Abuzz

by Amy Chase, Stelladia (Illustrator), Ellie Wright (Colorist), Taylor Esposito (Letterer)

Overview

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781545820827
Publisher:	Mad Cave Studios
Publication date:	11/18/2025
Pages:	175
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d)

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).

Editorial Reviews

"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

2025-08-19
Romance and adolescent hijinks abound in Chase’s LGBTQ+ YA graphic novel.

Hero, who uses the pronoun they, is nervous about their first day as a “freshie” at Messina High, despite being the principal’s kid. But they have their cousin Beatriz for support and even sign up for a school club: the Queer Student Alliance. It only gets better when they have a run-in with sophomore Claudio. While the two hit it off, there’s an unexpected obstacle—Beatriz doesn’t like the idea of Hero with Claudio, as he’s friends with her jock ex-boyfriend, Ben, who feels the same way about this potential union. There may be something still there between the former couple, so what’s to stop Hero, Claudio, and a few of their friends from somehow manipulating them into falling back in love? Meanwhile, perpetually sullen juniors DJ, Roach, and Connie dream up a plan to stick it to Messina, where everyone is, in their estimation, “so uptight.” Unfortunately, their scheme involves Hero and Claudio, and could very well bring their flourishing romance to a sad halt. Chase has fun reinterpreting William Shakespeare’sMuch Ado About Nothing, from the masquerade homecoming dance to variations on character names. Knowing the play isn’t a prerequisite, as this graphic novel touches on such relatable topics as identity, bullying, and friendship turning into sexual attraction. The diverse cast offers an inclusive message as the story showcases kids of different races, body types, and sexual identities all getting along (or trying to). The school setting is used to get effect; there are plenty of student-made flyers/posters, comedic scenes that unfold in the cafeteria or the locker room, and a guidance counselor who’s better at trotting out her impressive vocabulary than advising kids. Illustrator Stelladia and colorist Ellie Wright’s artwork adds rich hues (vibrant backdrops, Hero’s lavender hair) and sprightly panel design, as when the gym’s open doors form a panel of their own.

An entertaining and uplifting LGBTQ+ take on a Shakespearean classic.

Kirkus Reviews