The Prince of Cats

A hip-hop retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that focuses on Tybalt (derisively referred to as "the Prince of Cats") and his Capulet crew as they do battle nightly with the hated Montagues. Set in a Blade Runner-esque version of Brooklyn, PRINCE OF CATS is a mix of urban melodrama, samurai action and classic Shakespearean theater...all written in Iambic Pentameter!

"There is a long and rich tradition of re-imagining Shakespeare examples include the Tempest-inspired SF movie Forbidden Planet, the fascist Britain that never was of director Richard Loncraine's Richard III, and West Side Story's modern-day Romeo and Juliet. Now former cartoonist Wimberly adds to that body of work with this new version of Romeo and Juliet, set in a Japanese-flavored futuristic New York and focusing on Tybalt, the eponymous Prince of Cats. Proud and as easily affronted as any Renaissance-era Verona aristocrat, Tybalt seeks love and a place in the world, but finds only violence and needless death. The stylized graffiti-inspired art doesn't shy away from the violence of the story, reflecting the brutal world the protagonist sometimes finds himself in, but the impact is somewhat dulled by overly dark coloring. The setting and recasting of the characters as African-Americans invites a comparison with West Side Story and its racial conflicts, and serves as a similarly worthy recasting of the timeless waste of feuding factions. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Ronald Wimberly was the artist on Percy Carey's acclaimed memoir, SENTENCES, published in 2007 by Vertigo. As a young African American artist living in Brooklyn, he brings an authenticity to this project like no one else could. He's done extensive design and commercial work and has worked with Spike Lee on some of his film projects, most notably Miracle at St. Anna.