Macbeth

Briggs (Story(Cycle)) combines nearly a dozen artistic styles in this standout graphic rendition of Shakespeare’s tragedy. After the three Weird Sister witches foretell a prophecy that Macbeth will become king of Scotland, he’s consumed with ambition, and—egged on by his wife—kills King Duncan. But fulfilling the prophecy isn’t enough: taking the throne while mad with guilt and suspicion, Macbeth slays his best friend Banquo and leads the country to civil unrest. Creative layouts of the original script include plastic embossing labels (gun-punched style) like “Full of sound and fury” taped across a velveteen framed collage, or the bawdy aside about drink having the effect of “lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes,” done up in calligraphy between Renaissance-style window-pane scenes like an illuminated manuscript. The colors throughout feel backlit like cathedral windows; reds alternate as jewels and blood. Briggs’s visual collages lend fresh magic to the mystical themes of Shakespeare’s words, layering mixed media in drawings, photos, maps, sculptures, feathers, fabrics, tarot, stained-glass motifs, and more. The mix of reverence for a literary classic with playful, sensuously detailed artistry is a joy. (July)