Was Macbeth the Tyrant, a tragic figure, or the greatest of all Scottish Kings?

Shakespeare fanfic defined this figure.

Sure, we all love fanfic and at some point probably thought of, or even wrote our own; some fanfics have become huge in their own right.  50 Shades of Grey began as a Twilight fanfiction, and while this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, you can’t deny it’s success.  So, 50 Shades is the most successful fanfic of all time, right?

Wrong – that honour goes to one William Shakespeare.  You might be surprised that a certain bard did the exact same thing as comic book fans that decide to write their own She-Hulk comics.  Yup, William Shakespeare himself decided that Mac Bethad mac Findlaích (in the Gaelic language) would be far more compelling as a tragic, lunatic tyrant who would become the protagonist of his Macbeth.

If you grew up in the western, English speaking world, you probably read Shakespeare’s classic in highschool, and even if you didn’t, you’ve probably heard about him and maybe have even watched a contemporary adaptation or two of this tragedy.  So, was Macbeth really a Tyrant, driven to madness by the events that Shakespeare wrote?  Did three witches entice a brave Scottish general with the prospect of a throne, driving him into a murderous rampage?  Maybe that explains why he attacked a sleeping Duncan like a coward, to make this destiny come true.  Becoming increasingly paranoid, Shakespeare’s Macbeth does everything he can to hold onto power.  He decides to consult the witches once again, to find out if his enemies will ever reign over Scotland. This descent into madness continues until the final act, where we learn that Macbeth can only be slain by one who was not “of woman born”.  Enter Macduff, born from an “Untimely rip” from the womb (the 17th century version of a caesarean section) and we have a loophole which finally allows the tyrant to be dethroned.

In reality, relatively little is known about the true Macbeth, and especially his early life.  This is where tenacious writers like Shaun Manning come in.  Over several years, Shaun pieced together a new story about Macbeth; part biography, and part a direct contrast to Shakespeare’s infamous work.  Gone is the lunatic; instead we see a compassionate figure who truly cared about his people, and genuinely wanted to increase the prosperity of Scotland. 

This Macbeth raised his slain enemy’s son as his own (after marrying his mother of course), gave to the poor, and even had an audience with the pope.  While very much like his literary/imaginary counterpart, history agrees with the bard that Macbeth met a tragic end, although historians believe that this was at the hands of Malcolm III, rather than Macduff. 

Examining Macbeth through this lens paints a completely different picture from Shakespeare’s classic, where he definitely decided to spice things up a bit to create a story which was not completely fair to the person that Macbeth really was.  This allows us to not simply accept the label of Macbeth as the tyrant, but rather to consider Macbeth the renowned.  The Prophecy of Berchán, a verse history which presents itself as a form of prophecy, describes Mac Bethad as “the generous king of Fortriu“, stating:

“The red, tall, golden-haired one, he will be pleasant to me among them; Scotland will be brimful west and east during the reign of the furious red one.”

Why does any of this matter? After all, most people will never have a notion of the true Macbeth. But I find that in these undiscovered stories, we can create something new, like we did with Macbeth: The Red King.  This allows for a new, broader perspective that goes beyond some of that stuff that led to you zoning out during your highschool English Lit class.

Next week: Fulfilling a childhood dream! 

p.s. Looking for a good murder mystery? Don’t forget to read Episode 02 of The Bitemark Files!

Want to support Lucha Comics & Undiscovered Stories? Check out Bitemark on kickstarter.

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Forgot Batman v Superman. Instead, here’s Attila the Hun vs. Pope Leo I.

Wait, what? From Batman to Pope Leo? And who even was this guy?

Before I jump into this story and why it’s inspired a new project, I wanted to talk a bit about the title of this series – Undiscovered Stories.

For those that know me, my motivation to start Lucha Comics was simple: I wanted to bring new stories to people like me. That’s it. All I know of comics was as a fan. I had no idea as to how comic books get published – after all, how hard could it be? Well, it didn’t take me long to find out that it’s really hard. It takes time, money, and a lot of heart. Even once you’ve found some great talents to work with and come up with a brand (which in itself is a chore!) then you need to really decide what kinds of stories you want to tell. Fortunately, I have friends like the talented B.J. Mendelson to remind me when I am thinking way too hard, because clearly, my thing is undiscovered stories. Whether it is a true biography of Macbeth, a Latino Superhero kids book, or something in between, Undiscovered Stories are what I love to dive into to. So, what does this have to do with Pope Leo?

Pope Leo I was a Roman aristocrat, the first Pope to be given the title of “the Great” and credited with developing the modern ideas of papal authority. His work led to the foundation of Jesus Christ being a hypostatic being – that is, both divine and human without confusion or division. This in itself is worthy of historical recognition, but there is something far more interesting about his 20 year reign in the middle of the 5th century.

Enter the antagonist of this story: Attila the Hun was running roughshod over Europe, conquering everything in his path. Ready to take Italy, Attila and his forces marched to the gates of the Vatican, ready to plunder and demand its complete and total surrender. Attila had already forced the Eastern Roman Empire to pay him a tithing of 700 pounds of gold a year, but the deal soon fell through the the Huns continued their vicious assaults on the Romans.

Attila and his forced made their way to the Vatican, where they would surely pillage one of the richest stores of treasure of perhaps any era. Even in 450AD, the wealth of the Catholic Church was staggering to say the least; countless priceless treasures would already be taking up residence within the walls of the Vatican. But perhaps most importantly (and easily overlooked) was the fact that the Church directly owned every one of its dioceses, paid zero tax worldwide on its revenues and assets, and even had its own armed forces. The Vatican’s combined wealth and influence in spheres of faith, government and even banking (google Knights Templar sometime) are unfathomable by today’s standards.

Surely, facing such an unprecedented threat – the Huns largely had free reign of the Eastern Roman Empire as few could stand up the them – the Vatican would deploy its entire armed forces, right?

As Attila was ready to storm the Vatican, Pope Leo walked out, alone and unarmed, where he spoke briefly to Atilla. The would be conqueror turned and left, never to return again – leaving Vatican City untouched.

Tune in next week for the Story of Macbeth: The Red King.

Want to support Lucha Comics & Undiscovered Stories? Check out Bitemark on kickstarter.

Special thanks to Matti Silver of Dark School, our resident occult and theological expert. I’d also like to give a shoutout to B.J. Mendelson, all around great guy and author of All Social Media is Bullshit.

Obviously, this was a big team effort, with Shaun Manning putting in 110% effort as always, and Lys Galati from Sphinx PR brought together some great strategy to ensure success.  Honestly, if you are thinking of starting a comic book kickstarter, don’t cheap out on PR, and definitely get in touch with Lys to get an honest opinion on your book.  All that was needed was some design polish, which Allyson Haller provided in spades.  With her previous experience in putting together projects for publishers such as Dark Horse, she really helped to elevate Shaun’s already incredible work to the next level.

Finally, we needed to add a special touch to really make our book memorable.  Our print shop, McNaughton & Gunn really went above and beyond, and got us to our final product – a beautiful, oversized graphic novel.

I really hope that you enjoyed your copy of Macbeth: The Red King.  If you missed out, don’t worry! Just click here and get your copy today.

Thanks again, and we can’t wait to bring our next great story to you!

Sincerely,

Rodolfo Martinez

Macbeth: The Red King is not a re-telling of the Shakespeare classic, but rather a new history of the famous Scottish king. This book is not only for comic fans, but can be a great tool to help educators and students create a visual introduction to some of the greatest literature in our history.

The name Macbeth has been cursed for hundreds of years, but history points toward another story, of Macbeth the hero – The Red King.

Macbeth: the Red King tells an entirely new story of the real-life Scottish monarch, revealing a benevolent ruler who seized on his legitimate claim to the throne. Drawing from historical sources, this engaging graphic novel by Shaun Manning and Anna Wieszczyk is visually stunning companion to Shakespeare’s legendary drama. See Macbeth vanquish the incompetent Duncan, nurture a difficult relationship with his stepson Lulach, and make pilgrimage to Rome while his noble wife minds the restless kingdom — and witness his last stand against the insurgent prince Malcolm.

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