The Varsity – University of Toronto presents
SCOTT McCLOUD IN TORONTO
Understanding, Reinventing, and Making Comics
Sunday, May 6th, 7PM
OISE Theatre, 252 Bloor St. West
(At Bloor St. W. and St. George Subway Station)
Tickets: $10 in Advance, $15 at the door
Available at The Beguiling, 601 Markham Street
In association with The Toronto Comic Arts Festival Aug. 18-19, and The Beguiling Books & Art 20th Anniversary
TORONTO, Ontario – The Varsity, Canada’s largest student newspaper, is proud to present SCOTT MCCLOUD, the author of UNDERSTANDING COMICS, in the exclusive Canadian presentation of his world-renowned visual lecture Understanding, Reinventing, and Making Comics. McCloud’s presentation on comics, storytelling and web technology has packed lecture halls at Harvard University, MIT, The Smithsonian, Microsoft, IBM, and Pixar. Now, McCloud brings his expertise to Toronto on Sunday May 6th.
MAKING COMICS, McCloud’s third exploration of the emerging graphic novel medium (written in graphic novel form, of course) was recently published by Harper Collins to wide acclaim. In a truly unique move to the world of publishing, McCloud and his entire family (wife Ivy, and daughters Winter and Sky) have embarked on the Making Comics 50 State Tour, celebrating the release of the volume in all 50 U.S. states (with a special stop in Toronto!). Featuring daily blog updates of the tour by the entire McCloud clan and a whirlwind of press coverage, the tour has been a phenomenal success.
“We couldn’t be happier to help in bringing Scott McCloud to Toronto” said Peter Birkemoe, owner of The Beguiling and co-sponsor of the event. “At a conservative guess, we’ve sold thousands of copies of McCloud’s books, with his newest really appealing to the burgeoning segment of the population—young and old—interested in creating their own graphic novels.”
“McCloud’s books speak to more than just fans of comics,” said Christopher Butcher, the co-founder of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. “McCloud’s theories on comics—storytelling, narrative, and technology—have broad applications in the fields of graphic design, writing, and interactive multimedia. Understanding Comics and Making Comics have bolstered the claim that combining words and pictures to convey information are universal, and that comics and graphic novels as a medium really are for everyone.”
THE EVENT:
Scott McCloud: Understanding, Reinventing, and Making Comics visual lecture presentation will be held Sunday, May 6th at The OISE Theatre, 252 Bloor St. West (at St. George Subway Station). The doors to the event will open at 7pm, with McCloud taking the stage roughly 30 minutes later.
Tickets are $10 per person, available in person at The Beguiling Books & Art, 601 Markham Street, Toronto. Tickets are available via phone at The Beguiling, 416-533-9168, Monday-Friday 11am-7pm. Advance ticket prices valid until and on Saturday May 5th, 2007. All tickets are for general admission seating. This event is appropriate for all ages.
Please note: This event is strictly limited to only 450 tickets, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
THE BOOKS:
Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics are published by HarperCollins Canada, and are currently in stock at The Beguiling. Copies of all books will be for sale at the event.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Scott McCloud is the award-winning creator of Zot!, Understanding Comics, and Reinventing Comics. His books are available in sixteen languages. Sin City creator Frank Miller called him “just about the smartest guy in comics.” He has given Visual Lectures on Comics and Technology at destinations as diverse as Harvard University, Electronic Arts, The Smithsonian, Microsoft, SXSW, and Pixar.
The Making Comics 50 State Tour began in New York City in September 2006, and will end in Hawaii in August 2007. The official tour blog is online at http://community.livejournal.com/mccloudtour.
MEDIA QUERIES:
For queries regarding the event, contact Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling, 416-533-9168 or via email at: chris@beguiling.com.
A Conversation with Bryan Talbot 
And a quick plug for Gary Taxali’s art show at Magic Pony this Thursday March 22nd. It’s called “Save The Boreal” and it’s a benefit for Greenpeace. Check it out at 
It looks like, as was the case with SIN CITY and HELLBOY before it, Dark Horse Comics may or may not have copies of 300 by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley available when the movie debuts next month. What this means is that many stores will not have copies of the 300 HC in stock for the next month or so, or when the movie arrives. And if you’re excited about or even interested in this film, you’re REALLY gonna wanna read the graphic novel first.
First up is les Enfants d’ailleurs, by Bannister and Nykko. A new French language children’s graphic album, it features art by FLIGHT contributor Bannister and is quite pretty, if you like the animation/illustration-style stuff. The book is also appropriate for younger readers, and features a much more approachable vocabulary than most graphic albums if you happen to be looking to brush up on your francais. Second floor.
Secondly, we have RAGNI. The debut 5-song EP from Canadian songsters Ragni features a brand new 21 page graphic novella from Canadian illustrator Karl Kerschl, famous for his work on SUPERMAN and X-MEN. It’s actually a really nice, wordless black and white story and the music is good too. Sort of a late-period ambient Radiohead kind of thing? At any rate, it’s a pretty excellent (and unique!) addition to any comics library. $15.00, second floor.
Finally, we have a book that isn’t new this week but IS sort of a wonderful rarity that we should’ve mentioned a little while back. Canadian painter Ryan Heshka released a fun little artbook called ABC Spook Show, a 60 page collection of paintings that have the cute/goth look totally wrapped up. You can see more art at Heska’s website, 
We got two new books in this morning that you might be curious about. First is the new one by Charles Burns… What’s that, you say you didn’t know there was a new Charles Burns in the works? Well then, you apparently missed the news about One Eye, “a collection of paired photographs by Charles Burns that captures the strange undertones of a staggering range of objects and locales.” As the cover shows, it’s some pretty interesting stuff and if you’re a fan of Burns’ sequential narrative work, chances are you’re going to absolutely love his photography.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum is a brand new work featuring the art of fan-favourite Terry Dodson. Known for his ‘good-girl’ art, the new French-language album Songes Tome 1: Coraline is considerably more risque than Dodson can get away with on projects like Wonder Woman. Fans of animation and illustration books already scooped up our first shipment of this one, and it’s unlikely that the copies we have will be around for long. Better make your way to the store post-haste.
Sit down with critically acclaimed graphic novel creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, the man behind the witty and hilarious Scott Pilgrim series, selected as the Independent Comic of the Year by Entertainment Weekly (2006). Bryan chats with The Beguiling’s Peter Birkemoe and you never know, he might just give away a few exciting teasers about the highly anticipated new volume of Scott Pilgrim.
We’re happy to announce that artist Matt Forsythe has dropped off copies of issues one and two of OJINGOGO here at The Beguiling. These mini-comics collect his Eisner-nominated online comic, and are funny and beautifully drawn. Also? Wierd-as-hell, but in a great ‘these are comics that aliens make’ sort of a way. Actually, it reminds me a little bit of last year’s excellent A.L.I.E.E.E.N. by Lewis Trondheim in that way. Good stuff which will leave you wanting more, and Canadian too! Issue 1 is $5, and issue 2 is $6. Main floor, in front of the cash desk.