror, one part mystery, and ten parts of intrigue. It is a book that immediately after you finish reading it, your first thought will be, “Why haven’t I read this before?”

Locke & Key is the story of the three young Locke children, and what happens to them after their father is murdered. Their uncle invites the kids and their mother to move to Lovecraft, Massachusetts, where the home of the Locke family mansion also known as the Key house resides.

Everything seems to be settling back to normal for the kids until the youngest Locke boy finds a key with a skull on it, and when he inserts it into a certain door, he becomes a ghost. That one single turn of the key leads the three Locke children into a bigger mystery about the true nature of the house, its multiple special keys and doors, and the secret of what exactly is in the well out back.

If you can’t wait until the new season of True Blood starts again on HBO, at least there’s a little something to keep you occupied until then. What is this amazing thing that can entertain you and satisfy your thirst for new True Blood and the exploits of your favorite resident on Bon Temps, LA.

Why it’s a new True Blood comic book series from the folks at IDW. The followup to the already successful first round of True Blood comics, these new books spin a new tale. In them Jessica is exposed to contaminated bottles of Tru Blood, causing the lovely vampire to go berserk.

It’s up to Sookie, Bill and the others to figure out who (or what) is behind the bad Blood. In addition to Jessica, several other Bon Temp residents are making their comic book debut including Hoyt, Terry, Arlene and Steve Newlin.

Click through for the full press release and some art. Look for the new True Blood comic series to debut on February 23rd.

Have no fear fans of HBO’s vampire drama True Blood, the network won’t make you wait for a new season of the show without giving you something to occupy your time. In fact, HBO and our friends at IDW are going to be releasing a True Blood graphic novel to do just that.

The graphic novel, called True Blood, Vol.1: All Together Now, is a hard cover compilation of all six issues from the first comic book series. The graphic novel will feature a new cover and bonus content including sketches and a cover gallery.

In case you’re not familiar with the current comic, it debuted in July and was an instant hit, selling out the first two issues and going into multiple printings. With four issues released (and two more to go)…it has become the best selling title for IDW Publishing in their history. Nice.

The book will be released on February 8, 2011 and retail for $24.99. Be sure to check it out as its a great way to experience the comic without having to try and follow individual issues.

This weekly round-up has become somewhat of an ongoing series, because, well frankly because Marvel keeps releasing so many great free comics, I can barely read them all. So if free is a cost you can endure, and if you have an iPhone or iPad, let’s take a look at what’s free in the Marvel store this week, shall we?

Deadpool #1 (2008): “ONE OF US,” Part 1.

The Merc with a Mouth is back, even deadlier and more deranged than before! The planet has been invaded by Skrulls, everything’s gone topsy-turvy, but in Deadpool’s world, that just means it’s Monday! Crazy times call for crazy men, but c’mon, this guy’s insane. Like it or not, Deadpool may be the only person on the planet who can save us, but who’s to say he wants to? Be here for the explosive debut of the new ongoing series by writer, Daniel Way (Wolverine: Origins, Ghost Rider, Bullseye: Greatest Hits) and fan-favorite artist Paco Medina (New Warriors, New X-Men). Deadpool: His madness is his method! You won’t want to miss it.

The Invincible Iron Man #83 (1996).

Iron Man faces off against one of his most lethal enemies, the armored evil-doer known as The Titanium Man!
Written by: John J. Miller
Penciled by: Jorge Lucas
Inked by: Jorge Lucas
Cover by: Adi Granov

Ultimate Spider-Man #14 (2007): “DOUBLE TROUBLE,” Part 1.

He’s been in a coma for months thanks to the accident that gave birth to the Green Goblin. BUt now, possessing monstrous mechanical arms and plenty of attitude, Dr. Otto Octavius lives! You saw a sketch of him in Wizard, now get ready for the real deal! Plus: The first appearance of another major character! Written by Brian Michael Bendis, penciled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert and the cover by Mark Bagley.

Unfortunately, due to a scheduling snafu, I didn’t get my comics this week until late Wednesday night. As a result, I wasn’t able to get through them all in one sitting so there won’t be a Pull of the Week this week. But that won’t stop me from getting you two full days of comic reviews from the books I did get a chance to read this week.

Exiles #6 – Marvel – $3.99

Score: 4.0

And finally, Exiles comes to a bittersweet end. And it’s not bittersweet because we will miss our heroic team as they are shown off in classic fashion. It’s bittersweet because the book that was so lacking in story and character development after dragging the name of one of our favorite series through the mud has finally ended and we don’t need to see it dip even further away from the quality it once was. After only four issues, it was revealed that Exiles‘ second volume, which somehow trumped New Exiles for being the worst use of the Exiles team, would be coming to a quick end. So to “celebrate” the series finale, they decided to make it a “mega-sized” final issue to help tie up all those loose ends that originally should have been spread out over an ungodly number of painfully written issues.

Much like the rest of the series, Exiles #6 just isn’t good. After finding out their first mission was not a success, the Exiles return to the world to break up the alliance that was keeping mutant kind united and would ultimately lead to the end of the world by driving the wedge of Scott Summers’ infidelity between Jean Grey and Emma Frost. When this happens, a series of events plays out that explains the “true” origins of the Exiles teams and how the Timebroker, the bugs and the old couple weren’t ever really behind their formation.

To take a look at yesterday’s Pull List Reviews, click here.

Captain Britain and MI13 #14 – Marvel – $2.99
Score: 8.5

This is one of the times where the vocal minority needs to help save a book. If Spider-Girl could be saved, this book most certainly deserves it. Unless something happens in the final issue #15 that prevents the characters from being able to appear in future issues like the entire nation of England being nuked off the map, there is no reason the series shouldn’t continue.

At the New York Comic Con this past February, Paul Cornell was praised for his work on the series. Now months later, it is being brought to an end far too soon. The past few months, the book has fallen just short of the top 100 comics in terms of sales which may be why Marvel is giving it the axe despite being the best Captain Britain series in recent memory, especially after the dismal storytelling of New Excalibur.

By the end of the previous issue, the war between Dracula and his vampire army and the nation of Britain had taken a huge toll. Captain Britain had been expelled from his country as Spitfire had turned on her own team, resulting in the deaths of Pete Wisdom, the Black Knight and Fauza. Blade also turned his back on the battle and walked away. The hardest part of this issue is to describe the events that happen within because of the sheer volume of spoilers it would contain. Most of the enjoyment of the issue comes from the surprises that come up that would only be ruined if I tried to describe the plot in detail here.

Usually comics lend themselves to the “holy crap” moments with a stunning final panel setting up for the next issue. This issue bucks that trend in its first few pages. What follows is a great example of Leonard Kirk’s fantastic pencils of action scenes combined with the dry British dialogue that Paul Cornell has mastered so well, probably since he hails from Britain it gives him an unfair advantage writing it. Kirk also does a great job with the way he draws blood in the issue. Often times, gory battles can come across as gratuitous.

Pull of the Week:

Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #1 – Marvel – $3.99

Score: 8.0

Every now and then it’s a good practice to pick up something off the rack you have little knowledge of or something that hasn’t been covered extensively by the internet hype machine. A lot of those times it can pay off with something really interesting and enjoyable. A good example of that is this week’s Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter. With Bill being more of a background player, this three issue miniseries gives him a great spotlight as it sets him up to go toe to toe with some of Marvel’s biggest players.

Godhunter begins with Beta Ray Bill teaming up with Thor and his ship, Skuttlebutt, to stop a tidal wave caused by an ocean quake from destroying a seaside town. After their success, Bill asks Thor for his aid in going after the god that destroyed his home planet and the rest of his race, the devourer Galactus. Thor, thinking Bill’s idea to be suicide, passes and tries unsuccessfully to convince Bill not to go.

The issue provides a cameo for S.W.O.R.D. and Agent Brand as they are rebuilding their facility after the Skrull attack when Brand meets with Bill. In exchange for a location of Galactus, Brand asks a small favor of Bill to deal with a lesser known villain by the name of Voidian. After dealing with Voidian, Bill heads off to a distant planet where he encounters the Herald of Galactus Stardust and unveils his plan for how he will be the one to finally stop Galactus. Also included in the issue is a reprinting of The Mighty Thor #337, the first appearance of Beta Ray Bill.

One of the things I like best about this issue is that it is doing something that Marvel has done a great job as of late, letting talented creative teams take the lesser known heroes and allowing them to take bigger roles. What this does is make their appearances in the larger titles mean more to the reader because we have been given the chance to become more emotionally invested in the character and their story. A great example of this is Drax.