Category Archives: Important

Important

THANK YOU/NEW WAYS TO SHOP (NOW LONG OUT OF DATE)

(Wanted to keep a record of this post, but its contents are long out of date and should only be read in an archival appreciation sort of way. go visit our webstore and buy books! beguilingbooks.com)

 

WE just wanted to take a moment to say to all of our customers:

THANK YOU.

Not only for the amazing, generous and warm support you have shown to The Beguiling already but that you are showing to all booksellers, independent shops, artists customer service employees and many others working without a safety net, one day at a time.

When you’re a bookseller, there isn’t a work from home option– we need to be out here, interacting with everyone who walks through our doors. That’s the lifeblood of our industry, the personal connection that an independent bookseller cab bring, and it’s been incredible to still feel it from our amazing customers.

At the moment, we’re taking everything day to day but as of now we’re still maintaining regular hours and we’ve introduced some other options and standards for those who want to support and shop with us but are understandably a bit wary. You can check out what we’re doing below!

We’re here for you, snd you’re here for us. Instead of focusing on the negative, let’s look at what a beautiful small thing that is– it means the world to us, and to so many independent business in the GTA and beyond.

THANK YOU.

Still want to get your comics but feeling a bit wary of regular visits to the store? Talk to us!

We’re very happy to work with you to figure out getting you your books! Here’s some starter options!

SHIPPING: We’ll be offering FREE SHIPPING WITHIN THE GTA ON ORDERS OVER $50!

For orders under $50 we’ll charge a flat rate of $6.50, the equivalent cost of taking the TTC to/from the store!

(Added bonus: no one will demand to see proof you paid us your shipping fee while it’s in transit)

If you don’t live in Toronto, we can arrange it too! Just get in touch!

CURBSIDE PICKUP: Pre-arrange your order and we can bring it straight out to you in your car! You can pay ahead of time, or with Visa/Mastercard/Debit in your car when you pick up!

Would you like to get your books some other way? Well, we’re probably open to it! Just get in touch with us, and we’re happy to discuss whatever works best for you!

For in-store shopping we’ll also be introducing some methods to minimize the handling of your books at the till and by others too! More details to com, as well as some great suggestions for some comics long-reads!

XOXO, THE STAFF AT THE BEGUILING & LITTLE ISLAND COMICS

Important, New Product

Announcing BDP’s first release: MAGICIAN A by Natsuko Ishitsuyo!

YOU READ THAT RIGHT! Beguiling owner and TCAF co-founder Peter Birkemoe is stepping back into the publishing game with the launch of the new publishing imprint BDP, and the first book on offer to you, gentle reader, is the astounding debut collection Magician A from Japanese artist Natsuko Ishitsuyo, translated by Jocelyne Allen!

With art heavily influenced by Ishitsuyo’s time studying art in the Czech Republic, the six stories collected in Magician A focus on young women discovering and playing with their own sexuality. The feelings in these stories are universal, but Ishitsuyo’s approach is not for the squeamish.

The translation was spearheaded and executed by Eisner Award winning translator Jocelyne Allen, who has worked on almost too many books to count at this point! You might be familiar with her translations of Juniji Ito (Fragments of Horror, Smashed, Shiver, Frankenstein), Kabi Nagata (My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, My Solo Exchange Diary), Riyoko Ikeda (Claudine!, Rose of Versailles), Yuhki Kamatani (Our Dreams at Dusk), Fumi Yoshinaga (What Did You Eat Yesterday?), Asumiko Nakamura (Classmates, Maiden Railways) to name just a few! The Beguiling’s own Penny Clark edited this collection to boot!

And guess what? The Kickstarter for the book is LIVE! GO AND BACK THE BOOK RIGHT NOW!! ❤

You can also read more of Jocelyne’s thoughts on Magician A over here on her brainvsbook blog!

Publisher Peter Birkemoe is the owner and operator of the world-famous Beguiling comic store in Toronto, Canada, and co-founder of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. After years of supporting comic artists behind the scenes through his work as a bookseller, he’s made the decision that it’s time to again dip his toes into the world of publishing, with a focus on books both in English and in translation that aren’t finding a publisher elsewhere, in part because they are a little bit dirty. Dirty books need a home, too!   

Important

UPDATE: NO POWER AT THE BEGUILING THURS OCT 25, 9-5! BUT WE’RE STILL OPEN FOR NEW COMICS!

UPDATE: Last minute, they changed the days on us from tuesday and wednesday to thursday, so now WE WILL BE WITHOUIT POWER THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24 FROM 9-5! We will have power restored before our event with LIANA FINCK at 7PM, and if somehow we don’t we’ll be running the event via generator power! NO ONE IS STOPPING THE BEGUILING.

 

 

From the world of Weird News: On Tuesday, October 22 & Wednesday, October 23rd, we’re going to be without power as our building’s system is updated.  Geez Louise.

Now, if this were Monday? We’d probably just close. Thursday? Oh, we’d close. Friday…maybe we’d close. But these are NEW COMICS days! The day we receive ’em and the day we put ’em out for you, our loyal customers! We can’t just close up!

So, with that in mind and in true Beguiling spirit: We’re not closing! We’re renting a generator and keeping the store open to receive product and get the new comics into your eager hands!

That being said, we can’t run the store at full power- we have to redirect and focus our energy on new product. As a result, ONLY the first room of The Beguiling will be open on Tuesday the 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd. Little Island comics, manga (excluding new releases), wall books, our gallery and the back issue basement will be closed. We also won’t be checking our overstock for supplies, books or manga. To be clear: Only new comics, new manga and the shelf stock in our first room will be open to shoppers!
For our pull file customers: Rest assured we’ll be here and your file will be ready as usual! We take getting you your new comics as seriously as you do!
We’ll be back at full power literally and figuratively on Thursday, October 24 for our EXCUSE ME event with superstar cartoonist Liana Finck!
And that’s that!
Important

JULY 26: THE BEGUILING IS CLOSING EARLY!

Fridays! We’re usually open late for all your weekend comic-browsing needs! Well, on Friday, July 26th we gotta close up a little early!
We’ll be amending our regular store hours on the 26th, from 11am till 7pm, and then closing up for a private function that evening. We’ll be open regular hours every other day, and back to our normal 11-9 opening hours the next week!

Important

MAY DAY AT THE BEGUILING

The Beguiling – May Day 
This Wednesday, May 1st  isn’t just  New Comic Book Day– it’s also International Workers’ Day, popularly known as May Day. And there’s so much going on that day in the city, to resist and to voice opposition to the many attacks on civil society from our current governments!
It’s hard to know how a small business like ours can participate in labour actions, especially when both staff and proprietors are fully on-side with the cause! We put our heads together and came up with a few ideas for May Day, and are thinking about other ways  we might show our support in the future too. For now, this is what we came up with!

What do we want? Protest Signs! When do we want them? Some time after 11am!

In solidarity with the rage and resistance we all have, The Beguiling will be offering its gallery space as a free sign-making station (from 11am until things peter out), perfect for stopping by and adding that last bit of flare to your messaging before heading over to Queen’s Park or City Hall.
Bristol board, paint, and other sign-making supplies will be available (courtesy of The Beguiling and Gwartzman’s) for you to use, but BYOStick! In addition,  members of Toronto’s comics community will be on hand to help you out with design, lettering, kerning, etc., to make sure your message looks sharp! Come by! Make a sign! No purchase necessary!

Putting Our Proceeds Where Our Protest Is!

We’re also having a one-day drive to raise funds for four of our favourite charities. 100% of money spent in the shop on May Day on comic back issues will be donated to the following organizations (purchase definitely necessary!):
Saint Stephen’s Community House – Overdose Prevention Site
Indigenous Climate Action
Maggie’s
Black Lives Matter – Toronto
Whether you want to pick up some 50-cent favourites or spend several hundred dollars on an old Weird Science – all of that cash will go directly to these organizations which are fighting the good fight every day of the year!
 
May Day Reads
The Beguiling carries books to inspire resistance and liberation all year round! We’ve gathered lots of these May Day-themed reads together in one spot – check out the display this week at the shop!
Bonus Contest: Sing for a Discount!
It’s a little-known tradition here at the shop that anyone shopping on May Day who can sing a full verse of “The Internationale” – in any language – gets 10% off their purchase of regularly priced, in-stock books and/or comics. This deal is redeemable directly with Peter only, and is available at his sole discretion! Ask in person for more details, and the opportunity to serenade us with the international workers’ anthem!
Thanks very much, and see you on Wednesday!
Events, Important

FEB 2: DEFEND THE 11 FUNDRAISER SHOW

FEBRUARY 2
It’s a benefit show at The Beguiling in support of the #DefendThe11 fundraiser!
Hooded Fang, Brigitte Bardon’t, Moul D and “t.b.a” will play music! Help defend members of the comics community who had the courage to speak out against a sexual predator!

Learn more about the cause here:
https://www.gofundme.com/SPX-Support-The-11

Doors at 7
First band 7:30
Done by 10:00
NO LATECOMERS admitted!

General, Important

The Grand Re-Opening of LITTLE ISLAND COMICS!!

Art by Steve Manale

The Beguiling Books & Art is proud to announce the return of

LITTLE ISLAND COMICS

The world’s first and only comic shop exclusively for kids!

Little Island Comics is BACK!!! Offering the widest possible array of graphic novels, manga, and comics for people 12 years old and younger, Little Island celebrates its Grand Re-Opening during March Break 2018 with a slate of creator appearances, refreshments and activities– with a sale to jumpstart your library of great comics for kids!

 

When it opened in 2011, Little Island served thousands of young readers, grateful parents, enthusiastic educators, and cool aunts and uncles for five years until the original Mirvish Village location closed due to redevelopment. During that time Little Island was more than a retail destination — it was a local hub: a venue for comics-making classes and teacher/librarian sessions, and hosted many book launches and events with kid-lit luminaries like Tomi Ungerer (The Three Robbers), Kate Beaton (The Princess and the Pony), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet) and Jon Klassen (We Found a Hat).

“Little Island has proven to be a key part of The Beguiling’s business overall,” says proprietor Peter Birkemoe. “I’m thrilled to once again devote space where kids and parents can learn, read and start loving comics. And we really missed giving our youngest customers the specific attention they deserve.”

“Little Island Comics responded to the public’s continuing need for specialized books shops as points of discovery, interaction, and creative community,” Little Island Comics manager Andrew Woodrow-Butcher adds. “It’s a bricks-and-mortar success story!”

A year after closing its previous Mirvish Village location, Little Island Comics re-opens in March next door to its parent shop The Beguiling’s newly expanded location at the top of Toronto’s vibrant Kensington Market neighbourhood. As The Beguiling enters its fourth decade as North America’s premier comic book retailer, the move to College Street has allowed it to add a gallery and events space, which Little Island will share.

Little Island Comics will be staffed by the same team that worked at the previous location, who also work for The Beguiling’s Library Services business, which has been helping school and  public libraries curate their comics collections for more than 15 years. Comics as a medium has become a mainstay of educational library collections in the last decade, and parents and educators will appreciate the expert help in selecting titles that address curriculum objectives, learning challenges, and a wide variety of reading levels. Kids will appreciate the engaging visual storytelling in some of today’s most popular books for young people!

Little Island will offer a 20% discount on all in-print kids comics, picture books, and graphic novels throughout March Break (March 10-18, 2018) to encourage families to dig into graphic novels! The week will culminate in a Grand Re-Opening Party on Saturday, March 17th, with refreshments, drop-in activities, story time, and appearances by such creators as:

  • Scott Chantler (The Three Thieves series)
  • Naseem Hrab (Ira Crumb Makes a Pretty Good Friend)
  • Brian McLachlan (Draw Out the Story)
  • Ryan North (Adventure Time, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl)
  • Kean Soo (March: Grand Prix, Jellaby)
  • Britt Wilson (Cat Dad, King of the Goblins)
  • Tory Woollcott (Mirror Mind, Science Comics: The Brain)

…and more! For details on the line-up for the Grand Re-Opening, please follow Little Island Comics on Facebook and Twitter (@littleislandcmx) and visit our website: http://littleislandcomics.com

We’re VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS and we hope you are too!!

Important

BEGUILING HOLIDAY HOURS 2017

Here’s our hours for this holiday season! For days not listed, we’ll be open our regular hours.

(What else clever can I add here?…nothing comes to mind)

Thu Dec 21: 11-9PM

Fri Dec 22: 11-9PM

Sat Dec 23: 11-9PM

Sun Dec 24: 11-3PM

Mon Dec 25: CLOSED

Tues Dec 26: 11-7PM

Sun Dec 31: 12-4PM

Mon Jan 1: CLOSED