Ophelia’s Revenge Review

Ophelia’s Revenge

Story: James McGee
Concept: Laura Guzzo
Artist: Alex Clark
Colorist: Jan Velasquez
Letterer: Mark Mullaney
Publisher: Red Stylo Media

A review by Samantha Pearson

Ophelia’s Revenge is a bizarre, gory tale of witchcraft, romance, betrayal, and the age-old lesson that “what goes around comes around”.

The comic tells the story of Jean, a spurned actress whose Hamlet co-star breaks up with her right before the play is set to premiere. She goes to the fortuneteller, Miranda, who previously sold Jean a love spell to help her fix their broken relationship and asks for something that will give her revenge…

Miranda says, point blank, that forgiveness is the only way to move forward. But Jean doesn’t want to forgive. She wants Larry to suffer for making her believe he loved her when he didn’t, and she infuses her next spell with that desire.

As a result, all Hell breaks loose at the renaissance faire where Miranda, Jean, and Larry currently work. A vengeful spirit rises from the lake and begins to rip people limb from limb. Anyone who has ever committed one of the seven deadly sins is torn asunder.

Ophelia’s Revenge is a tongue-in-cheek ode to gory horror stories. It also offers an interesting spin on how Shakespeare’s Ophelia would behave if given the chance to seek vengeance for Hamlet ruining her life. The fact that the spirit rises from the lake nods to how Ophelia died. Meanwhile, Jean channels Ophelia in her desperation to be validated by Larry — her Hamlet.

Ophelia’s Revenge also invokes floral imagery, another nod to Hamlet. The horror aspect plays well with this addition. Miranda tries to warn Jean of the consequences if she seeks revenge, but Jean ignores her. In the true Shakespeare tradition, she therefore gets what’s coming to her.

As a Shakespeare fan, I enjoyed this bizarre, modern-day twist on Ophelia. The story and concept were entertaining and the details were delightful. I also loved the use of color, as well as the details in the art. Ophelia’s Revenge is a relatively short, one shot comic, but it was incredibly fun to read.

The Verdict
Check it out! You can get a copy of Ophelia’s Revenge through Red Stylo Media for $4.99. If you love Hamlet, gore, or both, it’s definitely worth your time.