How I Spent My Monday Night: Chatting with hundreds of people at the Scott Pilgrim Costume Contest. Photo by Alex Davies from http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=6631

So about 8 hours after I got home from the Scott Pilgrim event, I hopped in a cab and headed to the airport to hit the San Diego Comic Con. It was fun times! But then so was the big event, but because of the timing and rush of it all, I didn’t get to really read any of the event coverage, or thank the fine folks who covered it or mentioned it or had a great time. While Google is turning stuff up, I’d hate to miss anything, so if you covered or attended the Scott Pilgrim v6 Midnight Launch at The Beguiling and wrote about it online, please drop a link to the coverage in the comments section here! I’d really appreciate it.

All the best,

- Christopher Butcher

The 2010 Toronto Comic Arts Festival Wrap-Up

Hi Friends!

My name is Christopher Butcher, and I’m the co-founder and festival director of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF)! As you might know, TCAF is dedicated to celebrating comics and graphic novels and their creators, with a specific focus on all of the great comics that Canadian creators have to offer. I had the pleasure of presiding over our fifth festival last month, and I’m pleased to report it was our most-successful and best-attended yet. Perhaps the best example of this is that TCAF was the number 3 trending topic on Twitter in Canada for much of the Sunday of the show, even beating out Canadian supercrush Justin Beiber. It’s a heartening example of how many people TCAF speaks to, and to their affection for the event.

Rather than send out a big PR, and in keeping with our tradition, on behalf of the staff and executive of TCAF — and whom I thank for their hard work and dedication — I’m sending out the following informal note talking about TCAF 2010 and announcing exciting plans for the future.

Thanks For All Of The Support!

We’d like to thank our partners and presenting sponsors Toronto Public Library for supporting, promoting, and hosting TCAF 2010 at their fantastic flagship location, Toronto Reference Library. By incorporating the gorgeous new Bram & Bluma Appel Salon into the TCAF floorplan we were able to comfortably more-than-double our footprint for 2010, expanding to more than 200 exhibitors and honoured guests, and dozens of comics-related readings and symposiums. The increased space allowed us to easily accommodate a great increase in public attendance — a record high 12,000 TCAF-specific attendees visited the Festival over the weekend (a 10% increase over 2009)! 2010 marks TCAF’s second year of partnership with TPL, and it’s a partnership that reinforces that TCAF is a not-for-profit event. We’ve always maintained that making TCAF free removes a key obstacle – finances – for anyone who might be interested in the comics medium, and TPL continues to be a wonderful partner in that goal.

Of course there’s no Festival without great creators and works to celebrate, and so we’d like to thank all of the wonderful cartoonists, publishers, writers, artists, and other agencies that took the time to exhibit and present at TCAF 2010, it made for a truly diverse and excellent look at the medium of comics, touching on every corner of the medium. Special thanks to featured guests Daniel Clowes, Roger Langridge, Jeff Lemire, Paul Pope, Dash Shaw, James Sturm, Charles Vess and Jim Woodring, all of whom chose to premiere their wonderful new projects with TCAF, and for participating in panels and workshops and presentations and general support.

About The Festival…

TCAF tried a number of new initiatives this year that used Toronto Reference Library in new and unique ways, and we found them to be generally quite successful; our Publisher’s Pavilion was significantly cooler than last year, our Sunday kids area was packed all day, and the new Webcomics Pavilion was busy all weekend! Of particular note were our art installations. The biggest and boldest installation from Toronto art collective Trio Magnus (Clayton Hanmer, Aaron Leighton, and Steve Wilson) was fantastic, featuring a massive installation, live drawing, and a unique and vibrant set-up! Canadian webcomics collective Transmission-X transformed a learning centre into something unique and fun, and the fine folks at indie-lit magazine Broken Pencil and artist group WOWEE ZONK teamed up to create “The Small Press Schooner,” a rotating assemblage of fantastic non- and nominally-narrative artists, producing unique visual works over the course of the weekend. It was a great space with a great vibe and Chris Kuzma, Patrick Kyle, and Ginette LaPalme deserve big thanks for their hard work making it look so good.

At TCAF we’ve definitely strived to integrate ourselves into the rich fabric of cultural events and exhibitions that happen around Toronto, and a big part of that has been the support of the local and national media that help to draw out comics aficionados and newcomers from all corners. Again this year, the Arts & Life section of the National Post newspaper went above and beyond in their coverage of TCAF, running over a hundred Q&As with TCAF exhibitors and cartoonists in addition to numerous feature articles—the kind of coverage they reserve for massive events like NXNE and The International Festival of Authors. Our 2010 lead media sponsor Eye Weekly ran a cover story and many other pages of coverage on the 2010 festival and guest Daniel Clowes, and cross-town rivals NOW Magazine got in on the act with a cover feature on TCAF-debut graphic novel KENK. We also received fantastic coverage from the CBC, Toronto Star, Torontoist, BlogTO, Publishers Weekly, Quill &Quire, Sequential, The Walrus, Comics Reporter, RGB Filter, Open Books Toronto, plus dozens of blogs, thousands of tweets, and a general increased awareness of what we do and why we do it was the end result. Thank you!

We Couldn’t Have Done It Without…

Finally, we’d like to thank some of the organizations and individuals who worked to make TCAF 2010 such an unprecedented success:

• - Sponsors & Partners Toronto Public Library, Eye Weekly, Owl Magazine, The French Consulate in Toronto, Broken Pencil, The Walrus, HeartsandFlours.ca, and especially The Beguiling Books and Art for their ongoing financial support.
• - Venue partners The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library, The Merril Collection/Lillian H. Smith Library, The Miles Nadal JCC, The Pilot, Clinton’s Tavern, Fuzion Lounge, Tequila Bookworm, and The Cadillac Lounge.
• - TCAF 2010 Poster artist Daniel Clowes, and Drawn & Quarterly’s Tom Devlin for helping us put the poster together.
• - The staff of Toronto Public Library, Toronto Reference Library, and The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon for all of their work, and especially TPL’s Ab Velasco for his tireless efforts to make TCAF a success.
• - Our many programming hosts and moderators including Mark Askwith (SPACE), Robin McConnell (Inkstuds), Gil Roth, Matthew Kumar, Jason Thompson, Bart Beaty, Holly Post, Dan Nadel, Robin Brenner, Kathryn & Stuart Immonen, Jeet Heer, Jose Villarrubia, Jason Azzopardi, Scott Campbell and Graham Annable, Larry Marder, Jim Munroe, Walter Dickinson, MK Reed, Brad Mackay, Eva Volin, Matt Forsythe, and Jaleen Grove.
• - The hosts and staff of The 2010 Doug Wright Awards for throwing a great event Saturday evening.
• - The staff of The Beguiling for working on their weekend off
• - Peggy Burns from Drawn & Quarterly for excellent organization and coordination of guests.
• - Chip Zdarsky for his wonderful maps and expert assistance.
• - George Rohac for his early support!
• - Nadine Lessio for the fantastic new web-presence.
• - The always shrewd advice of Nathalie Atkinson.
• - Finally, and especially, our volunteers. I’m convinced that we have the greatest assemblage of volunteers of any major comics event, and this year’s crew were efficient, helpful, and praised by all of our exhibitors. Thank you for all of your hard work, dedication, and support, and we hope to see you back again in 2011.

The BIG News…!

Yes, you read that correctly: TCAF will occur annually for the foreseeable future. Save the Date: the next Toronto Comic Arts Festival is on for May 7 & 8, 2011, at Toronto Reference Library. It is once again Mother’s Day weekend. (Thanks, by the way, to all of the cool Moms who came out for the event on the Sunday.)

Our number one request for years now, from our partners, sponsors, exhibitors, attendees, and staff, has been to make the show a regularly occurring annual event. After our trial year, we feel confident that we can accomplish TCAF to our satisfaction on an annual basis. We’ve looked at what worked, and what didn’t, and we’re ready to take all the necessary actions to make TCAF an annual show, even if that means some change.

A big part of going to an annual event is the recognition that we’d like to make TRL our home for the foreseeable future, that we’d like to offer a space for new exhibitors and artists every year but our physical presence is not going to increase much year-over-year, and that the Festival’s landscape and texture must continue to change every year in order to ensure a fresh and exciting event. We’ve always tried to strike a balance between innovations to improve the show and creating a familiar and welcoming experience for exhibitors and attendees, and that won’t change… But some changes will be made to how the show operates and interacts with the comics community in order to create the best event possible. We ask for the support and understanding of all of our exhibitors and attendees going forward in the years to come, and you can expect further announcements this August. We promise all of you reading this: we are committed to making TCAF 2011 our best comics festival yet, and any and all changes we make will be towards that goal.

In Conclusion…

On behalf of myself and the entire staff we’d like to thank all everyone who made The 2010 Toronto Comic Arts Festival such a fantastic success. We greatly appreciate your support, promotion, and most-of-all your attendance at all of our Festival events. We’re looking forward to presenting great shows for years to come.

Best,

Christopher Butcher, Festival Director & Co-Founder
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival

On behalf of…

Peter Birkemoe, Co-Founder

Miles Baker, Assistant Festival Director

Nathalie Atkinson, Media Coordinator

Rob Broughton, Sean Rogers, and Tory Woollcott, Site Coordinators

Kate Dickson and Gina Gagliano, Programming Coordinators

Scott Robins, Kids Programming Coordinator

Andrew Woodrow-Butcher, Volunteer Coordinator

Parrish Kilthei, Tech Coordinator

I work for The Beguiling, and make about 95% of the blog posts at Beguiling.com. They’re not often terribly in-depth, but we do get a lot of neat stuff that doesn’t show up through normal retail channels, and it might be a neat addition to your daily reading. I’ll even occasionally recommend books and things.

- Chris
Shown: A collection of early-aughts shoujo manga anthologies (top) and Claire Wendling’s new sketchbook Daisies (bottom).

From Atwood to Polkaroo: Highlights of Word on the Street events
The stars of CanLit mingle with comics geeks, dub poets, the TVO Kids gang and many other fans of the written word

I suppose all press is good press?

Still, it is a nice little nod in The Toronto Star about tomorrow’s Word On The Street fest. Second in line behind only the stars of CanLit…!

Hope we’ll see you out at the event tomorrow!

- Chris

Here’s a brief outline of this year’s programming, and I hope we see you out this weekend (oh and please feel free to repost):

11:00am-11:15am: All about Comics & Graphic Novels: A brief introduction.
Hosted by Christopher Butcher.

11:15am-12:00pm: Creating comics with Owlkids!
Featuring CTON (Clayton Hanmer) and Brian McLachlan.
Bonus: The first 200 kids 12 and under that attend this panel will receive a gift bag filled with great comics!

12:00-13:00: Creating Comics and Raising a Family: Finding Balance.
Featuring Jim Munroe (Sword of My Mouth), Tara Tallan (Galaxion), and Claudia Davilla (Luz: The Girl of Knowing).

13:00-14:00: No Rules, No Budget, All Fun! How and why you should make comics!
Featuring Georgia Webber (gangLion), Ruth Tait, and steflenk (The Haircut)

14:00-15:00: Graphic Memoirs – 3 New Works.
Featuring Tory Woolcott (Mirror Mind), Lesley Fairfield (Tyranny), and Adam Bourret (I’m Crazy)

15:00-16:00: Sequential Presents: Oh, Canada. Surveying The Landscape of Canadian Comics.
Featuring Bryan Munn, Salgood Sam, Brad Mackay, and Kevin Boyd.

16:00-17:00: Sequential Presents: Three New Comics set in Canada
Featuring readings by Willow Dawson (100 Mile House), Jeff Lemire (Essex County), and Evan Munday (Quarter-Life Crisis).

17:00-18:00: WEBCOMICS
Featuring Andy Belanger (Bottle of Awesome), Faith Erin Hicks (War At Ellsmere), Emily Horne (A Softer World), Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics), Kean Soo (Jellaby).

–

For full programming descriptions and stuff, check out The Word On The Street website at http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/toronto/whatson/comics.

Thanks,

- Christopher

The Marvel 70th Anniversary Party and Sale

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123224306638

–

So we’re hosting a one of those 70th Anniversary parties at The Beguiling tonight. Marvel put together this promotion where as a store, you could order a couple of extra variant covers for two of their comics if you agreed to host a party, and they would tell people you were hosting a party. It’s a decent enough promotion (though the promotion of my store is buried in a PDF document on their site… ), and since we’d been contacted by a number of our customers who wanted the variants, we decided to go ahead with it.

At first I thought about just ‘phoning it in’, not really doing an event and just putting the variants out for the people who wanted them. After all, Marvel’s stuff isn’t generally the stuff we get behind when it comes to promoting comics at The Beguiling, for a lot of reasons. They haven’t behaved particularly well or particularly ethically as a company for… their entire history. And they publish a lot of bad books, in a lot of bad ways. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love Marvel’s comics at one point in my life… I’ve got hundreds of them piled up in my parents house. And we’ve got customers who love the Marvel books, or who loved the Marvel books of their youth somewhere in the last 70 years of their publishing history… for good or for ill. So we’re doing a party; a little trivia contest, a big sale on Marvel stuff, having some fun with it for our customers who wanna show up. It’s a little under 4 hours until the party starts now, and I hope it goes well but realistically my total investment has been an extra staff-member and $50 in food and drinks, and that’s worth a little good will.

Anyway, if you’re in the area come on out tonight.

Cheers,

- Christopher

Key Moments from the History of Comics
By Francois Ayroles
48 pages,  CDN$10.00
Published by The Beguiling Books
Available at Beguiling.com 

Published in conjunction with the 2009 Toronto Comic Arts Festival, The Beguiling has published it’s first book ever: Key Moments from the History of Comics! This witty chapbook collection of French cartoonist Francois Ayroles’ humour cartoons is a fantastic and funny read for alternative and literary comics fans. The book imagines–to humourous effect–the most poigniant and important moments in the lives of great cartoonists and comics institutions from around the world.

It’s funny stuff–the gag book collection is something that has largely disappeared from the shelves and racks of comic book stores, and this brings back the idea with a vengence. Admittedly it’s a little pricey for a 48 page book, but it’s… unlikely to be collected otherwise, given the nature of the material. I bought a copy and quite enjoyed it, particularly having met M. Ayroles and found him to be just as warm and funny in person.

This has yet to be solicited by Diamond and such a solicitation is at least 4 months away. I’d humbly recommend that if funny comics tickle your fancy, you give them a go. With that in mind, I’d like to share a few of my favourites from the book:

The cartooning is lovely, chunky and filled with deep blacks but with a grace that’s appealing. And it’s sad and funny. My absolute favourite is the Chris Ware one, but I’ve left that out so you have something to discover for yourself.

So yes, if you’d like to support me by supporting an employer that allows me to blog from work, might I humbly suggest that you head over to http://www.beguiling.com/productview2a.asp?P_NUM=6535 and pick yourself up a copy of this fine chapbook? It’s actually only 8 bucks and change in U.S. funds. :)

Thanks very kindly, and sorry for this commercial interuption. We’ll see you soon.

Best,

- Christopher

12:44pm: Page 178 features this month’s WIZARD solicit, which, again, looks like it’s being designed by the Previews staff rather than at Wizard. I really do think they’ve finally fired everyone at that magazine that they could…? Anyway. This page is notable because one of the features of this issue of WIZARD is: HOW TO GET YOUR GIRL TO READ COMICS, which is delightful in a late-90s internet article sort of way. The best, BEST part? The afformentioned “girl” in the little photo accompanying the article is carrying copies of: 6 Superhero books, Sin City, Y The Last Man, and… can’t quite make out the top one. Against a wall of high-priced back issues. So, yeah, this photo is not doing the article any favours. I’ve long-since grown past the need to read Wizard just to be offended or upset at bad content, but I’m really kind of anxious to read this one, just to see if it “lives up” to the photo.

Of course, I’m actually cutting orders on this issue as sales are sliding badly on the magazine…

12:52pm: We are continuing to sell out of Dave Sim’s Glamourpuss, which is kind of surprising… We’re also continuing to do the same with Terry Moore’s ECHO, which is less surprising, but I’m going to be honest, I really thought the first trade paperback would’ve killed the issue sales. Nope! It seems people want to read Terry Moore as soon as they can get him. Good for him.

12:59pm: PROCESS RECESS 3. The 3rd in AdHouse’s release of James Jean art-books. The first two have sold right-the-fuck-out and are going for ludicrous prices online. This third one apparently collects sketchbook work, new paintings and illustrations, all kinds of cool stuff by M. Jean. We’ll be ordering a bunch.

Cover Image to the right, click for (much) larger.

EDIT: Oh yeah, check out James Jean’s blog for more info on this, it’s nifty: http://www.processrecess.com/?uid=FA8BCD 

1:20pm: So, Page 188 shows us that Antarctic is now designing their own section of the Previews catalogue… With, I think, utterly disastrous results. I appreciate that it’s good to be able to control the size and presentation of your books–good for you, seriously. But? This is a jumbled mess. No center-of-interest, doesn’t lead the eye, and the blue hackground makes it basically-impossible for me to write my little numbers for what I want to order next to the solicit. :-/

As you can see, the only thing that really stands-out is the PRESIDENT EVIL title treatment, and even then, it’s a little difficult to make-out as Barack Obama (although really what else could it be…).

Yeah, guys, seriously this is not doing you any favours whatsoever. Look at like… catalogue layout sometime or something. Or figure out some way to layout your info better, because this is terrible.

1:36pm: I’m kind of having guilt pangs about not ordering this terrible fucking Obama/Resident Evil ‘parody’, because I know it will sell off the rack, but it’s just conceptually awful, like the terrible Barbarian comics probably will too. But no one has preordered them so I just don’t want them on the rack, I’d like to stand for something, you know? 

Anyway, I am conflicted. But I am not ordering them. If someone really wants one they can do a special order. 

1:39pm: So APE Entertainment’s The Trouble With Katie Rogers (p190) looks kind of neat. A contemporary romantic comedy in graphic novel format. We have a healthy balance of men and women shopping at the store, I’m curious if something like this will do well for us, or if it really is a bookstore thing. I’ll give it a go. (Nice MySpace page too, actually). 

Oh, also on this page is Zeke Deadwood: Zombie Lawman from SLG. I’m actually not “sick” of the Zombie thing yet, and this looks pretty good, played for laughs. Looks like a sort of Westerns versions of Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse. We’ll give this a solid order, hopefully it works out.

1:45pm: So all of my questioning is for naught, it looks very much like the Mouse Guard series has finished, and at Archaia to boot. Now here comes the second graphic novel collection, Mouse Guard Volume 2: Winter 1152.  I imagine it will do well for us.

I think I saw someone, maybe Mike Sterling, wondering aloud on his blog as to why the sales on the single-issues of the MOUSE GUARD series had dropped through the floor at his store. I think one reason why might be that the solicit for this collection promises “a new epilogue”, which, considering the series just ended this past week, is kind of unfortunate. I don’t subscribe to the idea that putting new content is “screwing” people who bought the singles–I did when I was a little younger but now I realize that you get what you pay for. You paid four bucks and issue for 6 issues of a comic, and you didn’t mind doing so at the time, you probably got $4 of enjoyment out of that book, epilogue or no. But seeing stuff like this happen? It does make customers less likely to support serialization, it does erode customers faith and interest in a series, and when you make it a selling feature that the pretty new hardcover contains a bunch of stuff not in the smelly-old issues, it makes me as a retailer reconsider my approach to ordering your single issue comics. Not just from this creator, but from this whole publisher.

So, you know, as a publisher you can do whatever the hell you want, it’s your business. Just know that there are reprecussions.

1:56pm: The ASPEN MLT INC. publisher pages look an awful lot like advertisements, but it turns out those are the solicitations, and the only ones at that. Meanwhile, flipping along, the AVATAR solicits look a lot more like solicits than advertisements (although the Anna Mercury 2 #2 spread was a little confusing at first). Still, one looks like it is imparting information, the other is drowning in graphic elements, headlines, logos, and tiny tiny text. It’s pretty easy to figure out which is more successful.

2:17pm: I know they’re “just” licensed books, but I’m kind of shocked to see that the first wave of trade paperback collections of Boom’s THE MUPPET SHOW, THE INCREDIBLES, and THE WORLD OF CARS got almost no play at all in the catalogue. We’ve done very well with the single issues of all of these books, Very Well, and the treade paperback collections (at a friendly $10 price point) are going to do gangbusters for us, I think? Maybe I’m wrong on this, but we’re definitely investing in them at the store… We’re doing progressively better with kids material and this is really solid looking stuff.

2:41pm: Similarly surprising? No special-attention paid to Cartoon Books’ solicitation of the limited-edition RASL HC (P222).  Limited edition oversized HC of Jeff Smith material… you’d think that Diamond would be all over that. I mean, I know it’s not going to sell BONE HC numbers, but we’ve been doing really well with RASL. Again, I’m all over this collection, particularly for the long-haul collectors that are going to want this (very) limited collection, but might not have the pocket-money on hand to do so now.

2:46pm: Also on page 222 is Jack Moriarty’s THE COMPLETE JACK SURVIVES from Buenaventura Press. Originally published in the venerable RAW magazine, this collects every Jack Survives strip in a lovely 11×14 package, in full colour. I’m only very casually familiar with the material, but it’s spoken-of very reverently amongst my artcomix friends, and anything out of RAW is obviously work at least a look.

3:20pm: I know this is going a little slower than usual today, but man, things are a little intense at work here today. Lots of stuff in the air. Sorry.

DMP BOOKS is changing the size of some of their manga? I think I missed this announcement, but going through their solicitations today (starting on P237) it looks like they’re doing some of their books at B6 (a format more-or-less unknown in North America), which measure 5 1/8″ x 7 3/16″, or thereabouts… which is a little smaller than the current “TOKYOPOP SIZE” favoured by the majority of the comics industry. They’re doing the rest of their books in the A5 size, which measure 5.875″ x 8.25″, or slightly smaller than their current size of manga. Basically their entire line is changing size over the next few months. I… assume this is to cut costs? But I’ve got no idea.

I hope that the effect of this is minimized when it comes to changes in size between volumes of the same series, because comics fans of all ages, genders, and sexual proviclivities, FUCKING HATE IT when the spines don’t match up on their manga.

Just saying.

3:29pm: I had kind of thought that Big Questions #12 by Anders Nilsen (P243) was the last issue of the series, but the solicit makes no mention either way. I am greatly, greatly looking forward to a collection of this series… though these individual issues are just gorgeous too. Hopefully any collection will include all of the colour paintings and things. But of course, it’s D&Q, so that’s probably very likely…

Speaking of D&Q, THE JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY: NANCY VOL 1 is also solicited this week. I have to say I kinda dug the old-school repro on their recent Melvin The Monster collection… The feel of reading old comics is a much nicer one, to me, than the feel of reading badly-computer-recoloured comics with digitally altered linework. I hope I’m not in the minority? I’d much rather see this kind of reprint, when good-quality copies exist to shoot from (or be fixed with minor tweaks).

6:15pm: Okay, let’s try and power through to the end of the Previews, shall we?

Page 245: I’m always pretty excited about new work from Fanfare/Ponent-Mon. Their new graphic novel YEARS OF THE ELEPHANT is something of a departure for them, a European work with no Japanese connection. I got to see a preview of this one at the New York Comicon this past winter, and it’s a really unique work. It’s nicely drawn, in pencils mostly, though a bit sketchy sloppy at times. The solicit calls it “rudimentary” but it has a classical cartooning kind of feel. And the nature of the story, about a many who’s sort of slowly and humourously losing his mind after his son committs suicide, it takes a while but it definitely grows on you as you flip the pages. I have no idea how something like this will be received in North America, quite honestly. As far as I can tell it’s at least partly autobiographical, and personal tragedy memoirs tend to find their audiences more often than not. But it really is a strange book… One that I’m personally looking forward to, particularly considering that Editor Stephen Robson has the foresight to pick up strange-tale-of-personal-tragedy Hideo Azuma’s DISAPPEARANCE DIARY and it was fantastic. I figure this one is at least worth a shot.

Page 246-247: Fantagraphics’ acid-trip orange-and-purple spread is certainly eye-catching, and the info is laid out in a professional, easy-to-read way. It’s just that the overall effect is sort of hideous. But anyway, good books in here. The one I’m most immediately interested in is the TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE hardcover collection, collecting the first four issues of the series, and now in full colour. THRIZZLE has been an easy single-issue sale for us since its debut, I imagine this handsome new hardcover will do similarly well.

For the classic strips guys, there’s another volume of POPEYE. For the art guys, there’s a third JIM FLORA art book. For nerds, there’s THE BEST AMERICAN COMICS CRITICISM OF THE 21ST CENTURY. Pretty solid month for Fanta.

Page 252: It’s not often that authors tend to really get behind the graphic novel adaptations of their work, but Tim Hamilton’s graphic adaptation of FARENHEIT 451 features an introduction by Bradbury himself, quite a coup. The $30 price tag is surprisingly high, but then so are the expectations on this one if the advance press I’ve seen is anything to go by.

Also on this page, Kevin Eastman releases his (competing? complimentary?) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Anniversary collection. the TMNT 25TH ANNIVERSARY BY KEVIN EASTMAN (kind of a fuck-you-title, isn’t that?) features Eastman’s fav Turtles stories, some of them in colour for the first time. That’s kind of interesting? But the big turtles release is a few pages away still.

Page 253: RICHARD STARK’S PARKER: THE HUNTER adapted by Darwyn Cooke. What can I say? This looks pretty darned amazing. IDW let me know that they sent me a preview of this one a few days ago, but it hasn’t shown up yet unfortunately. I was hoping to have read it before I could just unequivocally recommend it, but since I can’t I’ll have to just say that it’s PROBABLY the best new book in the Previews this month and you should pick it up. If you’re not sure, there’s tons of great preview/interview stuff online, and if just reading the first 20 pages doesn’t convince you I dunno what will. 

Hey IDW guys: Maybe I’m blind here, but why isn’t that PARKER preview linked off of your frontpage? I actually couldn’t find it on your site, had to google it.

Page 270: Alright, here you go. It’s the first 540 pages of Eastman and Laird’s TMNT from the 80s, in black and white (11 issues plus the four ‘micro-series’ issues) for $30. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE COLLECTED BOOK VOLUME 1 SC. I am definitely going to take one of these home with me. I’ve read a bunch of these through random reprints and stuff, but I think I’d really dig reading these all at once. Hell, SOMEBODY did… And it’s been one of our most-demanded trade paperback collections for years…!

Page 278: The long-anticipated Jeff Smith TOON BOOKS entry drops in July. LITTLE MOUSE GETS READY seems to be in the format of their youngest-reader stuff, like the Silly Lily books, and it looks great. I kind of felt like the Silly Lily books had a lower vocabulary for the 4-6 year old set, and this one seems like a book that you read-to a child, rather than one they can read on their own? I’m not an expert or anything, but I’d be curious to know who the age group is for this one. Either way, it’s lovely looking.

Page 280: The kids comic series THE STUFF OF LEGEND got a bit of buzz following Free Comic Book Day, so I’ll give the first issue a decent order, see if it will pick up a following in our store. It seems to be in Mouse Guard format, so I guess they know who they’re going-after audience-wise.

Page 282: Long awaited D.N. ANGEL VOLUME 12 from Tokyopop, and no a whole hell of a lot else. BISENGHAST VOLUME 6, possible the last “OEL” title that TP is physically publishing, actually, that’s kind of news too. 

Page 284: For those of you who read my earlier bitching, the LENORE: NOOGIES color edition is here. 128 pages for $24.95.  Also this page is the second collection of Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele’s SURROGATES, FLESH AND BONE, a prequel to the first trade and, conveniently enough, the upcoming movie. Also from Top Shelf on the following page is a new printing of SURROGATES VOLUME ONE, and an omnibus HC collecting one and 2, for people that need to own things in HC.

Page 286: Speaking of Darwyn Cooke, Twomorrows solicits MODERN MASTERS VOLUME 23: DARWYN COOKE to coincide with THE HUNTER. A 120 page collection of sketches, rare art, and illustration. Generally the Modern Masters series of books are snapped-up by the fans of the creators they cover, this one will be no different. Actually, that’s not true; thanks to his huge fanbase and a hometown crowd, we’ll probably just add a zero to the end of whatever number we ordered on volume 22 for this one.

Page 292: So this year Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s A DRIFTING LIFE shared the top prize for the Tezuka Cultural Prize for manga. It shared it with Fumi Yoshinaga’s series OOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS, and the first volume of that series drops this month from Viz. If it’s half as interesting or well-done as A DRIFTING LIFE, it’ll be a must-buy for sure. Yoshinaga is the author of ANTIQUE BAKERY and FLOWER OF LIFE amongst many other fan-fav almost-yaoi titles, and more of her work will certainly be appreciated.

Okay then, I think we’re done for this month. Thanks for reading, hopefully next month will go a little more smoothly.

- Chris

Oh look, we’re liveblogging the Previews again this month! It’s actually not due for 5 whole days, so expect a slightly less-manic, but hopefully no-less enjoyable look at all of the comics and graphic novels being solicited by Diamond Comics Distributors, scheduled to begin arriving in stores in July 2009. I’ll be updating this every few minutes as I get to the next thing I wanna talk about… and I really will try and mention page numbers this month, if you wanna play along at home…!

4:09pm: FWIW, these aren’t awful covers this month, just sort of meh. But we have more unsold copies of Previews this month than in the last 12, both actual copies and percentage ordered. Apparently Spider-Man versus Doctor Octopus and a random skull just aren’t that interesting?

4:18pm: Page FS-1 has an article with the title EXTREME MOMS. Italics in the original title. What? Ah, I see, I have opened this to the wrong side. That is my fault.

4:19pm: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! IS OVER! I guess this is the final month of Diamond advertising their big event. I guess there’s no way anyone in comic industry could say they didn’t KNOW about it, anyway…

On to page 2…  Wow, those Final Fantasy IX figures are hideous. Like, I know they’re in the sort of “Chibi” style that the game was in, and this is all about accuracy, but I even like the character designs and I would definitely not buy these. Awful… The Chibi versions of the FF VII, X, and XII figures on the opposite page look much cooler.

4:36pm: Whoa, rush of customers. Sorry about the delay there. So this month’s Editor’s Note (p7) from Marty Grosser is all about… Mom. Geez, what a bunch of momma’s boys. I love my mom (but not as much as I love your mom), but it is weird to see the editor of Previews telling my to make sure to call my mom on Mother’s Day.

Anyway, the editor breaks down every mother in the world to one of two types, either “The Terminatrix”, who is “the stereotypical mother” who threw out all of your comics, or “The Source”, who got you started on comic books. VIRGIN OR WHORE! CHOOSE, READERS OF PREVIEWS! VIRGIN OR WHORE!?

Actually, I got one better for you Marty. “There is only one woman in the world. One woman, with many faces.” There’s your reductionist argument, courtesy of The Last Temptation of Christ. They’re both Virgins AND Whores. Or Source Terminatrixes. Terminatricies? Either way, lame editorial Marty.

4:55pm: Shit we’re not even to any of the actual books yet. Anyway, Page 9 is an interview with ROMAN DIRGE, the “Featured Creator” of the month. For all of you industry watchers wondering about the Lenore creator leaving SLG for, of all places, Titan Publishing (in the U.K.), here’s a fun quote from the interview with Mr. Dirge.

“I’m excited to be working with Titan. It tugged on the heart-strings to leave SLG Publishing after having such a long relationship with them. I have nothing but love for them, especially their founder, Dan Vado. He gave me my start in the industry and it was like family. I regret how we parted ways. Without SLG, I’d rpobably be asking you what kind of cheese you want on your sandwich and if you want the combo meal. Titan has a lot of things planned for me.” – Roman Dirge

Huh, so apparently the parting was not pleasant. Kudos to Dan Vado for keeping it under his hat, if that’s the case. I haven’t heard a bad word about Mr. Dirge. I’m in support of creators going for the best deal, and if Titan offered Dirge a good one, then sure, what the hell. But it seems like the first part of Dirge’s statement, and the second part, they’re a little incongruous? Like “These guys at SLG are family and I owe them everything! Can’t wait to start working with my new pub!” Is that a platitude? Is that the dictionary definition of a platitude? Hmm.

It’s not an either/or proposition, I’m aware, and I know these guys are friends and I’ll likely take some heat for this, but: I was a huge Jhonen Vasquez fan a few years ago, and I still appreciate his work a great deal, but I have never… ever… understood the appeal of any of Dirge’s work. It seems fantastically lazy. It seems like you start with Vasquez’s JTHM or SQUEE, which are literally bursting at the seams with creativity and ideas, tons and tons of them, and then you take an issue of that and stretch it out into 13 issues of Lenore. But to be fair, you take a single panel of a children’s book and put it on 10,000 stickers and you end up with the utterly-vacant Emily the Strange, so. It’s sort of like the Matterhorn of talent, with Vasquez perched on top and everything else sliding rapidly into the abyss.

At any rate, this month Titan is offering a full-colour edition of Dirge’s Lenore: Noogies. I’m certainly not complaining about the money we’ve made off of Dirge’s work; it sells. But I wonder if exactly the same stuff will sell, to the same audience, again (his work just isn’t that colourful even with ‘full colour’). And hearing that the ‘breakup’ was full of regret and it’s only been… what, a year? That doesn’t make me say “I CAN’T WAIT TO SUPPORT THIS DUDE’S WORK!”

Perhaps I am in the minority.

5:20pm: Alright! Comics! P.24 has STAR WARS: INVASION, which features a bunch of characters that look exactly like a cross between Aliens and Predators attacking the post-Return of the Jedi Star Wars Universe! Luke Skywalker using crazy Force-Powers to take on hybrid Aliens/Predators (but not really)? I can see some nerds definitely being into that.

Jo Chen cover too. Nice.

5:24pm: The new BPRD series featuring art by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba drops this month. Lovely. Not sure if I’ve entirely forgiven them for their Casanova April Fool’s Day prank. Also “The Witchfinder #1″, a new Hellboy spinoff series.

5:29pm: So I guess I understand why the solicitation for Guy Davis’ The Marquis: Inferno trade paperback doesn’t mention anywhere that it’s a collection of all of the perviously-published material, i.e.: The trade paperbacks ”Danse Macabre” and “Intermezzo,” but it’s still pretty crappy of them not to mention that. It’s a great deal, a 336 page trade of very strong comics material by Davis, who’s really found an audience for his work thanks to BPRD. And it’s got a new sketchbook and Mignola intro. It’s a great, worthwhile book. But hiding the solicit info is amateur hour, seriously. I had to track down an interview with Davis at CBR to figure that out. It should be in the solicit, period.

5:34pm: THE GOON versus DETHKLOK from Metalpocalypse. Alright, 37 pages into the Previews, I’m calling it: This will be the most under-ordered comic book of the month. Oh and they’re relaunching Creepy too, which is weird. I have no idea if there’s an audience for a black and white horror anthology, but hey, new Bernie Wrightson art.

5:45pm: DH has got a brand new black and white crime-fiction anthology called NOIR (p41), dropping… September 30th. Well, at least they’ll have plenty of time to hype it up. I think it’ll need some hype too, It’s not the kind of thing that generally sells gangbusters (I think FLIGHT is probably the exception), but look at the list of creators on this thing… Azzarello, Brubaker, Grist, Lapham, Moon & Ba, Phillips, maybe a dozen or two more. Everyone doing any critically acclaimed crime/noir fiction stuff, except maybe Darwyn Cooke, in one book. It should sell itself, but I feel like it’ll be an uphill battle… I hope they promote the hell out of this.

5:52pm: New Gilbert and Mario Hernandez series! Citizen Rex #1 coming monthly, starting the first week of July. Nice.

5:55pm: Conan drops “The Cimmerian” as the subtitle this issue. Or at least the solicit does, hopefully that’s just for the solicit.

5:56pm: Here on page 47 we’ve got a solicitation for “3 STORY: SECRET HISTORY OF THE GIANT MAN” by Pistolwhip and Super Spy creator Matt Kindt. I totally had not heard that Kindt was doing a graphic novel for DH. I guess it makes sense, it’s a full-colour book and Top Shelf’s full colour stuff is pretty rare in general. Hmm. Anyway, this one will be out September 23rd. If Matt (or anyone really) is reading, send me a preview, I’d love to see what this is all about.

6:00pm: Awwwwwwwwwwwesome. Dark Horse is reprinting the fairly-hard-to-find PICTURES THAT TICK, a collection of Dave McKean’s short comics stories. I suppose this comes alongside their reprinting of pretty-much every other comic he’s done save Mr. Punch, including the resolicit of CAGES a month or two back. V. Cool. I never owned this one–a friend had it and I read it 2 or 3 times–and am looking at adding it to my collection this September. I can only imagine a few dozen of my customers feel the same way. And it’s only $20 too, what a steal. We’re going to order a ton.

6:23pm: DC Comics! Alright. Geez, that took kinda forever, didn’t it? Sorry, it’s a busy comic day. I just spent 25 minutes helping the cutest guy ever. Like Seth Rogan but cuter (and taller). Good day at the comic store. Yessss.

So what do we have? Another 1 in 250 copy variant on Blackest Night #1. I appreciate that DC is getting behind this one in a big way… Free Comic Book Day, two years of build-up, all of that. But again, this is a program that rewards large retailers and encourages small retailers to take potentially very unhealthy positions on books. Man, if I’ve heard the rumours about Diamond being in a cash-crunch because of the number of comic stores closing (and not paying their bills…) then SURELY DC has heard the same thing… and yet they’re encouraging stores to drop an extra 500-600 bucks to nab an “incentive” cover. Or they’re just shutting those customers out entirely. This is the worst thing in the comics industry right now. The Worst.

6:34pm: … and it’s weird because WEDNESDAY COMICS might just be one of the neatest things in the industry right now. Get top talent to do the stories they’ve always wanted with their favourite characters. Pope, Allred, Azzarello & Risso, Gaiman, Dave Bullock, Kyle Baker, Gibbons and Sook. Tons and tons more. That’s just cool, you know? I feel like this one will be a little underordered as well, but I appreciate them taking a risk on format, and on great creators and off-beat stories. We’re going to be supporting this one, at least for the first month or two of issues (it’s a weekly), and hopefully it lives up to all of its promise.

7:02pm: So I’m actually at page 81 and haven’t had anything else to say. Still busy (I swear it’s attractive-man day here at the store…) but also the DC solicits are pretty boring! Actually!

7:05pm: I heard from a customer, I think? I think it was a customer. Anyway, I heard from someone today that McDuffie was finally let go from Justice League. No disrespect intended to McDuffie, he seems like a nice guy, but it was pretty clear he fucking hated that job. I mean, whatever, people don’t like their jobs, but you can only complain about how fucking broken the book is and how your hands are tied, in public, for so long, before Dan DiDio reads his e-mail. You know what I’m saying? That dude seems like a biiiiiiiiiiiit of a control freak, I can’t imagine he’s reading McDuffie complaining about a scene needing to be re-written at the last minute and the scene being clumsy because of it, and DiDio steps back and goes “Yeah, shit, good point man. We really gotta get our act together here at DC!” 

Dan DiDio doesn’t seem like that kind of guy is all I’m saying.

To The Extreme.

7:10pm: So… JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #1. The James Robinson Justice League series that is now a mini-series. Well… sure, why not, whatever. Maybe it’ll be good? I like James Robinson, and Batwoman, and the blue-skinned Starman dude. Sounds like a winner to me. Has he given the interview where he says that his creativity was brutally compromised on this series so I shouldn’t bother? Or is he gonna give that interview AFTER the series has come out, so we understand why we were unhappy? I guess I know why people wait for the trade.

7:27pm: Happy to see a new printing of Absolute New Frontier.

7:29pm: Alright, here we are, page 105. NORTH 40 #1 by Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples. Really lovely, understated piece of cover art. Sort of a mysterious premise. Tentacle monster on the cover (tasteful!). Looks good. I’ll check this out.

7:37pm: So it looks like DC is doing a hardcover collecting the first two Tom Strong collections (p111). I actually liked those first 12 issues a lot, some often-lovely art from Chris Sprouse in there, great big pulp concepts, very human stories. I never bought the collections for this (I used to have the issues), but I can see adding this to the shelf, the whole series in 3 hardcover volumes. Cool.

7:42pm: Huh, how about that. A gay lead character on the first page of the preview for GREEK STREET #1, from Peter Milligan. I’m sure there’s an obvious joke there but I ain’t gonna make it, I’m just happy to see any gay character in a comic book, they’re so underrepresented (and poorly represented when they do make an appearance!). GREEK STREET #1 is also one of Vertigo’s $1.00 first issues. I really dug THE UNWRITTEN #1, and the $1 promotion made me more inclined to give it a read, so cool beans. I’ll give this one a heavy order too, hopefully get a whole bunch of people hooked on it.

As for what it’s about? Apparently it’s a gritty-crime-update of Greek Mythology. Done and done.

7:49pm: So my friend Paul was so repulsed by the cover of Hellblazer #257 (p119) that he appeared to be flustered with anger. It’s… it’s not good, he’s totally right. I like Bisley, but. Yeah. At any rate, I think I said at the time “Well maybe they’re going for a lurid pulp-novel thing. It’ll work in context, once you get like, the right cover elements up there. Make it look like an old pulp-novel!” But as the date approaches, I grow more unsure. I guess we’ll know on July 22nd, but until then… Yeah. Not the best Hellblazer cover, that’s for sure.

8:02pm: As I skim quickly, so quickly, over the terrible DC Direct section, I just want to give props to all-around lovely guy Mike Sterling at Progressive Ruin, who takes the time to mock the most egregious bits of nerd ephemera solicited in the PREVIEWS catalogue every month. He calls his recaps THE END OF CIVILIZATION, which I think is an incredibly appropriate title, actually. Unfortunately he doesn’t tag or categorize his site, so far as I can tell, so linking to those posts is a little tough. But here’s a few workarounds:

The May ’09 End Of Civilization (The Previews you’re reading about now!)
The June ’09 End Of Civilization 

Mike also has a fairly-regularly updated list of his END OF CIVILIZATION posts on his right-sidebar, you can check those out for hours of hilarity. It’s the sort of hilarity where you cry a little. 

Okay, next…

8:16pm: IMAGE! Okay, new Mice Templar series (p139), Savage Dragon hits 150 issues (p141), and… here we go! ARMAGEDDON NOW: THE BEAST #1 (p142) featuring some dude desparately digitally painting over top of Rob Liefeld’s pencils, to try and make them look better. This is great. You know why? Because when you put A REALISTIC SHEEN on top of CRAP, it brings out EVERY FLAW. Liefeld’s stiffly-posed action characters on a sliding background, leaping in the air? It’s bold and graphic and, whatever, it looks like “comic book” art. It’s got a lot of energy and not much else. But when you render the fuck out of that, and colour it all brown and put it on top of a painted background and make it “realistic”? That’s when you notice OMG THE CHARATERS ARE ALL HOVERING 6-12 INCHES OFF THE GROUND. Like he can’t draw a character running, fine, everyone knows that, but when it’s “superheroey” it doesn’t matter, it’s just a cool pose. But when you try and make it REAL, then we get into distressing Uncanny Valley territory. Oh, snap, I got it. Rob Liefeld’s ARMAGEDDON NOW is the uncanny valley of comic books. AWESOME. Someone put that on the book jacket please. Here’s a shitty photo with my phone camera, so you can understand what EXACTLY I am talking about:

Seriously. That panel.. (actually, shit, that’s a FULL PAGE SPLASH of those two dudes, hahaha). “RARGH! LET’S FLOAT SLOWLY TOWARDS THE ENEMY WHILE SHOOTING DUDES IN THE HEAD!” If the actual dialogue was “RARGH! LET’S FLOAT SLOWLY TOWARDS THE ENEMIES WHILE SHOOTING THEM IN THE HEAD!!!” I’d be way more inclined to be charitable.

As it is, I am ordering zeh-ro of this clunker.

Oh, and, just so you don’t think I’m being totally vicious, we did order the similarly-awful Armageddon Now original hard cover, and have yet to sell it. But I’m still being totally vicious.

8:37pm: So I guess I officially don’t understand Dan Brereton. After pulling his NOCTURNALS books from Oni (…and I think Dark Horse too? No?), then self-publishing a nice omnibus collection of some of his older work, he is now at Image with the second collection of his work, meaning that there’s an orphan self-pub’d vol-1 HC floating around out there… and about 75% of all comics retailers are seeing this omnibus collection NOCTURNALS VOLUME 2 (p150) for the first time, cuz now it’s in the Image section. With no accompanying relist of volume 1. Which means 75% of retailers are just gonna skip this, because they “can’t get the first volume”. It’s tough out there for creator-owned work, I know that. I’ve got ENORMOUS sympathy for Mr. Brereton, and I really like NOCTURNALS too. But I look at something like this and just shake my head. I don’t get these decisions at all. 

(I just checked Diamond and the first HC omnibus is “Out Of Stock, No Back Orders”).

8:47pm: New printing of Matt Fraction and Steven Sanders’ FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE this month. That’s nice. (p152). Oh, also a new volume of INVINCIBLE, which was solicited BEFORE the previous volume had come out. And! AND! All of the issues contained in this trade? Totally already printed. Will actually ship on time! Thanks for living up to your promise Mr. Kirkman, we’re selling a shitload of your books.

9:00pm: I’ll give Kevin Smith this: I can’t see the word BERSERKER (p168) without singing Would You Like Some Making Fuck BERSERKER quietly to myself. So, score one for him?

9:12pm: Hey, Marvel’s got a new HALO series! (p.4) I actually laughed at that. Good for them! Keep running up that hill, Marvel.

(That was for you, Naudi.)

9:15pm: Looks like The Previews Pages in the Marvel Previews are a little out of order this month… At any rate, nice cover on Wonderful Wizard of Oz #8 (p.17).

Actually, I did want to say that I think that Marvel’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is one of their most thoroughly-conceived, well-executed stories in a very long time. Eric Shanower and Skottie Young have done a great job at adapting the story for new audiences, and it’s sold very well here at the store. Good job all-around.

9:21pm: I’m gonna be honest, I’m still pretty out-of-the-loop on the superhero front because of TCAF and Anime North and all that. So Dark X-Men: The Beginning (p.21) has this header that says UTOPIA TIE-IN! and I have no idea what the hell that’s about. Cloak and Dagger are in this and Dagger has an X-Men logo over top her va-jay-jay. 

Okay, flipping the page, it seems UTOPIA is running through Uncanny X-Men and Dark Avengers, both of which are written by Matt Fraction. That makes me feel a little better I guess. So that Dark X-Men: The Beginning is one of those interminable side-stories that don’t affect the plot in any way that Marvel likes to pump out? Okay, good, I know how to order those at least. And I just assume I order the Fraction stuff as normal, maybe with a little bit of a bump because there isn’t, generally, a 100% overlap between Uncanny X-Men and Avengers readers. See! This is how I figure out how to order everything! This column isn’t just pointless snark, you’re learning how retailers think!

9:26pm: You know it’s 9:30pm on a Friday, we should all be out drinking. Just saying. 

9:30pm: So am I reading this right? Spider-Man is getting married in Amazing Spider-Man #600? (p.42) Like I said, I’m out of the loop, but didn’t they undo all that shit like… a year ago? Or is this like how Archie is about to get married, as in, not real?

Also, is it just me or is the anatomy on Spidey’s shoulder in this Quesada cover totally fucked up? It looks like he’s got a shoulder wedged between his bicep and chin, and another on his back where his back and arm meet. Any thoughts on this from any artists reading? Cuz… cuz it looks pretty wonky.

9:45pm: So Incredible Hulk #600 threatens to unleash the secret of who The Red Hulk actually is. That’s pretty cool. We’ve been doing well with that series, and the recent switchover from Thor’s reboot numbering to the new-numbering went alright. Although a big part of that is keeping a strong creative team. Let’s peak ahead and see who’s on Incredible Hulk #601… Van Lente and Pak? Huh, apparently they’re launching this as a new ongoing, not as a replacement for the HULK series (which has issues 13 and 14 next month). That’s… weird. It’s probably difficult to be a Marvel fan and keep your collection in order? I am glad that is not my problem.

9:48pm: Haha… That’s great. Immortal Iron Fist has a spin-off: IMMORTAL WEAPONS (p.53). Sort of like team-Iron Fist. Featuring FAT COBRA in the first issue. Big-ups on Fraction for introducing that character, and for everything he represents.

9:50pm: So this month we see the debut of IRON MAN: IRON ADVENTURES based on the new 3d animated cartoon. I actually caught an episode of that and thought it was alright… Decent animation, engaging-enough story. Good character designs. Unfortunately the writer and artist on this are “To Be Announced”, so I can’t tell if this is comics or just frames from the show blown up and printed. As such, I’ll order low and try to reorder, I guess. The cinemanga-type comics just don’t do well for us. 

9:51pm: I’ve got no comment on Marvel Divas #1. I don’t really know who it’s for, and I don’t think IT knows who it’s for either. Low order.

9:53pm: Okay, wait. So they’ve got the HULK series with the Red Hulk, and they’re launching an Incredible Hulk ongoing featuring Skaar, Son of Hulk, but they’re… also going to keep the Son of Hulk series going? Really? Are there really enough fans for this, for 3 ongoing Hulk series’? Cuz I don’t think they shop at my store.

9:57pm: So it looks like it’s the end for INCOGNITO (p.79) with issue #6… and I couldn’t be happier! I’m always happy when stories have endings, that this is going to be a great book for the bookshelf and a strong seller for us. Hopefully it gooses the sales on CRIMINAL as well, which should start up again soon. I kind of wonder if, on some level (not the only level obv.), INCOGNITO was a six-issue advertisement for CRIMINAL… You know, all these guys reading Marvel comics, hanging out on message boards, they probably hear how great CRIMINAL is but, let’s face it, they only ever read the superhero books. So even though it’s published by Marvel, even though it got relaunched with a new #1 issue, they’re probably going to pass. But you take all the bits that make up a great CRIMINAL story-arc, and you put superhero-masks on all of the characters, and maybe that’s enough for them, to meet them half way so they realize “Hey this is pretty good!” I mean, the Marvel: Noir stuff sort of dilutes the brand, but really, our INCOGNITO sales are great, higher even than CRIMINAL, and I’m hoping… not just hoping but banking actually… that when CRIMINAL comes back in a month or two, we’ll see higher sales across the board. And we’ve got 4 trade paperbacks to sell them too.

Here’s hoping, eh?

10:06pm: And we’re done. For tonight. 

Not that I’m not enjoying myself, but it really IS 10:00 on a Friday night, so at the very least I’m gonna go and grab a drink. We’ll continue the dissection of the May 2009 Previews catalogue with… THE BACK OF THE CATALOGUE… on Monday morning. Thanks for reading, feel free to comment in the comment section!

- Chris

Anyway, if you want to see what went down in 2008, the list is below. Thanks again to all of the great artists, writers, authors, and organizations we were fortunate enough to work with last year… and this year. 2009 is already off to a pretty solid start, if I do say so!

–

Author Events at The Beguiling, 2008

Cecil Castellucci (Janes In Love), The Beguiling, January 30th
Scott Hepburn (Star Wars: VECTOR), The Beguiling, January 30th

Kean Soo (Jellaby Volume 1), Keep Toronto Reading, February 5th
Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet Volume 1), Keep Toronto Reading, February 5th
In Association with Toronto Public Library 

Kean Soo (Jellaby Volume 1), The Beguiling, February 6th
Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet Volume 1), The Beguiling, February 6th

Michel Rabagilati (Paul Goes Fishing), Lillian H. Smith Library, March 15th

R.G. Taylor (Growing Up With Comics), Industry Night, March 26th
Ron Kasman (Growing Up With Comics), Industry Night, March 26th
Mark Innes (Comic Eye), Industry Night, March 26th

Jillian Tamaki Art Show, The Beguiling, April 14th-May 30th

Free Comic Book Day For Kids! @ Palmerston Library, May 3rd
Featuring: Michael Cho (Max Finder Mysteries), Steven Manale (You Crack Me Up!), Brian McLachlan (Owl Magazine), and Jeremy Tankard (Grumpy Bird).
Presented in association with Toronto Public Library, Scholastic Books, and Owlkids. Image shown below, featuring Jeremy Tankard.

Free Comic Book Day at The Beguiling, May 3rd
Featuring J. Korim (Penciler, Atomic Robo FCBD Edition), Jessie Lam (Colorist, Neozoic), Tyrone McCarthy (Creator, Corduroy High), Alana McCarthy (Illustrator), Tara Talan (Galaxion), Willow Dawson (Violet Miranda), Nick Mandaag (Artist and self-publisher), Chip Zdarsky (Monster Cops).

Stuart Immonen, The Beguiling, May 28th

Luminato Arts Festival, June 8th
Featuring Spain Rodriguez (Che: A Graphic Biography), Dan Goldman (Shooting War), and Bernice Eisenstein (I Was A Child Of Holocaust Survivors). 
Presented in association with Luminato. 

Blake Bell (Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko), Lillian H. Smith Library, June 18th

Jason (Low Moon, Pocket Full of Rain), The Beguiling, June 10th 

Ray Fawkes (Apocalipstix), Revival Bar, August 6th
Cameron Stewart (Apocalipstix), Revival Bar, August 6th

The Doug Wright Awards, August 10th
Official Bookseller

Russel Lissau (The Batman Strikes!), The Beguiling, August 29th

Matthew Forsythe (Ojingogo), The Beguiling, September 27th
Pat Shechuk (Pohadky), The Beguiling, September 27th
Marek Colek (Pohadky), The Beguiling, September 27th

The Word On The Street, Graphic Novel Tent Official Sponsor, September 28th
Featuring: D.J. Steinberg, Steve Manale, Brian McLachlan, Jim Zubkavich, Matt Moylan, Jeremy Tankard, Matt Hammill, Steve Murray, Mariko Tamaki, Ray Fawkes, Cameron Stewart, Jim Munroe, Ramon Perez, Ray Fenwick, Susan Hughes, Willow Dawson, Pat Shewchuck, Marek Colek, Matt Forsythe, Andy Bellanger, Joey Comeau, Emily Horne, Matt Forsythe, Ryan North, Kate Beaton, Ramon Perez.

Street Fighter Tribute Launch, The Beguiling, September 28th
Featuring nearly two-dozen different comics creators including Cameron Stewart, Bobby Chiu, Kei Acedera, Scott Hepburn, Alex Milne, Arthur Dela Cruz, Eric Kim, Alvin Lee, Omar Dogan, Joe Ng, Christine Choi, Eric Vedder, Joe Vriens, Matt Moylan, Jim Zubkavich, Saejin Oh, and many more.

Lynda Barry (What It Is!), IFOA/Writing The Unthinkable, October 23rd-26th
Chip Kidd (Bat-Manga), IFOA, October 25th-26th

Shaun Tan (The Arrival), The Beguiling, October 28th

Chris Onstad (Achewood, The Great Outdoor Fight), The Beguiling, November 4th

Igort (Baobab, Ignatz Line), The Beguiling, November 15th
David B. (Epileptic, Nocturnal Emissions), The Beguiling, November 15th

Maurice Vellekoop (Pin-Ups), Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, November 25th

Dave Lapp (Drop-In), The Beguiling, December 3rd

Kramers Ergot World Tour, The Beguiling, December 11th
Featuring Sammy Harkham, Seth, Shary Boyle, Souther Salazar, Kevin Huizenga, John Pham

Faith Erin Hicks (The War At Ellsmere), The Beguiling, December 17th

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So, yeah. Come to Toronto. We are doing awesome things here, we’d love for you to be a part of it.

- Chris

10:19pm: I know Wizard has been firing a lot of people lately, but seriously, did they let go of all of their designers? These Previews pages look like the intern threw them together, and the intern only knows how to use MS Word. Meanwhile, ANOTHER Obama cover on this issue. That poor dead horse that these guys keep beating.

10:21pm: I’m just saying, “Obama Cover, by Artist To Be Announced.” Come on…

10:22pm: Another month, another solicited issue of Anime Insider that is never going to come out. Actually, I just realized that these pages look like they’ve been designed by the PREVIEWS team, which is why I don’t like them. They look seriously weak. Oh how the mighty… etc.

10:23pm: Ah, and thanks to Super-Con in San Jose, we get a little Comic Sans. How Avant Garde.

10:25pm: Speaking of which, Cerebus Archive #2 has a Zombie/Obama Variant for $15.00. At least I’m not as cynical as Dave Sim.

10:27pm: I feel kinda bad, I never actually checked out Scott Morse’s first “Ancient Book of” book for Adhouse. Although this one is about Sex, so that will probably entice me more than Myth/War. Oh, and Johnny Hiro gets a lovely collection that I shall be ordering. Good series, that one. Nice price-point too, 200 pages for $15.00. That’s a steal.

10:29pm: SLG Publishing have thrown a lot of marketting muscle behind their new CAPTAIN BLOOD comic book, and it does look quite nice. Beautiful colours on the cover too. We had some success with The Black Coat, a pirate adventure series published intermitently over the past few years. Hopefully this one will do well for us too.

10:32pm: So I actually read the description for Bad Kids Go To Hell #1, from Antarctic. It’s a high-concept comedy/thriller, described as “The Breakfast Club” meets “The Grudge”. And, yeah, alright, it sounds like a sort of cheesy movie, I’d watch it if it came on the TV and it wasn’t censored on TBS or something. But it’s a movie on paper; a book about sexy teens intended for a sexy teen audience. Where in the hell are they going to find that audience at Antarctic Press? Why is this a comic at all, other than just as an intermediate step to getting it optioned soemwhere? It’s described as a movie, and the cover art just looks awkward (the proportions are all off). Why turn a movie pitch into a mediocre comic book? Or a comic at all?

10:36pm: Archaia Studios Returns! At least The Killer will end now, and Alex Sheikman who creates Robotika is a nice guy. But I don’t really feel good about the company, I’ve heard too much from creators unhappy how they were treated during the fallow period… and I’m not crazy about what I heard about their new parent company either. Anyway, whatever. I’ll order what I think will sell, but I’m certainly not going to ‘invest’ in the company until they get back on track and make amends with the people they’ve wronged.

10:41pm: Hey, a second collection of Julia Wertz’ Fart Party. Cool stuff. The first one was pretty great actually, recommended.

10:44pm: I have to bump the numbers on Gravel again. Nice to see a series picking up readers as it goes. Oh and Ignition City did alright too… And contrary to Ellis’ assertions that “we wouldn’t do variant covers if people didn’t buy them”, our order for the single-cover FRANKENSTEIN’S WOMB (there’s a HC too, but we’ll ignore that) just ended up being higher than our orders for all of the covers on Ignition or Gravel combined. We order the variants because they’re available, not because people are buying more than one. At least not in my experience. Or in an apples-to-apples comparisson, We’re ordering exactly as many copies of all Anna Mercury #1 with 4 different covers  as we did of Ignition City #1 with 3 covers, we just divided them differently. Anyway, not that this has anything to do with anything, it’s just been sticking in my craw, so to speak, seeing Ellis send that message out into the world.

10:55pm: Am i really supposed to order the Tek War comic? Really? Someone weigh in in the comments. I just don’t know.

10:57pm: I have to say, an extended, faithful adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is a surprisingly ambitious project for BOOM to take on… i think that’s kind of amazing actually. I hope they do a good job, and I’m excited to see it.

I have to say, their section on the whole looks kind of put-together and organized this month, which is nice. I feel like the past few months have been a little haphazzard, particularly with the volume of books they solicit in a given month. A set-up in the Previews more like IDW would benefit them for sure.

11:06pm: Alright! I wanted to take a second to mention Box Brown’s Love is A Peculiar Type Of Thing! It’s a Xeric Grant winning book, a collection of webcomics and short strips, and it’s about this dude growing up and being fucked up and trying to get over it. It’s navel-gazing indy autobio comics, the exact sort of terrible filth that superhero fans like to step up and deride! Loudly! In an us versus them argument, this is THEM with a capital EVERY LETTER. It’s got Drug Use in it, for pete’s sake! Drugs! How could he!?

It’s great, I loved it. Totally worth your $10. Order two: one for you, and give the other one to a feckless 20-something that can’t figure a way out of their current situation.

More at:  http://www.topshelfcomix.com/ts2.0/artist/318  and  http://boxbrown.com/book/.

11:13pm: On the other end of the spectrum, Devil’s Due Productions has declared June OBAMA MONTH! Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. Comics you ruin fucking everything. I refuse to engage your awful offerings.

Actually, fuck it. I’m not ordering any of this for the shelf. We’re The Beguiling. We have principles. If you want any of this nonsense, I hope you pre-ordered.

11:26pm: So, First Second’s THE COLOR OF WATER by Dong Hwa Kim. I really liked this actually, it’s probably the only thing like it in English. It’s very strange though. It’s very much a book for women, about the life of a woman from being a girl to being grown. It’s a book club book; a Lifetime movie in the making. But it’s neat. And Kim is an outstanding artist, several of the sequences and illustrations featuring the countryside are just amazing. The first book, COLOR OF EARTH, is available from stores now, check it out. 

Oh, and to my friends at First Second? You mis-spelled COLOUR. I didn’t want to say anything to embarass you, but since the books are already printed and in circulation it’s probably alright now.

11:31pm: Taniguchi! Yay! Fucking Whoo! Hoo! Jiro Taniguchi, for those of you thus far uninitiated, is the wonderful creator behind The Walking Man, which I love. A new work is solicited here, SUMMIT OF THE GODS. Taniguchi is one of those creators on my automatic-buy list, just… he brings such incredible professionalism and skill to everything he attempts. It’s lovely.

11:35pm: The Fantagraphics section features what will be the book of the month for many, a the new collection of Peter Bagge’s reportage comic strips for REASON magazine. They’ve generally been good, thought provoking stuff, and I’m sure fans of his self-involved, self-pitying Buddy Bradley character will find a lot to interest them in a collection of comic strips from a Libertarian magazine.

Zing!

11:41pm: Actually, let’s go back a second. I Twittered a question to digital manga publishing but they don’t seem to be online, so I skipped over mentioning the fact that their SWALLOWING THE EARTH, by Osamu Tezuka, is shipping in June. Well, the first volume anyway. I am totally, totally interested in reading this. I own a bunch of Tezuka in French just to studdy the storytelling. But the cover of the book they’ve got here in PREVIEWS is just terrible, hideous stuff. It’s like they took a look at the great strides that Vertical had made in packaging 30 or 40 year old books and making them appeal to a contemporary audience and decided “That’s not really for us.” I love Tezuka, but some of his stuff is kinda goofy looking. I’m not saying every book needs to be abstract and downplay the comics connection, but the difference between the cover they’ve got for solicitation here and even the Buddha volumes? Miles and miles apart, and not in a good way. Granted, it’s got a great big ART NOT FINAL on it, but this is a little disappointing, because it seems like a wonderful work by Tezuka, and I’d really like the chance to sell it.

I don’t think this cover will help me.

11:50pm: Alright, back to Fantagraphics. The Abstract Comics collection soudns neat. The second massive Locas HC is a must buy. Another collection of comics by Fletcher Hanks, by Paul Karasik. A collection of Danish comics! Good month for Fanta.

11:53pm: Oh shit, how did I miss the Rand Holmes retrospective!? They’re gonna take away my Canadian citizenship. Basically:

Rand Holmes was Canadas most revolutionary artist in his heyday, the star cartoonist at the Georgia Straight newspaper in British Columbia during the 1970s. His hippie hero, Harold Hedd, became the spokesman of the emerging counterculture as he avoided work, explored free love, and flouted drug laws. The Adventures of Harold Hedd spread across the globe in the wave of underground comix and newspapers of the era and Holmes became famous – or at least notorious. While his comic character was bold and blatant, the artist was shy and quiet, well on his way to becoming a complete hermit.

This book is an intimate and expansive account of a very private man who expressed his deepest feelings in the then disreputable medium of comix. He didnt talk much but he sure wrote a lot, avowed his widow Martha. This biography/retrospective includes generous selections from his private journals and correspondence, family photo albums, sketchbooks, and personal anecdotes from his friends and colleagues. His artistic history began haltingly on the lonely windswept plateau of Edmonton, flourished in Vancouver and San Francisco, and concluded peacefully on Lasqueti Island, a remote backwater in the Straits of Georgia where he lived out his dreams of pioneering and homesteading.

Holmes life story is richly illustrated with drawings, comic strips, watercolors, and paintings that span his whole career, from the hot rod cartoons he drew as a teenager, dozens of covers for the Georgia Straight, pornographic cartoons for the sex tabloid Vancouver Star, to complete comic stories from Slow Death Funnies, Dope Comix, All Canadian Beaver, Death Rattle, Grateful Dead Comix, and many more. The full-length Harold Hedd comic novels, Wings Over Tijuana and Hitlers Cocaine are reprinted in their entirety together for the first time. 

Essentially, it’s the only book on a Canadian Underground cartooning legend. And a GIANT OF THE NORTH, actually (Google it). Sorry I forgot to mention it on the first pass.

12:03pm: See, here we are, in the IDW section and they’ve got a book called THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE BARACK OBAMA and you know what’s different about this one? It’s not co-opting the man’s image to sell your some other idea. It’s a book about Obama. And sure, that’s as much of a commercial product as the stupid barbarian one the DDP is publishing, but this one is actually about the man, his beliefs, his life. I can get behind that.

12:19pm: So, big-ups to fellow Canadians New Reliable Press, who have got their new books TRUE LOVES 2 and JAN’S ATOMIC HEART in the new Previews. These fine cats are gonna be at TCAF, TCAF’n it up, and TRUE LOVES at least managed to get a lot of press first time around. And hey, retailers and customers? THEY’RE GIVING AWAY BOOKS. For every copy of TRUE LOVES 2 you buy, they’re shipping out a free copy of TRUE LOVES 1. That’s a steal!

12:23pm: Okay, Oni Press has got the first issue of the just-relaunched RESURRECTION comic, now in full colour. Fine, interesting enough, Except they’re shipping out 10s of thousands of copies of the #0 prequel for Free Comic Book Day, AND (AND!) the trade paeprback collecting the first RESURRECTION series? SIX BUCKS. Six dollars for like, 184 pages. And it’s all gonna be out in the next 7 days. So, you know, KUDOS, Oni. You win this month’s award for “working your ass off to support your new ongoing series”. Buuuuuut unfortunately you’re disqualified because the first issue here doesn’t feature a 1 in 250 variant cover. Too bad, so sad. :P

12:28: Page 282 has an indy anthology from “Poseur Ink” called SIDE B: THE MUSIC LOVER’S COMIC ANTHOLOGY. It’s got a bunch of stories from folks including Jeffrey Brown, Brandon Graham, Ryan Kelly, and Jim Mahfood. That’s some pretty cool shit. 

Oh, and on page 284, as a favour to my friend George I wanna give a shout out to ATOMIC ROBO AND THE SHADOW FROM BEYOND TIME #3. The Atomic Robo stuff has been fun, well drawn, and a consistent seller for us here at the store. I’m happy to recommend it to fans who like Hellboy for more than just Mignola’s art. :)

12:39pm: So! The one thing in the Viz section that I didn’t know about before I got to it is STARTING POINT: 1979-1996 By Hayao Miyazaki. It’s “A hefty compilation of essays (both pictorial and prose), notes, concept sketches, and interviews by 9and with) Hayao Miyazaki.” It’s 500 pages of reading for $30. That’s sort of a given, isn’t it? Like, that one is an automatic purchase? Awesome. Thanks Viz!

12:56pm: FLIGHT VOLUME 6 IS COMING SOON. Excellent news! New stories from all of the Flight Creators and friends. Page 301, preorder your copy, etc.

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Alright, I think that’s it for this month. I gotta go through the last few pages of the catalogue and see what kinda magazines and stuff I’m gonna order. Thanks for reading…!

- Christopher

We’ve just put up most of the TCAF Events that will be happening in Toronto surrounding the Festival. We’re nailing down the dates on others, but yeah, it’s pretty outstanding, if I do say so myself. You can check it all out at http://www.torontocomics.com/tcaf, or if you’re more of an RSS person, all future updates are going to also be made via the blog on the front-page of http://www.torontocomics.com.

I am pretty proud of all of this I gotta say.

- Chris

“If we assume that the NYT is indeed getting actual sell-thru data from comics stores to form the bestseller list, we still don’t necessarily know which stores form those reports. Maybe the stores that reported their sales had exceptional success with this promotion, actually using it to sell dramatically more copies of the book to customers. That’s gotta be possible, right?” – Tommy Raiko

The reason I had initially discounted this possibility–the thought did occur to me–is that prior to about two years ago, there was almost no method of reporting sales data from individual comic book stores. It’s really only been in the last 5 years that direct market comic book stores have moved, in a major way, towards digital inventory tracking and control. I know that Hibbs has been chronicling that change at his various writing outlets. When I think to myself “What possible data could they be using?” it never even occurred to me that they might have access to DM sell-through data, because historically, they didn’t. No one did. Many comic book stores didn’t (don’t?) even have paper tracking methods (generally referred to as “cycle counting”), let alone weekly digital inventory counts that they could pass along to The Times.

Let alone a centralized hub for that sell-through data to be collected and disseminated, let alone Diamond having that data…

But in responding to Tommy’s message, I allowed that the possibility did exist… however small.

“That’s an excellent rebuttal, and you could be right. In fact, a few hundred comic stores are now using Diamond’s proprietary sales tracking software, and perhaps its the sales of those hundred stores that are being submitted as comic book store data. Sure.

“But the appearance of specific books on the top 25 (I don’t want to name them because singling out books in a negative way, in the context of this discussion, isn’t really appropriate), not to mention Occam’s Razor, lead me to believe my conclusions are closer to the truth…” - Me!

Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking about it. Diamond has been slowly rolling out a proprietary sales tracking software (ComicSuite) last year, that works with Microsoft RMS (Retail Management System). The sales data of stores with this software is now, I believe, automatically being reported to Diamond. I’m not 100% convinced that it’s really “a few hundred stores” using this software, and I don’t believe Diamond has announced how many people have bought in. But yeah, Diamond is collected accurate sales data from a limited group, so it is possible on some level that this could be based on existing sales.

Why this still doesn’t matter: If all of this is true, an alternate theory to the one in my last post, it still means the reporting method at the NYT is broken. Why? Here: The sample size of sales is still small. Probably very small. It’s also limited to stores that can afford to drop a few grand on this software, plus pay a yearly fee for life. It’s also comprised of early adopters, folks who are generally a little more hands-on with their business, and that usually translates to ordering habits that go outside of the Marvel/DC areas. That weighs the number. Like any first-year statistics student will tell you, voluntary surveys are already biased towards people that are willing to take a survey.

So yeah, even if they’re using sell-through data from Diamond’s incredibly small, biased survey group, and then extrapolating it out to all 3000-ish Diamond accounts? It still corrupts the overall list, Bookscan is measuring a (debatable) 70% of the bookstore market. At best the Diamond numbers are 10% of the comic store market, and clearly being given a lot of weight. It’s why we end up with Dark Tower at #1. It don’t make sense.

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Edit: Brian Hibbs says some interesting things in the comments to this post:

“For what it is worth, ComicsPRO is working with the NYT to get more stores involved in reporting their individual numbers to the list.
“For what it is worth, I believe that more DM stores are using MOBY than using ComicsSuite from Diamond (probably by a factor of two or more)
“And IF ComicsSuite is reporting sell-through to Diamond (and I doubt it is), Diamond has not disclosed that, and, so, that would probably be illegal.” – Brian Hibbs, Retailer, Comix Experience

So is that confirmation that individual stores are reporting sales to the NYT? Fascinating. I still feel like it could only be an incredibly small sample-selection as it stands, but I’m heartened to hear that someone, somewhere is selling the books that make it onto the list. I’m also glad to see my theory about Diamond reporting sell-through data shot down, it was a little ‘big-brother’, even for me.

Now back to the end of the post:

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And here’s another thought I had. I know it fits into my last theory/post, and I feel like it does here, but I’m not entirely sure how. I know it’s true though, so here goes: The NYT Graphic Novels Besteller List  clearly favours comics and books that are exclusively orderable through Diamond; books for which Diamond has a direct-market exclusive, AND books which are distributed to bookstore by Diamond. But why? Because as Brian Hibbs pointed out in the response to my PREVIEWS LIVEBLOG a few weeks ago, many, many of the books in the Previews catalogue are available cheaper through other sources, other distributors. Smart retailers are figuring this out, and moving their orders elsewhere. Except in cases where they can’t, where Diamond is the Only Source. So if the Bestseller charts are based on Diamond sell-in, and not sell-through, and extrapolated out and weighed equally with reporting bookstores, then books only available through Diamond are going to have a huge advantage; those sales are going to be reported wheras comic store sales of books ordered from Ingram or Baker & Taylor or any alternate distribution source? Those don’t get reported through bookscan, and they wouldn’t get reported through Diamond under my scenario… Unless the NYT lists are taking Ingram and B&T sales into account, and I don’t believe they traditionally have (because that would measure sell-in, and not sell-through, and we’re back to where we started).

Anyway, that’s where I’m at with this. I think the New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller list? It’s nice as a promotional tool, but I’m utterly unconvinced that the list means much at all. Much like every other half-assed piece of data we have, it’s at best a tool for measuring popularity over the long term. Watchmen’s on the list for every week? It’s probably a best-seller! A children’s graphic novel from a Diamond-exclusive publisher debuts on the list and is never seen again? Probably doesn’t mean a whole lot, sales-wise.

- Christopher

“Last week, Marvel’s 2007 adaptation of the Stephen King fantasy epic appeared, as if by magic, atop the hardcover list, unseating Watchmen. Although I couldn’t find an obvious reason for the book’s performance, I was willing to accept that the upcoming release of The Dark Tower: Treachery hardcover or another miniseries might’ve renewed interest in the original. (Or did I completely miss a new edition or reissue?)

“But this week The Gunslinger Born is nowhere to be seen. Watchmen again rests comfortably upon its hardcover throne, followed by a trio of Batman-related books.

“It’s as if last week never happened.” – Kevin Melrose, Robot 6 @ CBR

Sorry, I didn’t realize that no one had addressed this.

It’s pretty clear that the NYT Graphic Novel Bestseller lists are equally weighing all of Diamond’s direct-market sell-in with all of the other sales channels’ sell-through. What this means is that every book shipped by Diamond to a comic book store counts exactly the same on their list as every book actually sold by a bookscan-reporting store. It means that, on the week that comic-store-favourite graphic novels get released, their positions on the bestseller list will be abornomally high… but they will most likely never be heard from again. Unless their reorder velocity in a given week is incredibly high… maybe if that item was put on a sale or something?

So how did we end up with Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born on the list? That’s tricky. Marvel is a very litigious company, and has all sorts of warnings about reproducing their private personal information in public. Blah blah blah. So, let’s talk about me instead, because I doubt even Marvel would be able to argue that retailers aren’t allowed to talk about their own businesses. So: There was a time period last month where I ordered Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born and received a higher-than-average discount on that book, and for every copy I ordered, I got another copy of the book for free. I did this, it happened, and I am talking about my actions as a retailer (litigious!). So the week that all of those discounted copies and free copies of Dark Tower that I ordered shipped to me, the book ALSO appeared on The New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller list. Do you see the correlation there?

I don’t think Marvel tried to game the system with this maneuver; Diamond Comics also reported the first Dark Tower collection as being the top-seller for the month, likely because of this promotion. Apparently according to Diamond, something that sells at a reduced price—even if that reduced price is zero—is still a sale, and when they report data to the NYT? A sale is a sale.

Basically, in the larger bookselling community, the “end customer” is the reader, the consumer, because bookstores can return unsold product to the publisher (or distributor), and so a sale is really only final once it leaves the store. But in the Direct Market of comic book stores, the “end customer” is the retailer–the comic book store owner–because the comic book store owner can’t return the books; the final sale is when the books arrive at the store. Worse than that, comic book store owners are expected to front-load their orders–order heavily up front with no immediate promise of further availability–to secure a better discount from Diamond as a supplier, which further weights the Diamond’s numbers on the day-of-release.

So two largely incongruous sales systems are being merged–pretty badly it looks like–to generate a list that has books with little long-term sales spiking on release and never appearing again, and heavily prone to being thrown entirely out of whack by promotions, sales, discounting, and… hell, just giving stuff away for free! It’s one of the many, many problems of the apples-to-oranges sales systems that we have in comics. And yeah, it’s why The New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller List is Broken.

- Christopher

‘Stripmalling’ Book Launch Tonight

Launch party for ‘Stripmalling’
Presented by ECW Press and This Is Not A Reading Series
Monday, March 2nd, 7:30pm
The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St. West
$5 Cover (Free with book purchase)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=44003449363

Toronto author Jon Paul Fiorentino brought our good friend Evan Mundy on board to do extensive illustrations and comics sequences for his new novel, ‘Stripmalling!’ Then they made a short movie about how the book was made, “The Way of the Smock: The Making of Stripmalling”. Catch the trailer here:

This Monday, they’re launching the book, showing the film, doing a reading, an interview, and more. ‘Stripmalling’ looks great and Evan is a wonderful guy. See you at the Gladstone tonight!

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2. Seminar: Anime and Contemporary Japanese Society

Anime and Contemporary Japanese Society
Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 6pm-8:30pm (doors at 5:45) Ryerson University, 245 Church Street
George Vari Engineering & Computing Centre, ENG 103

Admission FREE – Reservation recommended for guaranteed seating RSVP at www.jftor.org/whatson/rsvp OR anime@jftor.org OR 416.966.1600 x600

Digital Value Lap Ryerson University, The Japan Foundation, and Consulate General of Japan in Toronto present two important lectures that will be of interest to Beguiling customers and friends, on Anime and Contemporary Japanese Society.

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POSTCRITICAL ANIME: OBSERVATIONS ON ITS ‘IDENTITY’ WITHIN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN
While anime is being watched on a global scale, there are significant differences in its contemporary reception. The gap between regular consumers and critical spectators, sometimes appearing in the form of Japanese audiences vs. foreign Japanologists, deserves special attention since it raises a number of questions, such as what sort of animated film is identified as ‘anime’; who relates anime to politics, history and society; what kind of meaning is at play in anime’s performative images, and to what extent one can read ‘Japanese society’, or even ‘culture’, out of anime. Comparing Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (1954) and Gonzo’s “Samurai 7” (2004) as well as touching upon anime’s history, this lecture focuses on aesthetic and cultural identities ascribed to anime in modern Japan and their contemporary relevance.
Jaqueline Berndt is Associate Professor of Art and Media Studies, Yokohama National University. She specializes in aesthetics/art theory, anime, visual cultural and Japanese studies, aesthetics of comics, art in modern Japan and animation.

OTAKU CULTURE: PERSONALITY, SPACE & CITY OF ANIME FANS IN JAPAN
Optimism about an ever-progressing technological future ran out in the 1970′s. It was in the mid-1980′s that the term otaku was coined to signify a new personality that had emerged as a reaction to the loss of ’future’.The term evokes a stereotyped image of a geeky computer nerd, long past adolescence but still obsessed with games and anime. The presentation shall explore how this otaku personality became a geographical phenomenon in a district called Akihabara, together with its role in the development of Japanese anime.
Kaichiro Morikawa is Associate Professor of Contemporary Culture in the School of Global Japanese Studies at Meiji University. His research interests include design and architectural theory. Prof. Morikawa served as commissioner of the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale 9th International Architecture Exhibition in 2004.

This sounds pretty amazing, and although this will be a VERY busy week, this will be one lecture series worth attending…!

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3. MARCH 6-12: FEAR(S) OF THE DARK – Film featuring Charles Burns

FEAR(S) OF THE DARK
March 6th-12th
at the Royal Cinema, 608 College Street
Directors Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire; France, 2008

If you’ve been following The Comics Journal or Comic Art Magazine, you’re probably familiar with this striking new animated French film which features some of the most talented comics talents in the world. We’re really fortunate to get an extended screening of this in Toronto, and I hope everyone reading this gets a chance to check it out. Here’s the description:

“A wildly inventive and visually dazzling collection of fearful tales by six of the world’s most renowned comic and graphic artists – Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard McGuire. From a besotted student whose girlfriend is weirdly ardent in her affections, to a Japanese schoolgirl menaced by a long-dead samurai, and a pack of hounds on a bloodthirsty rampage, FEAR(S) has a story strand to trouble every sleep – not to mention a stunning range of animation styles. Shot in shimmering black and white, the six intertwined tales create an unprecedented epic where phobias and nightmares come to life and reveal Fear at its most naked and intense.”

Trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809947440/trailer

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4. The (Edgar) Wright Stuff at the Bloor Cinema! Starts February 28th!

The lovely and talented Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ) is in town to direct the big-screen adaptation of SCOTT PILGRIM, and we couldn’t be happier. Espescially because he’s going to be programming a full slate of his favourite films at The Bloor Cinema for the month of March! The first two screenings were this weekend, and they were great fun. The next few will no doubt be awesome as well… Check this out:

SUNDAY, MARCH 8
7:00 The Wanderers (Philip Kaufman, 1979)
9:30 The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979)

SATURDAY, MARCH 14
9:45 Head (Bob Rafelson, 1968)

SUNDAY, MARCH 15
7:00 Dames (Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley, 1934)
9:00 Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 1974)

SUNDAY, MARCH 22
5:00 Spaced Marathon (Edgar Wright, 1999-2001)

SUNDAY, APRIL 5
7:00 Kung Fu film TBA
9:30: Drunken Master 2 (Chia-Liang Liu, 1994)

SUNDAY, APRIL 12
7:00 The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979)
9:00 Last Night (Don McKellar, 1998)

Single movie tickets are $8 for Bloor Cinema members and $11 for non-members. Double bills are $14 for members and $17 for non-members. (Non-member prices include a six-month Bloor membership.) A pass for all screenings is $90, or $75 if not including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Complete Bloor Cinema info and schedule at its website: http://www.bloorcinema.com/

–

- Chris @ The Beguiling

VIZ Media has announced a sale on a wide selection of its manga volumes and anime DVDs, whereby retailers can save XX% off the SRP of those items while supplies last.

With more than 1,000 products offered at this discount, retailers that carry manga and anime should find this to be the perfect time to replenish their store’s stock. Among the many popular titles included in the sale are Bleach, Castle in the Sky, Dragonball, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inu Yasha, Mobile Suit Gundam and Naruto.

Click here [link removed] to see a full list of VIZ Media manga and anime titles that are included in this sale.

As mentioned, this sale on these items will run until stock levels for those items are depleted. After that time, they will no longer be available for reorder or back order, so retailers are encouraged to stock up without delay.

The list includes more than 100 different series of manga, including still-running series like Zatch Bell, Whistle, Ultimate Muscle, Prince of Tennis, Inu Yasha Animanga, Hoshin Engi, Crimson Hero, Case Closed, Beyblade, Beet The Vandel Buster, and Bastard, amongst many others.

Perhaps most importantly to readers of this site, this list also includes some of my favourite comics of all time, including Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond, Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix, Takao Saito Golgo 13, and Kazuo Umezu’s Drifting Classroom.

No announcement has been made about new volumes of any of these series, leading me to believe that the books will continue to be solicited as normal (I wonder if they’ll make the new cut-off!?) and then be purged periodically as here. 

Here’s where I editorialize: Are You Fucking Kidding Me? I don’t think much else needs to be said. This move is, frankly, unbelievable. I knew about this when writing my post about the Diamond minimums and didn’t really realize it hadn’t been made public yet, it certainly informed my post, specifically my assertion that Diamond Comics Distributors can no longer effectively distribute comics… Unreal.

DISCLAIMER: In deference to my esteemed employer, I would like to point out to all customers of The Beguiling that we have found alternate distribution sources for all Viz products, and will continue to deliver all of the affected books to our various customers as long as they remain in print, and probably for years after. So, at least at our store you’ve got nothing to worry about.

The full list of de-listed manga (and books and DVDs) is visible after the cut, unless you’re reading this on feed, in which case you might want to hit NEXT.

- Christopher

The following VIZ items will no longer be offered for sale via Diamond Comics Distributors once current stock levels are depleted:

Item Code Description Price
JAN063410 AISHITERUZE BABY TP VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
MAR063505 AISHITERUZE BABY TP VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
MAY063482 AISHITERUZE BABY TP VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
JUL063543 AISHITERUZE BABY TP VOL 04 $8.99
SEP063667 AISHITERUZE BABY TP VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
NOV063961 AISHITERUZE BABY TP VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
JAN073949 AISHITERUZE BABY TP VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
STAR20099 ALICE 19TH GN VOL 01 LOTIS MASTER (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
STAR20371 ALICE 19TH GN VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
DEC032738 ALICE 19TH GN VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
FEB042719 ALICE 19TH GN VOL 04 UNREQUITED LOVE (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
APR042966 ALICE 19TH GN VOL 05 JEALOUSY (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUN042897 ALICE 19TH GN VOL 06 BLINDNESS (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG043122 ALICE 19TH GN VOL 07 THE LOST WORD (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
STAR18052 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 01 ALIEN NATION (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
STAR19128 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 02 DOOM TIME (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
STAR19797 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 03 DARK WASHU (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
FEB042718 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 04 GIRLS GET BUSY (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
AUG043123 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 05 POINT AND SHOOT (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
APR053221 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
AUG053270 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
DEC053354 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
JUN063494 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
NOV063977 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO TP VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $8.95
MAY063486 ALL THAT PIKACHU ANI MANGA TP (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JUL073935 ART OF ANGEL SANCTUARY 2 LOST ANGEL (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
JUL063532 ART OF FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST THE ANIME (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
AUG053294 ART OF FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 1 (C: 3) $19.99
JUL073947 ART OF FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 2 (C: 1-0-0) $19.99
JUL063531 ART OF FUSHIGI YUGI 2ND ED (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
FEB063397 ART OF KIKIS DELIVERY SERVICE (C: 1-0-0) $29.99
AUG053298 ART OF MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (C: 1-0-0) $29.99
JUL073921 ART OF NARUTO UZUMAKI (C: 1-0-0) $19.99
DEC042965 ART OF PORCO ROSSO (C: 1-0-0) $34.99
JUL053210 ART OF SHONEN JUMP ONE PIECE COLOR WALK VOL 1 $14.99
JAN042803 B B EXPLOSION TP VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
APR042967 B B EXPLOSION TP VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUL043272 B B EXPLOSION TP VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
OCT043064 B B EXPLOSION TP VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN053105 B B EXPLOSION VOL 5 GN (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAR073798 BACKSTAGE PRINCE TP VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
JAN042802 BANANA FISH TP VOL 01 2ND ED (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAR042867 BANANA FISH TP VOL 02 2ND ED (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUL043274 BANANA FISH TP VOL 04 2ND ED (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
SEP042990 BANANA FISH TP VOL 05 2ND ED (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
NOV043063 BANANA FISH TP VOL 06 2ND ED (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN053109 BANANA FISH TP VOL 07 2ND ED (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAR053304 BANANA FISH TP VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAY053136 BANANA FISH TP VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUL053264 BANANA FISH TP VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
SEP053270 BANANA FISH TP VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN063403 BANANA FISH TP VOL 13 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR063498 BANANA FISH TP VOL 14 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAY063476 BANANA FISH TP VOL 15 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUL063538 BANANA FISH TP VOL 16 $9.99
SEP063661 BANANA FISH TP VOL 17 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV063955 BANANA FISH TP VOL 18 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN073945 BANANA FISH TP VOL 19 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV053272 BANANA FISH VOL 12 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN058187 BARON THE CAT RETURNS GN (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
STAR19189 BASARA TP VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
STAR20103 BASARA TP VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
NOV032640 BASARA TP VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN042804 BASARA TP VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAR042868 BASARA TP VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAY042986 BASARA TP VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUL043275 BASARA TP VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
SEP042991 BASARA TP VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
NOV043064 BASARA TP VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN053114 BASARA TP VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR053305 BASARA TP VOL 12 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAY053143 BASARA TP VOL 13 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUL053265 BASARA TP VOL 14 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
SEP053271 BASARA TP VOL 15 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV053273 BASARA TP VOL 16 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN063404 BASARA TP VOL 17 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR063499 BASARA TP VOL 18 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
SEP063662 BASARA TP VOL 21 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV063956 BASARA TP VOL 22 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB073862 BASARA TP VOL 23 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAY073835 BASARA TP VOL 24 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG074074 BASARA TP VOL 25 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV073908 BASARA TP VOL 26 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB084130 BASARA TP VOL 27 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
STAR20314 BASTARD TP VOL 02 2ND ED (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN042805 BASTARD TP VOL 03 2ND ED (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
APR042975 BASTARD TP VOL 04 2ND ED (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUL043273 BASTARD TP VOL 05 2ND ED (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
OCT043065 BASTARD TP VOL 06 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN053080 BASTARD TP VOL 07 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR053227 BASTARD TP VOL 08 (MR) (C: 3) $9.99
JUL053241 BASTARD TP VOL 09 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
OCT053356 BASTARD TP VOL 10 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN063390 BASTARD TP VOL 11 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR063450 BASTARD TP VOL 12 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUL063524 BASTARD TP VOL 13 (MR) $9.99
OCT063786 BASTARD TP VOL 14 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR074076 BASTARD TP VOL 15 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
OCT073911 BASTARD TP VOL 16 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR084222 BASTARD TP VOL 17 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG063667 BE WITH YOU HC NOVEL $19.99
AUG053312 BEAUTY IS THE BEAST TP VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
NOV053281 BEAUTY IS THE BEAST TP VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
FEB063403 BEAUTY IS THE BEAST TP VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
MAY063484 BEAUTY IS THE BEAST TP VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
AUG063675 BEAUTY IS THE BEAST TP VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
JUL043277 BEET THE VANDAL BUSTER GN VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
SEP042999 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
NOV043016 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JAN053046 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
MAR053239 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
MAY053070 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JUL053214 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
SEP053231 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JAN063380 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JUL063516 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 10 $7.99
JAN073933 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JUL073915 BEET THE VANDEL BUSTER GN VOL 12 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JUN042900 BEYBLADE TP VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
AUG043125 BEYBLADE TP VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
NOV043031 BEYBLADE TP VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JAN053082 BEYBLADE TP VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
MAR053320 BEYBLADE TP VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
MAY053087 BEYBLADE TP VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
SEP053245 BEYBLADE TP VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
NOV053259 BEYBLADE TP VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JAN063391 BEYBLADE TP VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
MAR063486 BEYBLADE TP VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
MAY063487 BEYBLADE TP VOL 12 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
JUL063549 BEYBLADE TP VOL 13 $7.99
SEP063645 BEYBLADE TP VOL 14 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
STAR18819 BIG O TP VOL 01 2ND ED (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
STAR18307 BIG O TP VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
STAR18820 BIG O TP VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
STAR19593 BIG O TP VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
STAR20316 BIG O TP VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN042807 BIG O TP VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
OCT064728 BLEACH DVD VOL 01 (NET) (C: 0-1-3) $24.98
DEC064798 BLEACH DVD VOL 02 (NET) (C: 0-1-3) $24.99
JAN074819 BLEACH DVD VOL 03 (NET) (C: 0-1-3) $24.99
MAR074797 BLEACH DVD VOL 04 (NET) (C: 0-1-3) $24.99
STAR17046 BLOOD LAST VAMPIRE 2002 GN $15.95
OCT043067 BLUE SPRING GN VOL 01 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG053266 BO BOBO VOL 1 (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
STAR19135 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 01 $9.95
STAR19643 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 02 $9.95
STAR20108 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 03 $9.95
NOV032641 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN042808 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAR042870 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAY042987 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUL043280 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
SEP043001 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
NOV043065 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JAN053115 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR053315 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 12 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAY053144 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 13 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUL053266 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 14 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
SEP053272 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 15 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV053274 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 16 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN063405 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 17 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR063500 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 18 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAY063478 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 19 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUL063540 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 20 $9.99
SEP063663 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 21 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV063957 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 22 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN073946 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 23 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR073796 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 24 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAY073836 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 25 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUL073936 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 26 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
SEP074056 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 27 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
NOV073909 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 28 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN083980 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 29 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR084061 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 30 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAY084205 BOYS OVER FLOWERS TP VOL 31 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR074086 BRAVE STORY NOVEL (C: 1-0-0) $23.99
JUN042901 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
AUG043126 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
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DEC042955 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
FEB053139 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
APR053234 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUN053304 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
AUG053277 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
OCT053357 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
DEC053355 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
FEB063387 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR063451 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 12 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUN063495 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 13 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG063659 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 14 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
OCT063787 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 15 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
DEC063995 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 16 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB073868 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 17 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR074077 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 18 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUN073978 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 19 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG074083 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 20 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
OCT073912 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 21 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
DEC073999 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 22 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB084143 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 23 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR084223 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 24 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUN084350 CASE CLOSED GN VOL 25 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
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STAR19363 CASTLE IN THE SKY TP VOL 03 (C: 1-1-2) $9.95
STAR19518 CASTLE IN THE SKY TP VOL 04 $9.95
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FEB042728 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 03 2ND ED SUZUMI (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAY042990 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 04 2ND ED CHIDORI (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
STAR19809 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 05 MIKAGE (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
NOV032646 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 06 SHURO (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
FEB042729 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAY042989 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
AUG043127 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 09 PROGENITOR (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
NOV043066 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
FEB053175 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
MAY053155 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 12 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
AUG053304 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 13 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
NOV053275 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND TP VOL 14 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUN042903 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
AUG043128 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
OCT043069 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
DEC042958 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
FEB053140 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
APR053235 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
JUN053309 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG053283 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 09 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
OCT053358 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 10 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
DEC053364 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 11 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB063388 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 12 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR063452 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 13 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUN063496 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 14 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
AUG063660 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 15 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
OCT063788 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 16 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN073956 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 17 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR074078 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 18 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JUL073946 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 19 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
OCT073913 CHEEKY ANGEL GN VOL 20 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR042976 CHEEKY ANGEL VOL 1 GN (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
SEP053278 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 01 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
JAN063409 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 02 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
MAY063483 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 03 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
SEP063671 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 04 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
JAN073951 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 05 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
MAY073839 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 06 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
SEP074059 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 07 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
FEB084133 CRIMSON HERO TP VOL 08 (C: 1-0-0) $8.99
JUL063533 DER MOND ART OF NEON GENESIS EVANGELION 2ND ED (C: 0-1-2) $24.99
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Unbelievable.

- Chris

KRAMERS ERGOT 7 TOURS TORONTO
Presented by The Beguiling Books & Art

Featuring Shary Boyle, Sammy Harkham, Kevin Huizenga, John Pham, Ron Rege Jr., Souther Salazer, and Seth!

Thursday December 11th, 2008, 7PM-10PM
918 Bathurst Street (Former Buddhist Temple)
1 Block North of Bathurst TTC [Google Map]
http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=30811628299
FREE

Kramers Ergot is the name of the groundbreaking comix anthology that has taken up the tradition of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly’s RAW MAGAZINE in bringing the most innovative, challenging, and beautiful comics work to the masses… and volume 7 is the greatest yet! This massive new tome includes brand new comics from some of the world’s greatest living graphic novelists, and this December several of the contributors will be in Toronto to officially launch the new book!

Kramers Ergot Volume 7 is sure to top many critics’ Best Comics Of 2008 Lists, thanks to its all-star line-up of contributors including Seth, Chris Ware, Shary Boyle, Andrian Tomine, Dan Clowes, Ivan Brunetti, and Gabrielle Bell to name just a few. But equally as stunning is the book’s presentation: Kramers Ergot Volume 7 is a massive 16 inches by 21 inches in hardcover, with each contributor offering up an original double-page spread of brand new work for the book. Kramers Ergot Volume 7 will make its official debut at this launch event, and will not be available in stores before then. It is sure to be in short supply this holiday season.

“People are focusing on the enormous size of this book, and with good reason,” says Peter Birkemoe of The Beguiling. “But the sheer talent assembled into this volume, from established names and friends of The Beguiling like Seth and Shary Boyle, to relative newcomers including John Pham, that’s what will have people lining up for this one.”

The Kramers Ergot Volume 7 Tour will feature appearances by series Editor and contributor Sammy Harkham, as well as Shary Boyle (Otherworld Uprising), Kevin Huizenga (Ganges, Curses), John Pham (Sublife), Ron Regé Jr. (Skibber Bee Bye), Souther Salazar (Destined for Dizziness), and Seth (Palookaville, Clyde Fans) and publisher Alvin Buenaventura. At 7:30PM the contributors will be interviewed on stage by The Beguiling’s Peter Birkemoe, and a signing will follow. Doors open at 7PM.

The event will be held at the beautiful new event space ‘918’ located at 918 Bathurst. A former Buddhist Temple, the space is a classic A-frame building located just a block north of Bathurst Subway station and 3 blocks from The Beguiling.- Chris

–
NOVEMBER 25: TONIGHT
Maurice Vellekoop’s PIN-UPS Book Launch
Featuring Maurice Vellekoop!
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 @ 6:30PM
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=30596127854
FREE, 18+

The Beguiling is teaming up with the fierce folks at Green Candy Press to present Maurice Vellekoop’s PIN-UPS! It’s a cross between his most recent collection, “A Nut At The Opera,” and his most infamous collection, “ABC: A Homoerotic Primer,” featuring tributes to hundreds of years of gay imagery from film to fashion to fantasy, all rendered in Maurice’s lush trademark style.

The event will feature a gallery show, presentation from the book, and some fantastic music courtesy of DJ Johnny Wacker… Maurice himself will be on hand to sign copies of the work, and in addition to book sales we’ll have a selection of original art, prints, and more, on hand.

If you’ve ever thought about coming out to one of our events, this one guarantees to be the most fabulous.

–

DECEMBER 3

Dave Lapp’s DROP-IN Book Launch
Featuring Dave Lapp in conversation with Chester Brown
Wednesday, December 3rd 2008 @ 7PM
The Central, 603 Markham Street (Next to The Beguiling)
http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=36387779614
FREE

The Beguiling is proud to present the official launch for cartoonist Dave Lapp’s new graphic novel, DROP-IN. A surprising, insightful look at some of Toronto’s most economically disadvantaged communities, DROP-IN chronicles Lapp’s experiences as a teacher at a drop-in art centre, and the children he meets there.

The book launch event will see Dave Lapp perform a multimedia reading from DROP-IN, and following that Lapp will be interviewed on stage by long time friend and colleague Chester Brown (Louis Riel) about his career in comics, and the specific challenges of creating DROP-IN. A signing will follow.

DROP-IN is currently available for sale at The Beguiling, and will be available for sale at the event.

–

LAUNCH! TeaTime 2 and Brick Literary Journal 82
high literature, visual oddities, and gratuitous drinking
at Mitzi’s Sister (1554 Queen Street West)
on Wednesday the 3rd December (doors at 7.30)
http://steflenk.com

There will be readings and excellent company and drinks and books for sale too. As always, friends, strangers, and those appreciative of oddities are all welcome.

Join our friend Steflenk for the launch of the second issue of her new comic series TeaTime, alongside the official launch for Brick Literary Journal #82. Yes, we know this conflicts with Dave Lapp’s launch. We’re really sorry to all involved: December is a very busy month. Hope you can make it out to one—or both!

–

DECEMBER 4

Clayton Hamner’s Christmas Party & Book Launch!
Featuring C-Ton’s Super A-Maze-Ing Year Of Crazy Comics, from Owlkids.
Thursday December 4, 6pm-9:30pm
@ Reactor Art & Design, 51 Camden St., Main Floor
http://cton.ca

Join Toronto Illustrator Clayton Hamner for the launch of his new all-ages book and Christmas Party, “C-Ton’s Super A-Maze-Ing Year Of Crazy Comics”. Clayton will be joined by his friends at Reactor, Owlkids, and many more to meet and greet, launch the book, and celebrate the season.

–

DECEMBER 7

Comics to Watch Out For
Featuring Mariko Tamaki, Douglas Davey, Jen Stewart and Amy Chop
Sunday December 7th, 2008 2pm-4pm
Ebar, 41 Quebec St., Guelph Ontario
$5-$10 suggested donation

The Dragon comic book store in Guelph and ‘Out On The Shelf’ Queer Library and Resource Centre are proud to present “Comics to Watch Out For”. This day-long fundraiser for Out On The Shelf will feature:

Author Mariko Tamaki, reading from her graphic novels SKIM and EMIKO SUPERSTAR.
Librarian Douglas Davey, presenting on The History of Queer Comics and Graphic Novels Comics Retailers Jen Stewart and Amy Chop, presenting on Women And Comic Books

Tickets are available at the door.

–

DECEMBER 10

HERO INITIATIVE FUNDRAISER
Wednesday, December 10 2008, 3pm-7pm
Paradise Comics, 3278 Yonge Street, Toronto
http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=33959769554
FREE

Paradise Comics and The Hero Initiative are pleased to announce a special in-store signing of the brand new The Hulk 100 Project, featuring special comics guests including Dale Keown, Leonard Kirk, Agnes Garbowska, and Francis Manapaul.The Hulk 100 Project features more than 100 original cover illustrations for the recent HULK #1 courtesy of superhero artist greats, with all proceeds going to benefit The Hero Initiative.

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DECEMBER 11

KRAMERS ERGOT 7 TOURS TORONTO
Presented by The Beguiling Books & Art

Featuring Shary Boyle, Sammy Harkham, Kevin Huizenga, John Pham, Ron Rege Jr., Souther Salazar, and Seth!

Thursday December 11th, 2008, 7PM-10PM
918 Bathurst Street (Former Buddhist Temple)
1 Block North of Bathurst TTC
http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=30811628299
FREE

Kramers Ergot is the name of the groundbreaking comix anthology that has taken up the tradition of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly’s RAW MAGAZINE in bringing the most innovative, challenging, and beautiful comics work to the masses… and volume 7 is the greatest yet! This massive new tome includes brand new comics from some of the world’s greatest living graphic novelists, and this December several of the contributors will be in Toronto to officially launch the new book!

Kramers Ergot Volume 7 is sure to top many critics’ Best Comics Of 2008 Lists, thanks to its all-star line-up of contributors including Seth, Chris Ware, Shary Boyle, Andrian Tomine, Dan Clowes, Ivan Brunetti, and Gabrielle Bell to name just a few. But equally as stunning is the book’s presentation: Kramers Ergot Volume 7 is a massive 16 inches by 21 inches in hardcover, with each contributor offering up an original double-page spread of brand new work for the book. Kramers Ergot Volume 7 will make its official debut at this launch event, and will not be available in stores before then. It is sure to be in short supply this holiday season.

“People are focusing on the enormous size of this book, and with good reason,” says Peter Birkemoe of The Beguiling. “But the sheer talent assembled into this volume, from established names and friends of The Beguiling like Seth and Shary Boyle, to relative newcomers including John Pham, that’s what will have people lining up for this one.”

The Kramers Ergot Volume 7 Tour will feature appearances by series Editor and contributor Sammy Harkham, as well as Shary Boyle (Otherworld Uprising), Kevin Huizenga (Ganges, Curses), John Pham (Sublife), Ron Regé Jr. (Skibber Bee Bye), Souther Salazar (Destined for Dizziness), and Seth (Palookaville, Clyde Fans) and publisher Alvin Buenaventura. At 7:30PM the contributors will be interviewed on stage by The Beguiling’s Peter Birkemoe, and a signing will follow. Doors open at 7PM.

The event will be held at the beautiful new event space ‘918’ located at 918 Bathurst. A former Buddhist Temple, the space is a classic A-frame building located just a block north of Bathurst Subway station and 3 blocks from The Beguiling. Sponsored by Steam Whistle Brewing.
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So, you can see why I’ve been busy.

- Chris

What do The RZA, Jay Z, Busta Rhymes, and ICE MUTHAFUCKIN T have in common? They’re all over Kagan McLeod’s completely, completely awesome HISTORY OF RAP poster, and Kagan’s been getting pics with all of them and the poster over at his Facebook page.

ICE T with Kagan McLeod’s History of Rap print. Photo by X-man from Disconnexions.com

RZA with Kagan’s History of Rap. Photo by X-man from Disconnexions.

There are another 20+ pics over at Kagan’s site…

I know I’ve blogged about this print before, but? Local boy makes very good, you know? We’ve sold a ton of these at the store and a ton more through the website (they’re only 20 bucks), I’m super happy for Kagan getting to live the dream and meet all these incredibly talented artists.

- Chris
Top Photo of Kagan McLeod at the Source magazine offices, by X-Man of Disconnexions.com.

An Evening with Igort and David B.
Discussing the international Ignatz publishing line
Rocco’s Plum Tomato, Plum Room
585 Bloor Street West (Enter off of Markham Street)
Saturday November 15th @ 7PM (doors open at 6:30pm)
FREE

Please join us in welcoming internationally acclaimed graphic novelists Igort (Italy) and David B (France) on the occasion of the release of their newest works, Baobab and Nocturnal Conspiracies. The evening will include a slide presentation of the authors works, an on-stage discussion and a question and answer session moderated by The Beguiling’s Owner Peter Birkemoe beginning at 7:00pm. Following the presentation the authors will be available to sign their books.

Their new titles, and many books from their backlist in both English and French are available now at The Beguiling and will be available for sale at the event (Cash and Credit Card only, no Debit at the event).

IGORT is the creator of the international publishing effort known as “Ignatz”, which simultaneously releases new comics and graphic novels in numerous languages and countries around the world. His own work for the line, Baobab, is a sprawling epic that will eventually amount to over 600 pages. With a career spanning nearly 30 years, he has created a wealth of notable comics albums. His works published in English include the first 3 installments of Baobab and the graphic novel 5 Is The Perfect Number.

DAVID B. is a founding member of L’Association, a group of French cartoonists who banded together as publishers in 1990 and have revolutionized European comics with their groundbreaking approach to format, subject matter, and style. He has received many awards, including the French Alph’ Art award for comics excellence in 2000, and he was cited as European Cartoonist of the Year in 1998 by The Comics Journal. His works published in North America include Epileptic, Babel, and several stories in the anthology Mome. He lives in France.

This event is generously supported by the Italian Cultural Institute, the cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and the French Consulate of Toronto.

THE GREAT OUTDOOR FIGHT SIGNING!
Feat. Chris Onstad, creator of Achewood
@ The Beguiling, 601 Markham Street
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008. 7pm
FREE

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=30518973349

The Beguiling will be welcoming Chris Onstad, creator of the online comic strip Achewood (http://achewood.com), to his exclusive Toronto tour stop in support of his new book The Great Outdoor Fight.
–

More at: http://www.beguiling.com/2008/09/announce-achewood-creator-chris-onstad.html

- Chris

Just a quick little note, since I’ve been doing it for two or three months now without missing one I wanted to point out that I’ve been posting shipping lists, and blogging my picks for the week’s new comics and graphic novels, over at http://www.beguiling.com. Just… you know… In case you wanted to know what I thought about some of the books coming out, in the context of recommending things for customers who do not share my exact tastes. It’s a very different skill than spouting off here in the blog.

- Chris

Image excerpt from this week’s Giant Robot Magazine #56. Art by “Kami”.

Shaun Tan Signing in Toronto
In Support of his new book, Tales from Outer Suburbia
Tuesday, October 28th, 5pm-7pm
@ The Beguiling, 601 Markham Street, Toronto
Free to attend
The Beguiling is proud to welcome Australia’s Shaun Tan to Toronto, on tour for his new book Tales from Outer Suburbia. Despite being an accomplished and award-winning illustrator, Tan first came to the attention of graphic novel fans around the world for his epic, wordless graphic novel The Arrival. The Arrival won all sorts of awards and brought the extremely talented Tan to the attention of the comics industry, a rare “crossover” and, according to lumnaries like Art Spiegelman, a graphic novel in the truest sense of the phrase.

Tales From Outer Suburbia is a fascinating hybrid storybook and graphic novel, showcasing Tan’s gorgeous art through prose, comics, and gorgeous full-page illustrations. A collection of short stories to be enjoyed by readers from 6 to 60, Tales From Outer Suburbia is exactly the sort of book that could become anyone’s favourite.

The book will go on sale for the first time at this event.

For more on Shaun Tan, check out his website at http://www.shauntan.net/.

–

I’m quite excited about this signing. I’m sorry I haven’t mentioned it until now, but if you can manage to make it out you won’t be disappointed. All art from Tan’s new book, Tales From Outer Suburbia, Copyright 2008 Shaun Tan.

- Chris

THE APOCALIPSTIX: RAGNAROCK PARTY

The Official Launch for the new Graphic Novel

Wednesday, August 6^th, 8PM
REVIVAL BAR, 738 College St., Toronto
ALL AGES + NO COVER

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=25642968337

TORONTO, Ontario –THE APOCALIPSTIX is the new graphic novel by Toronto authors Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart, and fresh from their sold out pre-release at the San Diego Comic Convention these two top graphic novelists return to “play” their hometown with a book launch party featuring bands, prizes, and more, Wednesday, August 6th, at Revival Bar, 783 College St.

“It’s like Josie and the Pussycats meets Mad Max!” enthused Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling, Canada’s premier retailer of comics and graphic novels. “Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart are top comics talents and The Apocalipstix is their best work yet… We’re anticipating the folks who loved the indy graphic novel SCOTT PILGRIM really getting into this one. I mean, three girls in a band after the end of the world, what’s not to like?”

THE APOCALIPSTIX: RAGNAROCK PARTY will feature musical performances by Toronto surf-punk band Terror Lake and all girl teen punk band DAME, and there’ll be door prizes and giveaways! Creators Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart will be signing and sketching for all comers! The event is all ages and features no cover charge! Revival Bar is located at 783 College St. at Shaw. Doors for the event open at 8PM, with the bands going on starting at 9:30pm.

ABOUT

Book: THE APOCALIPSTIX is a brand new 200 page graphic novel published by Oni Press. You can find out more about the graphic novel online at http://apocalipstix.com. The Apocalipstix is currently in stock at The Beguiling (601 Markham Street, near Bathurst St. & Bloor St. W), and will be available at the event.

Authors: Ray Fawkes is the Shuster Award Nominated author of Mnemovore and numerous graphic novellas and short stories, and can be found online at http://rayfawkes.com. Cameron Stewart the award-winning artist of Seaguy and The Invisibles, and the author of the serialized graphic novel Sin Titulo, and can be found online at http://cameron-stewart.com and http://transmission-x.com/.

Bands: Terror Lake can be found online at http://www.terrorlake.ca/. DAME can be found online at http://www.myspace.com/dameband.

MEDIA QUERIES: Christopher Butcher, Manager of The Beguiling, 416-533-9168, or via e-mail at chris@beguiling.com.

–

- Chris

The Beguiling represents original art sales for more than 40 cartoonists at its online store at Beguiling.com, but this small exhibition at San Diego will allow an unprecedented opportunity for art collectors and fans of these artists to see the original works up close. In addition to brand new works from Seth, Jason, Pope, and Dalrymple, The Beguiling will have work on hand from Drawn + Quarterly cartoonists including Miriam Katin (We Are On Our Own), Sammy Harkham (Crickets), Kevin Huizenga (Or Else, Curses), Jason Lutes (Berlin), Anders Nilsen (Big Questions), Michel Rabagliati (Paul Goes Fishing), Maurice Vellekoop (Vellevision) and dozens of other talented cartoonists.

For fans and collectors who will be in San Diego for the con and would like to save themselves the shipping charges on a piece of original art or two, drop a line to mail@beguiling.com with the title and artist of one of the thousands of pages from our online art store at Beguiling.com and we’ll bring it to the show for you!

Remember, that’s The Beguiling at the Drawn + Quarterly booth, #1529, near Comic Relief, Fantagraphics, Last Gasp, and Artists Alley on the “right” side of the exhibition hall.

ABOUT

The Beguiling is Canada’s premiere retailer of comics, graphic novels, and original comics art. Almost all of the original art that The Beguiling represents is consigned by the artists, ensuring we are able to offer the widest possible selection of material and that the artists get the largest possible chunk of the proceeds. Visit The Beguiling online at http://www.beguiling.com.

Artists with original art represented by The Beguiling include: Jessica Abel, Ho Che Anderson, Jeffrey Brown, Eddie Campbell, Geneviève Castrée, Scott Chantler, Becky Cloonan, Dave Cooper, Jordan Crane, Farel Dalrymple, Kim Deitch, Phoebe Gloeckner, Tomer Hanuka, Sammy Harkham, David Heatley, Paul Hornschemeier, Kevin Huizenga, Jason, Miriam Katin, Jeff Lemire, Jason Lutes, Matt Madden, Kagan McLeod, Anders Nilsen, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Paul Pope, Michel Rabagilati, Brian Ralph, Ron Rege, Graham Roumiey, Sean Scoffield, Seth, Jay Stephens, James Sturm, Maurice Vellekoop, and Steve Weissman.

The Beguiling is a sponsor of The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, May 9-10 2009. For more information visit http://www.torontocomics.com.

These are volumes that, so far as I can tell, were never made available to the direct market. I just checked and Diamond corroborates this story, as they list Volumes 1-4 still having a cover price of $12.95, and worse still, both volume 1 and volume 4 are listed as “Out of Stock, No Backorders.” And at a conservative estimate, they have been, for the better part of a year or two.

It took me until today to realize that I should just contact their book market distributor and see if it was, you know, actually available, or if the copies I saw in New York for the Inoue signing were the end of a print run, or a fluke, or perhaps a mirage.

“Yes, both of those are in stock and available,” says the nice lady at Simon & Schuster.

“Huh.” says I. “I’ll take 10 of each.”

“Confirmed, you’ll have them next week.”

So there you go. A company that has gone exclusive with Diamond for the direct market (meaning: me, the manager of a comic book store), and Diamond is not only not stocking their full line, but has specifically not offered some editions of their work, and is putting out the false signal that the work is out of print.

That’s why I’m not a fan of exclusive agreements.

Meanwhile, none of this will really matter in a few months when the (awesome) VAGABOND: VIZBIG EDITION comes out, as it’ll collect the first three volumes of Vagabond for a paltry $19.99, and since Diamond has already solicited it, this edition should be available for a little while (one hopes). But I did want to illustrate the lengths that some comic shops go to get product in, to stay competitive, and to make sure the good books are represented on the racks… even if it takes us a little while to figure it out.

Have a nice day,

- Christopher

P.S.: We had been scooping up Vagabond 1 and 4 through other sources for a while, so we’ve only really been completely out of stock for a few months, but it’s still a few months too many…

Photo of Takehiko Inoue by Christopher Butcher.

Although he was under no obligation to do so, Tom Spurgeon didn’t post the full text of my response to the news that Fantagraphics has signed an exclusive deal with Diamond… It’s a little more balanced and nuanced then what ended up in the CR piece, in my always-humble opinion, so I figured I’d post it here.

We really wish that Fantagraphics had consulted us as their retail partners before they made this move, because we would have said “Good God No, Don’t Do It.” We’re very sympathetic to the general indifference of the Direct Market to good comics, including those that Fantagraphics publishes, and we understand the reasons they made their decision. Speaking from our point of view though, we like the opportunity to deal directly with Fantagraphics, because if Fanta has a book in print, then they will have it in stock. That is not the case with Diamond. Even on the largest publishers that have moved their Direct Market business exclusive with Diamond, publishers like Viz and Tokyopop, our fill rates on in-print books are less than adequate. We hope that Fanta knows what they’re in for on that front.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but as The Beguiling we’re fortunate enough talk to reps from a large number of publishers, great and small, and many of them really aren’t happy with their exclusivity deals with Diamond. No one will go on the record about it of course, because regardless of exclusivity or not they’re still going to be working with Diamond going forward and being openly critical of Diamond is not the best way to get good service from them. So, no one talks about how things are not going the way they had hoped, and everyone re-ups for another few years hoping things will change because hey, everyone else is doing it. Worse still, we’re worried about the sort of “chilling effect” that goes on whenever a publisher signs an exclusivity deal. Fantagraphics better than anyone (thanks to reportage in The Comics Journal) knows the havoc that exclusivity agreements caused direct market retailers, particularly with regards to Image and Dark Horse deciding on Diamond after DC had made their deal. Has the consolidation of the direct market to, effectively, Diamond Comics Distributors, shown a noted increase in stores, sales, or market strength over the past 10 years? Particularly for any company that isn’t Marvel or DC? Not at all, and yet the consolidation continues, leading many publishers to believe that there’s no other way to do business and succeed (or at least stay afloat) in the market.

Honestly, we order the majority of our Fantagraphics product through Diamond, all of our frontlist and the occasional backlist. But when it comes time to do actual store restocks on perennials like Ghost World and the works of Dan Clowes, Love & Rockets, the Ignatz Books, Mome, that order goes to Fantagraphics because of a solid discount, and because if the book is in print, the publisher will have it in stock. Right now Diamond doesn’t seem to have Ghost World in stock, which is perhaps just an unfortunate coincidence. But the first time that we try to order something from Diamond and can’t, and that backorder takes weeks or months (don’t laugh, it happens all the time), and that book would have been available to us direct from Fanta? That’s a lost sale for Fantagraphics and for us, and truly unfortunate.

Hopefully Diamond will keep all of these books in stock under this new deal. Hopefully with thousands of new book-format comics coming out every year, Fanta titles now solely available through Diamond won’t get lost in the shuffle. We know that the good folks working at Fantagraphics will be responsive to our needs as their customers just as they always have been; we just hope that history proves us all wrong and that Diamond is responsive to theirs.

We wish them the best of luck.

- Christopher Butcher, Manager, The Beguiling

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That’s the entirety of what I sent Tom yesterday afternoon, and I’ve been thinking on it since then. In my head, my vision of the comics industry is one where comics are available if not everywhere, than at least everywhere you’d otherwise find printed material. The key to that, in my mind, is more access, and not less. I’m not unaware of economies of scale, of how much cheaper and easier it is to deal with two major distributors than dozens of smaller ones. I just honestly don’t see any smaller store that stocks Fanta/Eros stuff going through the hassle of opening a Diamond account and trying to meet monthly order minimums in order to get something better than a 35% discount when they do a backlist order. I hope there are other options, grandfather clauses, whatever, that keep Fanta’s reach as broad as it ever was. I really do wish them the best.

- Chris

Hey everybody! I just posted The Beguiling’s Free Comic Book Day wrap-up at: http://www.beguiling.com/2008/05/free-comic-book-day-2008-wrap-up.html.

We had a good year this year despite some pretty awful weather, and though I don’t have exact figures I’d say that we had at least 600 people through both events over the course of the day, and a lot (at least 200 of them) were under 14. Mission: Accomplished.

Because my site gets way more traffic than The Beguiling’s site, I did want to take the opportunity to send you to visit the online homes of all of our participating artists at this year’s FCBD events. They were really stars, drawing and sketching all day (many of them without any breaks) and sending you to check out their work is the least I can do.

Michael Cho (Transmission-X, Max Finder): http://www.transmission-x.com/ , http://chodrawings.blogspot.com/
Willow Dawson (Violet Miranda): http://www.willowdawson.com/
J. Korim (Neozoic): http://www.jkorim.ca/main.htm
Jessie Lam (Neozoic): http://axl99.net/
Steve Manale (Superslackers, You Crack Me Up): http://www.superslackers.com/
Nick Mandaag (Artist): no website!
Tyrone McCarthy (Corduroy High): http://www.corduroyhigh.com/
Alana McCarthy (Illustrator): http://www.alanaland.com/
Brian McLachlan (Princess Planet): http://www.theprincessplanet.com/, http://www.transmission-x.com/
Tara Tallan (Galaxion): http://www.girlamatic.com/comics/galaxion.php
Jeremy Tankard (Grumpy Bird, Me Hungry): http://www.jeremytankard.com/
Chip Zdarsky (Monster Cops): http://chipzdarsky.livejournal.com/

Hope you all had a great Free Comic Book Day!

- Christopher
(Photo: Jeremy Tankard talks about his very first home-made comics to a group of rapt youngsters and their parents at Free Comics For Kids Day)

Hope to see you there!

More at: http://www.beguiling.com/2008/04/reminder-free-comics-for-kids-day-this.html

More at http://www.beguiling.com

- Chris

I was out wandering the various Asian malls that make up Toronto and surrounding areas, and was reminded by this poster just how awesome Junko Mizuno is. Mizuno is a mangaka whose work has sporadically been published in English, primarily as part of the defunct Pulp line by Viz. Her three fairy-tale inspired graphic novels, Cinderalla, Hansel & Gretel, and Princess Mermaid mix her trademark cute-grotesque style of art with an end-of-the-millennium Japanese cultural mania and inject them into classic and seemingly comforting tails. In addition to the triumverate of colour fairy-tale manga, Mizuno has also had two black and white manga translated into English; Pure Trance and The Life of Momongo (which appeared in the out of print anthology Secret Comics Japan). Pure Trance is probably Mizuno’s masterpiece, a sprawling and depraved journey through the end of the world and the breakdown of society, as viewed through a sort of Kabuki-cho-Powerpuff-Girl lens, though Momongo is probably my favourite for its distillation of Mizuno’s themes and style down to a short, sharp story.

As you can see above, that top illustration is just a small part of this larger poster, the art of which inspired these plush toys from the PostPet line… I didn’t end up buying the toys, sadly, though I could’ve got the pair for $40! Maybe they’d have thrown in the poster too? Anyway, if anyone loves me as much as $40, now you know what I’d like for my birthday.

Back to our subject… Mizuno has always been a solid illustrator, and recently she’s been moving more and more into the illustration/high-end vinyl toy/fine art world, much to comics’ loss (though there are still many volumes of her work that remain untranslated… I’ve got 3 myself!). In addition to these plush toys, there’ve been a ton of great vinyl adaptations of her work and you can see more at her blog (linked below). An outstanding collection of Mizuno’s illustration is on display in the Mizuno art book Hell Babies, as notable for all of the great illustration it contains as it is for its superlative presentation; puffy, sparkly vinyl covers house die-cut rounded pages and multiple paper stocks. Published in North America by Last Gasp, Hell Babies is out of print at the moment but fret not! A new edition of Hell Babies was released in Japan last year with an additional 16 pages, and I’ve been led to believe we’ll see an English edition sooner than we think…

Of course, for those of who can’t wait, The Japanese edition is currently in stock at The Beguiling, thanks to a trip to Japan… It’s pretty awesome, and looks lovely as part of my little Junko Mizuno collection. If you want one drop us a line at mail at beguiling dot com, but they should be available everywhere by the end of the year.

Oo! Look! Extra pages with the shiny paper! How can you resist?

For more information on Junko Mizuno, here’re a few links:

jaPRESS (Mizuno’s North American Agents): http://www.japress.com/
Junko Mizuno @ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junko_Mizuno
Junko Mizuno @ Viz: http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=86
Junko Mizuno Website (Under Construction): http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~mjdotcom/
Junko Mizuno’s Blog: http://jmnews.exblog.jp/

- Christopher

+ Flight contributor and graphic novelist Neil Babra recently completed an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet for the “No Fear Shakespeare” line of graphic novels published by an arm of B&N. The “No Fear” line basically “translates” Shakespearian English into more direct or contemporary English, to make the stories more approachable for young readers. I have a complex array of feelings on the idea of changing the language of Shakespeare without a full modernization, particularly because I don’t think the plot of Shakespeare is as important as the actual language… But that said, I think there’s still value to this approach, both as a study guide and additional learning tool for readers who need a way “into” the works. Luckily Neil has lots of ideas on adaptation, translation, and Shakespeare’s language as well, and he addresses them all on the just completed information page on the No Fear: Shakespeare graphic novel adaptation of Hamlet. It’s really wonderful reading.

Also, I have included a more literal adaptation of my own to My reading of the classic; Neil draws Horatio hot all the way through the book.

+ Has anyone noticed that the new colours on the remastered hardcover edition of Batman: The Killing Joke are kind of boring? Check out this side-by-side comparison of the original colours and the new edition over at PopCultureShock. I think my problem with it is that while artist Brian Boland brings a high degree of craft to the new colouring, he’s drained all of the emotion and… art… out of the work. Little touches like the cast-shadows on the cuffs of the Joker’s sleeves, for example, added more personality and depth to the art than all of the soft airbrush modelling in the world could hope to accomplish. At work my opinion is in the minority, with the majority of customers loving the hell out of the new look. Enh.

+ I’m really glad that Johanna Draper-Carlson put the leg-work in to try and peel away some of the secrecy surrounding comics’ only national holiday (or outreach event…), Free Comic Book Day. I’ve never understood the lack of transparency or accountability that surrounds this event, and I find it incredibly frustrating every single time it rolls around. This time out? The organisation mandated that all books had to be all-ages appropriate, thus reflecting a vision of the industry that doesn’t actually exist. They disallowed the participation of a publisher and then apparently lied about the reasoning (see the comments section). Getting answers is like pulling teeth. They stopped answering. And then somewhat mysteriously retailer Joe Field, the founder of FCBD (before turning it over whole-hog to Diamond), a man who has made very specific mention in the past of his arm’s-length from FCBD, ends up responding to questions that were sent to Diamond.

I’m not one to critisize without putting the work in myself; I do lots of comics outreach. But I think you can do it without the secrecy and misdirection, and a damn site better than what’s gone on. And if Mr. Field wants to ask me for suggestions that generally aren’t followed up on, again, here’s one: Name the people and organizations on the FCBD comittee. Who’s making the decisions, specifically? I’d feel better about the organization and more inclined to support it if decisions weren’t being made behind closed doors, and without any more general consultation of the direct market.

+ My friend Mr. Bryan Lee O’Malley was interviewed on NPR’s “Fair Game” last week about Scott Pilgrim. It’s a fun little interview and it’s the last segment, so fast-forward until there’s about 10 minutes left in the program.

+ The New York Times’ “Papercuts” blog offers up The 7 Deadly Sins of Book Reviewing. In keeping with the form, the 7 sins are particular words that are overused by reviewers and critics to the point of uselessness… Are the standards in comics criticism high enough that something like over-use of word “poignant” is something we have to worry about? I mean, how often are we likely to see the word “lyrical” in the latest plot-recap of last week’s Avengers? Or am I just being a bitch? Or both?

+ At Gay Pop Culture Website AfterElton.com, prominent gay comics fan/writer Lyle Masaki has been covering comics and geek culture turning on the broader gay audience to all that’s gay in comics (though mostly the superhero and Buffy set). “Six Gay Geeks Who’ve Improved Popular Culture” is a recent piece from Lyle that tags comics mainstays like Phil Jimmenez and Andy Mangels for their comics-centric contributions to geek culture. It’s a solid read.

+ I found myself needing to write a short history of comics in North America recently, and found the website The History of Romance Comics to be a really useful compendium of knowledge on some of the most popular and bestselling comics North America has ever seen. Who knew that they also feature a great collection of romance comics reprints as well? Check out their fantastic collection of pre-code romance comics and history articles.

+ Thank you John Jakala for pointing out that Paul Levitz isn’t so hot at the math. Unfortunately, the platform for Mr. Levitz’ creative accounting is the blog & Newsarama, and the comments section there is such a fucking pit that any legitimate criticism of the facts presented in the column is likely to get drowned out by mouth-breathers still angry that every DC comic doesn’t come with bound-in $50 bills. Le Sigh.

+ Finally, though it isn’t specifically about comics I wanted to talk a little bit about bookstore culture… Here in Toronto the bookstore landscape is a-changing. Our neighbors at Ballenford Books on Architecture will be closing their doors in the next few months. They’re currently working to liquidate inventory which means some nice sales on some beautiful books… I really like this store and bookstores in general. It’s always sad when one decides to close their doors.

Meanwhile, one of my favourite indy bookshops is closing as well, but with a happier ending. “This Ain’t The Rosedale Library” will be closing their 22 year old spot in Toronto’s Gay Village, and moving to a smaller (and likely much cheaper) space in Kensington Market. They’re also having a pretty amazing sale right now, with 50% off of the already low prices on remaindered books. I’m going to try to get over there first thing tomorrow…

And that’s it for this post. Thanks for reading!

- Christopher

Just a quick note that Michel Rabagliati got a very nice interview in The National Post today, in advance of his appearance in Toronto this weekend:

It must be cathartic, however, for Rabagliati to tackle some of the issues he does: For instance, Paul Goes Fishing follows Paul and his partner, Lucie, as they try to start a family. The book deals with the multiple miscarriages they faced, but Rabagliati says his partner was OK with him discussing such matters in a public forum.

“It was tough,” he says. “When you start drawing it, and you start drawing the blood … it really puts you back in this particular context. It’s pretty sad sometimes. I must confess, sometimes I get a little bit depressed or I cry a bit when I [draw] that.

“I like drawing these stories about real life. [But] that’s the problem with it: I have to deal with that.”

I heard the event got a nice little mention in Xtra Magazine here in Toronto as well (Xtra.ca) but it’s not online, so you’ll have to go out and pick up a copy if you’re in the Toronto area. Thanks for putting up with my constant pimping of this event by the by, I’m quite excited about it and the books are among my favourites published by D&Q.
- Christopher

Art from Top: Paul in the Metro, French edition cover for Paul Goes Fishing, a musical panel from Paul Moves Out, and a moment of regret from Paul Moves Out. He looks so cute in his Y-Fronts. 

+ Doug Wright has been in the comics news as of late. First up, Drawn + Quarterly have been publishing previews (one, two) of their forthcoming biography of this Canadian cartoonist little known outside of Canada. Then, just this week a fellow named John Adcock found a number of his comics on microfilm, and decided to post them to his blog.

+ Sequential is a Canadian comics news and linkblog that, for whatever reason, I hadn’t yet added to my blogroll. I’ve rectified that now, go visit today.

Toronto Comics Events Coming Up:

March 15th: Michel Rabagliati in Toronto, http://www.beguiling.com/2008/03/reminder-michel-rabagliati-in-toronto.html

March 26th: Skim Book Launch, with Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, http://pagesbooks.ca/events.php?type=event&id=165

April 3rd: Art Spiegelman in Toronto, http://www.uofttix.ca/view.php?id=326

Finally, here’s a little bit ‘a Stompin’ Tom Connors, courtesy of Kate Beaton’s Awesome Canadian History Comics.

- Christopher

Chris Lorway, Luminato’s Director of Programming, is enthusiastic about the festival’s literary component. “For Luminato 2008, we decided to make stronger connections between our literary program and the overall festival. I am so pleased that we were able to find someone like Devyani Saltzman to curate this program for us. She’s a great addition to our team.”

Devyani Saltzman is pleased to see her curatorial vision becoming a reality. “It’s a pleasure to bring both Canadian and international authors together around literary and political themes in addition to showcasing new works. I find the richest discussions occur because of unexpected collaborations.”

The 2008 line-up includes perspectives on South Asia, a focus on war and politics through illustration, a celebration of a renowned literary master, the launch of the third instalment of a city-centric anthology, as well as a festival of short stories.

The Political Graphic Novel
Sunday, June 8, 7:00 p.m.
The Al Green Theatre (at the Miles Nadal JCC)
750 Spadina Avenue (Spadina at Bloor)

From the war in Iraq to the life of revolutionary icon Ché Guevera, the medium of graphic novels becomes political in this stimulating evening of literature, illustration and discussion.

With award-winning Canadian author and illustrator Bernice Eisenstein (I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors), Spain Rodriguez (Che: A Graphic Biography) and the Canadian premiere of Anthony Lappé and Dan Goldman’s Shooting War, which explores the war in Iraq and the influence of alternative news media. The Village Voice describes Shooting War as a “light-handed but searing political satire Shooting War…taking the Sunday comic strip places it could never have gone before.”

The evening will be moderated by Peter Birkemoe, owner of Toronto’s top graphic novel and comics bookstore, The Beguiling.

For more information on the various Luminato Events, please visit http://www.luminato.com/index.php.

Note: Unfortunately Miriam Katin will not be attending this event. My apologies for any confusion, it looks like I was using an earlier version of the press release.

- Christopher

Hey! It’s Kazu Kibuishi and Kean Soo! Last week’s events as part of Keep Toronto Reading and at The Beguiling went quite well, with a solid turnout for the library event and some hardcore fans braving a blizzard to drop by the store the next day. I’d like to thank Kazu and Kean for participating, and Scholastic and The Toronto Public Library for all of their help.

The fellas were in town to celebrate the launches of their new all ages graphic novel. Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet Volume 1, published by Scholastic, and Kean Soo’s Jellaby Volume 1, published by Hyperion Books, sold exceptionally well at the event and made lots of kids (and adults) very happy.

On Tuesday March 6th, Kazu and Kean participated in Graphically Speaking, the graphic novel program that’s part of Toronto’s month-long literacy initiative. Both creators gave short presentations of their work (despite some technical errors that had our digital projections looking considerably pinker than normal… However both pros rose to the challenge. Following the presentation I did a bit of a moderated Q&A with the guys on stage as they talked about their work.

Kazu lays it all out for the audience. Everything from working methods to schedules to inspiration! It’s hard to judge how well something is going when you’re on stage, but I was told by several audience members that it was a great, in-depth discussion. Hurrah!

Following the interview, Kazu and Kean signed and sketched for the assembled masses.

Look! They’re shy! Thanks to Naseem Hrab for all of the great photos from this event. :D

The next day the city got about 12 inches of constantly falling and blowing snow, so while attendance was a little lighter than I would have personally liked, it was great seeing the youngsters of all ages drop by the store to get books signed. In this picture, we can see The Beguiling’s Peter Birkemoe, Naseem Hrab, Kean Soo, and Kazu Kibuishi.

A young fan came just for the Jellaby.

Kean draws the Jellaby!

Kazu sketches for a fan. Daisy Kutter!

We actually still had FLIGHT 2 posters in stock from Kazu’s last trip to Toronto in 2005, so why not break them out too? :D

Thanks again to Kazu and Kean for a fantastic time!

- Christopher

The Beguiling is happy to announce that Michel Rabagliati, author of the Paul series of graphic novels including the newly-released Paul Goes Fishing will be participating in a moderated Q&A and book signing session on Saturday, March 5th at 5pm, at The Lillian H. Smith Library in Toronto.

Rabagliati will be interviewed on stage by The Beguiling’s Peter Birkemoe, on his life and art as well as his new graphic novel. Admission to the event is completely free. Sponsored by The Beguiling, Canada’s premier retailer of comics and graphic novels, and Drawn & Quarterly Books.

- Chris

In a confluence of fortuitous circumstances, Mal is doing the cover to the March issue of Shojo Beat, which is dropping in (I think) a few weeks. Lovely little cover. Head over to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s livejournal to find out just what other surprises await you in The Art Issue.

In other my-friends-are-cool news, our event with Kean and Kazu got picked up at BlogTO and even made it onto the front cover of The Toronto Star, in an article on young readers graphic novels!

Good day.

- Chris

Kazu Kibuishi & Kean Soo Signing
Wednesday, February 6th, 5pm-7pm
The Beguiling, 601 Markham Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
416-533-9168 – http://www.beguiling.com
FREE

Just in case you can’t make it out to the wilds of North York and would like a chance to get your graphic novels signed by these fantastic creators, The Beguiling will be holding a signing with Kazu & Kean the day after the TPL event, from 5pm to 7pm at the store. Now, we sincerely suggest that if you want to see some great a/v presentationing and see the creators interviewed, then you really ought to go to the event at the North York Public Library. But we are happy to welcome both creators to the store as well, and hope it will be as warm (and well-attended) a welcome as our last in-store signing.

For more on the event at North York Library as part of Keep Toronto Reading, check out:

The Beguiling post on the event:
http://www.beguiling.com/2008/01/reminder-kazu-kibuishi-kean-soo-in.html
Join the Keep Toronto Reading group on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19746872808
RSVP to the event on the Kazu & Kean Facebook Page!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=8322672055

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Regular posting soon! Promise!

- Chris