Stewart Kenneth Moore’s “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, “Project MK-Ultra” collections on the way from Clover Press

By John Freeman on August 28, 2023

The Tragedie of Macbeth by Stewart Kenneth Moore

US publisher Clover Press will release a collection of 2000AD creator Stewart Kenneth Moore‘s graphic novel version of Macbeth early next month, which they began serialising last year. They’re also publishing Project MK-Ultra: The Complete Edition in October.

Stewart will be signing copies of the new collection at Gosh, London this Saturday (1.00 – 2.00pm, 30th September) – full details here.

The Tragedie of Macbeth, due for release 7th September, is based on the Prague Shakespeare Company’s version of William Shakespeare‘s “Scottish play”.

Shakespeare died over 400 years ago and no story captures the mysticism and brutality of Scottish history quite like Macbeth. This graphic novel aims to tell the darkest version yet of this tale of witchcraft, murder, manipulation, and unbridled ambition…

For this new adaptation, Scottish artist Stewart Kenneth Moore has pulled double duty by documenting a stage performance in Prague by illustrating it against the starkest memories, places and myths of his own homeland. The pacing of the panels and scene setting serves to clarify aspects of the play that can be hard to understand on the stage.

In addition to this graphic novel adaptation, this volume also includes the original playscript by William Shakespeare, a useful combination for Shakespeare readers, collectors, librarians, students, and teachers.

Not content with one collection of his work, coming soon from Clover Press, an eclectic Boutique Publisher based out of San Diego, is the unrelated and very different Project MK-Ultra: The Complete Edition, collecting both previously released volumes 1 and 2 of Project: MK-Ultra – Sex, Drugs, and the CIA. The work of Kenneth, Scott Sampila and Brandon Becker. It will be available from 17th October 2023.

Through vivid storytelling, this original graphic novel brings to life the harrowing story of the CIA’s mind control program, which used drugs, hypnosis, and other methods to manipulate the behavior of unwitting subjects. With careful attention to historical facts and rampant conspiracy theories, the creative team have crafted a gripping narrative that takes readers deep inside the shadowy world of government conspiracies and covert operations.

Based on actual events, Project MK-Ultra: The Complete Edition is a zany, pop-culture laced Alice in Wonderland ride exploring the history of LSD through the eyes of a young, hungry journalist whose life is turned upside down when he’s sucked into the absurdity of the CIA’s most guarded top-secret Mind Control Project.

“Whether you’re a fan of graphic novels, true crime, or political history,’ say Clover Press, “Project MK-Ultra: The Complete Edition is a must-read that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the dark side of American intelligence.”

Stewart Kenneth Moore is a regular contributor to 2000AD his art credits including the ‘clock punk’ zombie horror epic “Defoe, The Divisor’ set in 17th century London, written by Pat Mills.

Stewart previously adapted Robert Louis Stevenson’s Scottish horror classic Thrawn Janet to comics and created the 70-page surreal comics scifi The Bootes Void under the pseudonym ‘Booda’, for Aces Weekly.

Beyond comics, Stewart is a painter and actor, whose growing list of film and TV appearances include Wheel of Time.

His work has been published in The Prague Post, The Wall Street Journal and Esquire Magazine. Raised in Scotland, he lives and works in Prague with his wife and two sons. He’s a regular guest artist at Prague Comic Con.

• Stewart will be signing copies of the The Tragedie of Macbeth from 1.00 – 2.00pm Saturday 30th September 2023 at Gosh, 1 Berwick Street, London – full details here

• The Tragedie of Macbeth is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | ISBN: 978-1951038755

• Project MK-Ultra: The Complete Edition is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | ISBN: 978-1951038830

• Follow Kenneth Stewart Moore on Twitter | Instagram

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.