Ryan North is at it again: Shakespeare Punches a Friggin’ Shark
By Samantha Puc
Ryan North, known for Dinosaur Comics and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, is at it again with his famous Choose Your Own Adventure Shakespeare stories.
On Tuesday, June 20, comics writer Ryan North announced the Kickstarter Gold for his latest project. William Shakespeare Punches a Friggin’ Shark… and/or Other Stories follows the same format is To Be Or Not to Be and Romeo And/Or Juliet. Both books adapted the works of William Shakespeare into Choose Your Own Adventure stories.
If that isn’t absurd enough, the actual endings in To Be Or Not to Be are hilarious. There are over 100 of them, which means hours of reading-based fun. Although it’s (somewhat) possible to follow the trajectory of the story and get an ending similar to Shakespeare’s, it’s more fun to choose the weird options. Just dive right in.
To Be Or Not to Be was Kickstarter’s most-funded publishing project in 2013. North took that popularity and relied on Kickstarter a second time to fund Romeo And/Or Juliet last year. If the third time really is a charm, Shakespeare Punches a Friggin’ Shark will surely be just as successful.
It’s easy to see why.
North’s books, as well as projects like the OMG Shakespeare series, have reinvented Shakespeare for modern audiences. Plus, sharks. Michael Phelps is supposed to race a shark. Shark Week is wildly popular. Obviously people want to read a book where:
"…you, playing as William Shakespeare, will absolutely get to punch a shark. You will have your choice of shark. You will have your choice of punch (from gentle love tap to the mind-shattering widowmaker). You will have some really justified reasons to punch the shark, and you will also have the option to hug the shark instead and then live happily ever after with that shark.— Shakespeare Punches a Friggin’ Shark Kickstarter page"
Shakespeare Punches a Friggin’ Shark is the first Ryan North chooseable-path adventure book wherein the reader can control the Bard himself. Companion stories featuring secondary characters from Shakespeare’s most famous plays will also feature in the book. It will absolutely be a wild ride, from start to finish, every time.
Next: Review: Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2), Victoria Schwab
The Kickstarter raised more than 25 percent of its goal ($25,000) by noon EST the day of its launch. Prizes include digital and physical copies of the book, sticker and temporary tattoo sheets, clothing designed by Ryan North, and dinosaur plushies.