We’ll admit, it’s a little strange for us here at The Beguiling to be giving away a set of perfume (perfumes?), but this is a pretty cool perfume.

Pop singer Gwen Steffani just released a set of signature perfumes in her “Harajuku Lovers” apparel line. It’s a collection of five perfumes, each inspired by Gwen and a member of her crew, and each bottle is actually shaped like the little chibi-versions of the ladies. Check it out:

We’ve got a set of all five fragrances in the 30ml/1oz size, with a retail value of more than $250 (perfume is expensive, yo!). They’re going to make an amazing last-minute gift for whoever wins them. Speaking of which, here’s how you can win:

RULES

1. Subscribe to The Beguiling’s events mailing list. You can subscribe at http://www.beguiling.com, in the upper-right corner of the page. Winner must be subscribed to The Beguiling mailing list for the duration of the contest to claim their prize.
2. Send an e-mail to chris@beguiling.com with your name, telephone number, and “HARAJUKU LOVERS” in the subject line.
3. Send that e-mail before Monday, December 22nd 2008 at 11:59pm.
4. Winner will be determined by random draw on the morning of Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008.
5. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older (sorry kids, get your parents to enter for you). 5. Only one entry per household.
6. Odds of winning depend on number of entrants, but are roughly 250:1.
7. Not open to residents of Quebec because they’ve got pretty harsh rules about this sort of thing.

The winner will be contacted Tuesday morning. Good luck!

– The Beguiling Staff

So, good news for all of you, our wonderful customers, because Christmas and New Years aren’t going to interrupt the Holiday Shipping Schedule at Diamond. At all. I mean, in the U.S.? Yeah, they’re getting boned. But us? Wednesday business as usual. And we’re opening later and earlier than usual through the weekend and next week, in order to accommodate your holiday shopping needs.

BEGUILING HOLIDAY HOURS AND SCHEDULE:

W Dec 17: 11am-7pm, New Comics Day
Th Dec 18: 11am-7pm
F Dec 19: 11am-9pm
Sa Dec 20: 11am-7pm
Su Dec 21: 11am-7pm

M Dec 22: 11am-7pm
Tu Dec 23: 11am-9pm
W Dec 24: 10am-4pm, New Comics Day, Christmas Eve
Th Dec 25: Closed. Christmas Day
F Dec 26: 11am-6pm, Boxing Day
Sa Dec 27: 11am-7pm
Su Dec 28: 12pm-6pm

M Dec 29: 11am-7pm
Tu Dec 30: 11am-7pm
W Dec 31: 10am-4pm, New Comics Day, New Years Eve
Th Jan 1: Closed, New Years Day
F Jan 2: Back to Normal!

Have a happy holiday!

– Christopher

Faith Erin Hicks Signing!
The Creator of Zombies Calling and The War At Ellsmere
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 5PM-7PM
@ The Beguiling, 601 Markham Street
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=38595744643
FREE

The Beguiling is proud to welcome Faith Erin Hicks, the creator of ZOMBIES CALLING and the new graphic novel THE WAR AT ELLSMERE to the store this Wednesday, December 17th. Faith will be signing and sketching for fans from 5pm to 7pm in support of her new graphic novel!

Beguiling customers may remember Faith from our awesome signing last year ’round this time for ZOMBIES CALLING. It was well attended and a lot of fun, and so we hope you’ll come around this year to check out her new book.

THE WAR AT ELLSMERE and ZOMBIES CALLING are published by SLG, and both graphic novels are currently available for sale at the store. For more on these books, check out Faith’s website at http://www.faitherinhicks.com/and the SLG website at http://www.slgcomic.com/.

– Chris @ The Beguiling

The following comics and graphic novels are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto on Wednesday December 17th, 2008. All prices listed in US Dollars.

Full list: /081217shipping.txt

Sorry folks, no time for recommendations this week. We’re a little busy (Christmas!). I will say that there are still copies of Kramers Ergot Volume 7 available following our signing, if you were hoping to scoop one up before they all disappeared.

– Chris @ The Beguiling

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 @ The Beguiling

The following comics and graphic novels are scheduled to ship to The Beguiling Books & Art in Toronto, Canada on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008. Note: All prices listed in U.S. dollars.

Click here to view the list: /081210shipping.txt

The Beguiling Recommends

AUG084225 Nocturnal Conspiracies Gn 14.95
Thanks to the nice folks at NBM I’ve got a copy of this one sitting on the desk in front of me already. The full title is “Nocturnal Conspiracies: Nineteen Dreams from December 1979 to September 1994.” It’s an interesting work from recent Beguiling guest David B., a collection of dream comics drawn in his trademark heavy-lined style, accompanied by an eerie near-incandescent blue spot-colour. Really potent imagery in this one too. I’m very much looking forward to sitting down to read it.

AUG084349 Tezuka’s Black Jack Px Hc Vol 02 24.95
So following a two-week delay (seriously, we have no idea why) the second volume of Osamu Tezuka’s awesome amoral surgeon comic BLACK JACK makes an appearance in its special hard cover form, with Bonus Story! Seriously, if you read the bonus story in the first volume of this, you know it’s worth the extra few bucks for the hardcover. A fantastic series.

OCT084120 Nicolas Gn 9.95
I mentioned this one a little bit yesterday, but this is the newest graphic novella in the “Petit Livres” line of books from Drawn & Quarterly. It’s a sparsely-drawn short story about two little boys, sort of. It’s really quite a good, affecting little book.

OCT084306 Courtney Crumrin And Prince Of Nowhere 5.95
This is the third Courtney Crumrin one-shot book in the past few years, and all of the first two were really outstanding. Now that this is out, we’ll likely see a fourth digest-sized volume early next year. I quite enjoy this series.

OCT082373 Wonderful Wizard Of Oz #1 (Of 8) 3.99
SPECIAL: First Week Only, Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1 just $2!
Curiously, Marvel is going all-out on this new adaptation of Frank L. Baum’s Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. They’ve got avowed OZ-fan Eric Shanower writing it (and providing a variant cover), and “hot” artist Skottie Young providing art chores, making for one of the nicest-looking books in their line of adaptations. They even slapped a J. Scott Campbell variant on it! So what the hell, we’ll meet them half-way. Try out the first issue for just a couple bucks.

ALSO OF NOTE

SEP084094 Thieves & Kings Apprentices Gn Vol 01 15.00
A new collection from Mark Oakley.

OCT082440 Punisher War Zone #1 (Of 6) 3.99
This six-issue mini-series reunites Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon to square The Punisher off against one of the more amusing villains from the previous series. If you’re itching for a “Preacher” fix, you should dig this.

OCT080160 Watchmen #1 New Ptg 1.50
Yes, they’re doing a new printing of Watchmen #1. No, they are not doing a new printing of the other 11 issues. This would have made a much better Free Comic Book Day book, in my humble opinion…

AUG080114 Final Crisis #5 (Of 7) 3.99
Hey, look! Another issue of Final Crisis!

JUL080156 Camelot 3000 Hc Deluxe Edition 34.99
You know, I’ve never read this. But it’s getting the ‘deluxe hard cover’ treatment Watchmen just did? Sort of?

SEP080219 Jack Of Fables Tp Vol 04 Americana (Mr) 14.99
Any new Fables trade is usually a cause for celebration here at the store…

OCT083790 Zombies Calling Gn (O/A) 9.95
We’ve been having an awful time trying to get this book back in stock here at the store. Sorry about that. As it is, they aren’t sending us all of the copies we ordered here. Urgh. Hopefully we have some in time for Faith’s signing on the 17th.

– Christopher

BOOKS!

Nicolas, by Pascal Giraud. From Drawn & Quarterly. $11.95. A heart-breaking/heart-warming tale.

SHIRTS!

Achewood: Great Outdoor Fight T-Shirt. From Chris Onstad’s recent tour. Less than 10 of these shirts are available in each size, and this was a one-time only deal. On American Apparel Brown Ringer Melange Shirt.

POSTCARDS!

Team Macho: Precious Gems Postcard Set. From Koyama Press. Patterned after the Chronicle postcard booklets, these feature 30 awesome reproductions of art from Toronto’s Team Macho collective. In postcard form.

KITTENS WITH PARTY HATS!

Just kidding, that’s one of the postcards from the postcard book.

– Chris @ The Beguiling

Hey folks, thanks to everyone who came out for the launch of Dave Lapp’s first-ever graphic novel DROP-IN last night. We had an amazing turn-out, sold a ton of books, and made Dave a happy guy. Lapp will be dropping by in the next few days to sign the rest of our in-stock copies, in case you couldn’t make it out last night.

And remember, next Thursday (a week from today!) is our MASSIVE Kramers Ergot 7 Launch Party! Lots of guests! Sponsored by Steam Whistle Brewing! In an amazing building, just north of The Beguiling! For more info, click here.

Cheers,

– Chris @ The Beguiling

Hey folks, in addition to our regular weekly DVD orders and reorders, we’ve restocked a bunch of great anime and live action stuff that’s either new, or has been unavailablefor a while now! Check it out:

Anime
Castle of Cogliostro (Lupin), directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Cat Returns, directed by Hiroyuki Morita
Dead Leaves, directed by [Production I.G.]
Kiki’s Delivery Service, directed by Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli
Millennium Actress, directed by Satoshi Kon
Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis, directed by Rintaro, screenplay by Katshiro Otomo
My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli
Paprika, directed by Satoshi Kon
Perfect Blue, directed by Satoshi Kon
Tokyo Godfathers, directed by Satoshi Kon

Other Animation
Batman: Gotham Knight, by various (Anime Batman! Sort of!)
Robot Chicken Season Three Set
Triplets of Belleville, directed by Sylvain Chomet

Live Action (Japan/HK)
Death Note
Funky Forest: The First Contact
Honey and Clover
Hula Girls
Kamikaze Girls
Linda Linda Linda
Love*Com: The Movie
Machine Girl
Maiko Haaan!!!
Nana
Nana 2
Ping Pong
Train man: Densha Otoko
Zebraman, directed by Takeshi Miike

—

– Christopher

The following comics & stuff are scheduled to arrive at The Beguiling on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008. You can check out the full list here: /081203shipping.txt

The Beguiling Recommends

War At Ellsmere Tp 12.95
Hey folks! It’s the new graphic novel from Zombies Calling! creator Faith Erin Hicks. We’ve been giving out previews of this for a little over a month, and it looks great. Make sure you pick up a copy this week… And if we’re lucky, we MIGHT have a signing for Faith here at the store this Holiday Season!

Hellboy Wild Hunt #1 (Of 8) 2.99
The follow-up to the recent DARKNESS CALLS mini-series drops this week, with Mike Mignola joined by Duncan Fegredo and Dave Stewart. I think this is the longest Hellboy story yet?

Also of Note:

Sandman Dream Hunters #2 (Of 4) 2.99
The first issue of this very pretty adaptation is still available, and the second issue drops this week.

Criminal 2 #7 3.50
One of our staff favourites.

Marvels Eye Of Camera #1 (Of 6) 3.99
The long, long-awaited sequel to Marvels.

Secret Invasion #8 (Of 8) Si 3.99
Marvel Previews Dark Reign Ed (Bundle Of 25) (Net) FREE
Secret Invasion wraps up this week, unveiling the dramatic new status-quo for the Marvel Universe. Think “The Initiative” but, Darker. Dark Reign-er. So Marvel is also releasing a special edition of Previews that uncensors some of their recent solicitations.

X-Men Noir #1 (Of 4) 3.99
X-Men Noir #1 (Of 4) Calero Var 3.99
Due to Diamond screw-ups, we’ve been severly alocated on the first issue of this mini-series. More copies are coming next week, if you can wait.

– Chris @ The Beguiling