Abuzz - by Amy Chase (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Sparks and stingers will fly in this modern queer reimagining of Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing!

Shakespeare's beloved romcom Much Ado About Nothing gets a modern update with an LGBTQ cast and the same classic miscommunications! Feuding senior students Ben and Beatriz drag half of Messina High into their never-ending arguments, making things difficult as budding sweethearts Hero and Claudio are asked to pick sides in the battle. All the while, the bad kids, led by outcast DJ, are plotting to capitalize on the chaos and rule the school for themselves. With college letters and prom night on the horizon, will these students find their happy ending or feel the sting of total rejection?

Review Quotes

"Abuzz fits Much Ado so seamlessly into the heady, hormonal daze of high school! It's a perfectly modern, lovingly queer take that works so well. Full of charm and art that's so perfectly matched, it feels the characters could have drawn it themselves."--Susan & Tilly Bridges (writers for The Color of Always, Star Trek: Voyager - Homecoming, Monster High)

"Abuzz is candy-coated YA goodness with a ton of heart and a good-for-you Shakespeare center. Amy Chase's script is funny, sweet and wonderfully specific. The characters eschew tropes and cliches and leap off the page full, unique people. Stelladia's art is energetic, fun and expressive. Every page is a delight." --Jordan Morris (writer of Bubble and Youth Group)

"Amy Chase makes her former high school English teacher (me) proud with her timely comic adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Abuzz sets the drama and social intrigue amidst Messina High's world of proms, parties, and social media posts. Abuzz brings the classic tale to a modern young audience with contemporary characters who are still "too wise to love peaceably." "--Jody Hill, English teacher

About the Author

Amy Chase (she/her) is a writer from Southern California who specializes in horror, fantasy, and lots of puns. Her body of work includes official stories for beloved properties like Dungeons & Dragons, My Little Pony, Archie Horror, and Ghostbusters, in formats ranging from comics and prose to tarot decks. Outside of writing, Amy is an avid tabletop gamer, a frog mom, and a roller derby player by the name of Tuffy the Vampire Skater.

Stelladia is a Spanish comic artist and colorist with a background on visual development for animation. They enjoy working on fantasy, sci-fi and children tales (with a bit of spookiness in them). Some of their past work include The Wilds #4 (Black Mask), Submerged (Vault Comics), Metaphorical Her (Webtoon) or the animation short-film "Johanne" (Dragonbee). When they are not making comics, you can probably find them doing crafts, home-gardening or studying philosophy and anthropology.

Taylor Esposito is multi-award winning comic book lettering professional, owner of Ghost Glyph Studios, and teacher at the legendary Kubert School. A former staff letterer at DC and production artist at Marvel, he has lettered titles such as Red Hood and The Outlaws, Robin Lives!, and Harley Quinn The Eat KILL Bang Tour; Flash Gordon, Edenfrost (Mad Cave Studios), Exorsisters, Drawing Blood (Image); Babyteeth, Maniac of New York, Bunny Mask (Aftershock); No One Left to Fight and Survival Street (Dark Horse). Other publishers he has worked with include BOOM! Studios (Amory Wars, Fence) Dynamite (Elvira, Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, Green Hornet), and IDW (Brynmore).