We’ve been trying to restock for a while now, but it looks like they’re finally back in! ORDER OF THE STICK is the name of a very funny webcomics series about the characters in a “fantasy role playing game”, though they’re fairly self-aware and love to break the fourth wall. Check it out at http://www.giantitp.com/Comics.html, and if you’re a gamer (active or lapsed) you’ll find lots to laugh about.

It’s not a “Full” new comic book day, but if you’re a manga fan we’ve got a little treat for you. Del Rey just sent us three new manga volumes, a last-minute gift for new years…!

Hey there,

BOXING DAY SALE

BOXING DAY IS HERE! Our one big sale of the year has returned, and it’s going to last for more than 2 weeks, with all kinds of special deals! Each phase of our sale will have a different focus, with lots of new items put on sale to emphasize all of our stock. Here’s a quick outline, with the full list of Phase 01 sales below:

PHASE 01: December 26^th to December 31^st, 2009 (General Sale, back issue bins completely unavailable during this time.)

PHASE 02: January 2^nd to January 6^th, 2010 (Back Issues! Wall Books!)

PHASE 03: January 7^th to ? (Special Sales, back issue bins completely unavailable during this time.)

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STARTING BOXING DAY:
PHASE 01: December 26^th to December 30^th, 2009
(Back issue bins completely unavailable during this time.)
GROUND RULES

1. We reserve the right to refuse sale of any item to any customer for any reason.
2. We will probably not do this, but you’d be amazed at the number of people who insist that certain things are on sale when they’re clearly not, so yeah, rule #1 (“no, the original art is not 50% off”.). Honestly, none of us can remember having to do this. We’re good people, deep, deep down. Deep.
3. Out-of-print books, comics, anime, statues, etc, are exempt to sale pricing.
4. Anything put on hold prior to Boxing Day is entirely exempt to sale pricing.
5. Sales cannot be combined with other specials or sales.
6. “Regular Price” is determined as ‘Whatever the book would sell for not on Boxing Day,’ whether that’s U.S. Cover Price, Converted Canadian Cover price, Canadian Cover Price, or Sticker Price.
7. Items released in December 2009 or later are not eligible for sale. Determination for eligibility will be made at the cash register, at our sole discretion.

ALSO: BACK ISSUE BINS and WALL BOOKS will not be accessible until January 2^nd. They are not on sale, they aren’t even really FOR sale. We are sorry, but we’re focusing on other product during this sale and we need the space and attention for other things.

GENERAL SALE ITEMS:

First Floor:
– 10% off “Regular Price” on All First Floor books and comics, including Graphic Novels, European Albums, Books, Erotica, Prose, Strip Reprints, Etc.
– Lots of door-crasher specials on individual books! (See list below)

Second Floor:
– 10% off “Regular Price” on All new second floor comics and trade paperbacks including Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, Manga, recent single issue comics, Japanese Art Books, Magazines, Etc. (Note: Does not include any Buffy comics/trade paperbacks. Does not include back-issues, wall-books, or any “used/vintage” products. Sale items will be clearly marked in store.)
– Marvel Hardcover Blowout: Select Marvel Hardcovers $10 each or 3 for $20, with tons of new titles added on Boxing Day!
– Comic Sets Under $50 are 50% off: All store-made comic sets with a sticker price under $50.00 are now half-price.
– T-Shirts: Buy 3, get 1 free: Buy 3 t-shirts and get 1 t-shirt of your choice of equal-or-greater value for free! All T-Shirts will be out on the bins and easy to browse too!
– Lots of door-crasher specials on individual books! (See list below)

DVD SPECIALS:
– DVD 10% off: All New DVD/Anime (singles and box-sets) 10% off sticker price
– DVD ‘Bundles’ 20% off: All of the store-made ‘Bundles’ of DVDs will be 20% off their sticker price.
– CLEARANCE ANIME: Boxes of deep-discount anime, including a couple boxes at $1 EACH.

– Justice League: The New Frontier DVD (2 disc edition) – Was $24.95, NOW $20: The animated film inspired by Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier!
– Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher DVD (2 disc edition) – Was $19.95, NOW: $5: This is a great, fun little cartoon from some dudes who ended up working for Pixar, I believe. Tons and tons of bonus features too. Seriously, totally worth the $5.
– Fantastic Four/Silver Surfer Complete Collection DVD-ROM – Was $39.95, NOW: $20: Get a DVD with every issue through 2006 of The Fantastic Four comics and The Silver Surfer Comics, LEGALLY, for just $20. Probably the best deal of the whole day.

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SINGLE BOOK DEEP DISCOUNTS & SINGLE MANGA DEEP DISCOUNTS:
We’ve got some amazing deals on some really great books that we happen to have a little too much inventory on, so we’re hoping you can help us out with that. Some of these are brand new, some are warehouse finds, but they’re all good deals! NOTE: Quantities may be limited on some items, but we have tried to ensure at least 10 of each listed special will be available.

BOOKS:
The Collected Doug Wright: Was Cdn$39.95, NOW: $20 with the purchase of any other book written and drawn by Seth. It’s a great, great book, and everyone should own one. LIMIT 1 PER CUSTOMER.

Batman RIP HC, – Was U.S.$25, NOW: $10 – Grant Morrison’s shocking conclusion to the first half of his Batman run sees Batman worn down to his very core. If you skipped out on this one now’s the perfect chance to pick it up on the cheap.

Batman: The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul HC – Was U.S.$29.95, NOW $5: You heard us right! We’re selling the Morrison/Rucka Batman HC for just five bucks. We gave a ridiculous door-crasher special to the Marvel fans with Spider-Man for $5, so we figured we’d do a DC one as well at $5. Merry (late) Christmas!

Comic Wars – $1: If you want to read a business book about some of the insane comic book stuff that went down in the 90s, particularly with regards to Marvel, then it is just a dollar.

Eternal Smile – Was Cdn$18.95, NOW: $10 – We really like this one, a collection of three short stories by AMERICAN BORN CHINESE creator Gene Yang and TCAF guest Derek Kirk Kim.

Fortune and Glory HC – Was U.S.$35, NOW $15 – Brian Michael Bendis is now best-known for his work on Marvel’s New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man, but back in the day he wrote and drew this autobiographic graphic novel about his journey to Hollywood, and, eventually, Marvel. Pretty good stuff.

God Save The Queen HC – Was U.S.$19.99, NOW: $8! – Lucifer writer Mike Carey joins with painter John Bolton for an original graphic novel about punk-rock and faeries. And it’s $8!

Hellblazer: The Family Man TPB – Was U.S.$19.99, NOW $10 – This collection of early Jamie Delano Hellblazer is the perfect read for people who like Hellblazer.

Hellblazer: Dark Entries HC, by Ian Rankin – Was U.S.$19.99, NOW: $10 – This book sold gangbusters for us but, flat out, we just ordered too many. Our ordering mishap is your Boxing Day gain!

THE HELM – Was $14.95, NOW $4: This Dark Horse mini-series reads a bit like Jack Black starring in a superhero/swords and sorcery comic. By Hardison and Sears. It’s not for me, but for $4 it might be for you.

HI-FRUCTOSE Collected Edition Box Set – Was $50, NOW $30: The special box set edition of the Hi-Fructose book contains a 250 page hardcover, five deluxe edition art prints, a papercraft toy, a sewing template, and a lovely slipcase. We’re now pricing it at 10 bucks BELOW the standard edition Hi-Fructose book, which doesn’t have all the fancy extras. What a steal, art-lovers!

Matt Wagner’s Art of Grendel HC – Was U.S.$39.95, NOW $15: Released this year, this is a complete retrospective of creator Matt Wagner’s art on the popular Grendel series, alongside contributions from Paul Pope, Dave Johnson, Tony Harris, and more.

Odds Off , by Matt Madden – NOW $5 – Chris here, I actually really like this graphic novel. It’s a pretty straight-forward little read about a group of friends in their mid 20s sort of interacting and bouncing off of one another and coming to realizations about their lives. It’s a really surprising little read, and recommended, and hey it’s now only $5.

Penny Arcade Volume 2 & 3 – Was U.S.$12.95, NOW: $5 EACH! – The print collections of Gabe & Tycho’s Penny Arcade webcomic from Dark Horse are completely out of print, and likely to remain so for a little while now. So why not pick up one of these collections for just five bucks? Or both! It’s about video games!

Rapunzel’s Revenge – Was Cdn$16.99, NOW: $10! – This surprising Young Adult graphic novel features a girl hero, a great boy sidekick, and a fairy-tale turned on its head mixed with a western. The sequel book, Calamity Jack, is available now so why not pick up the first part for just 8 bucks? By Hale, Hale, and Hale.

Shazam’s Greatest Stories – Was U.S. $24.99, NOW: $10 – $10 for 250 pages of Shazam, exactly as advertised.

Spider-Man: Election Day – Was $29.99, NOW $5! – Remember when that Spider-Man Obama cover came out and people jacked up the price and that was hella-lame? Well now you can get that story, plus 200+ pages of other comics (that are actually pretty good, with like JRJR art!) for the same price as that Obama cover comic shoulda been. Oh, and it’s got Obama on the cover too. Five Dollars. (There’s a DC Batman HC on for $5 too, see above!)

Superman In World’s Finest Comics Archive Volume 2- Was $59.99, NOW $15!! – You’re reading that correctly. 200+ pages of DC Archives’ Golden Age Superman for $15.

Superman: New Krypton Vol 2 HC – Was U.S.$24.99, NOW $10 – Another ordering error where you save!

The Surrogates Special HC Edition – Was U.S.$75, NOW $37 – The Surrogates is the original comic series by our pals Rob Vendetti and Brett Weldele, that was then adapted into a film. As we all know, sometimes adaptations aren’t the same thing as the original works, and so in that spirit we heartily recommend you THE SURROGATES. This massive oversized HC collects both volumes of the series, now on sale for the price of buying the two softcovers separately. Limit One Per Household.

Teenagers From Mars – Was $22, Now $8: One of the most interesting and punk-rock books in years from Spears and G., it’s about two kids in a small town that bans comic books, and then they blow up a Wal-Mart.

Uncanny X-Men: The New Age Volume 1 – Was U.S.$12.99, NOW $5! – So this version of the team already doesn’t exist, but seriously? Art by Alan Davis and Olivier Coipel. That’s all you need to know.

Y The Last Man: Oversize HC Edition Volume 2: Was U.S. $29.99, NOW: $15 – Ordering error, or clever ruse to trick you into buying the first volume at full (U.S. Cover) price? Does it matter?

ZOT! The Complete B&W Series Omnibus – Was Cdn $26.95, now: $15 – So this is really, really good, and it maintains its quality across all 600 pages. McCloud knew what he was doing. I highly recommend it. Totally worth $27, but a must buy at fifteen bucks.

MANGA:

Abandoned (The), by Ross Campbell – Was $10, NOW: $5. Awesome one-shot zombie book. Black and white and red. From the creator of WET MOON. Totally worth the five bucks.

East Coast Rising Volume 1, by Becky Cloonan – Was $10, NOW: $3!!!: Unfortunately this awesome series doesn’t look like it’s gonna come to an end. But this first volume is SUPER fun, so if you just wanna read something and not worry about the ending, this is 3 bucks well spent.

FLCL Novel Vol 1, by Yoji Enokido – Was $10, NOW $5: A considerably more straight-forward and easy-to-understand version of the awesome, awesome anime series. Sorta like the cliff’s notes version.

Fujoshi Rumi Vol 1, by Natsumi Konjoh – Was $12, NOW – $5: A guy falls in love with a girl who is in LOVE with yaoi comics, and the girl is CONVINCED that the guy isn’t in love with her, but with his (male) childhood friend. Hijinx ensue! Older teen, Shoujo.

Gankutsuou Vol 1, by Mahiro Maeda and Yra Ariwara – Was $11, NOW $5: A manga adaptation of the acclaimed anime, this one has a really unique art style and the story—about the Count of Monte Cristo and generations of revenge and steampunk and I think vampires? It’s ‘cracktastic’ as the kids say. Older Teen, Seinen.

Gimmick! Vol 1, by Youzaburou Kanari & Kuroko Yabuguchi – Was $10, NOW $5: This collection of one-off short stories about a special effects and make-up master is a little bit A-Team and a little-bit Kindaichi Case Files. I just read the volume one and it’s surprisingly good! Check it out for five bucks. Older Teen, Seinen.

Gosick Novel Vol 1, by Kazuki Sakuraba – Was $10, NOW $5: The light novel series based on the popular manga, A gothic murder mystery with a cute anime girl heroine.

GUNDAM: MS Gundam Lost War Chronicles Vol 1 – Was $10, NOW $5: A brand new Gundam series, set in the earliest times of the original Gundam universe. Teen, Shonen.

HEAVEN!! Vol 1, by Shizuru Seino – Was $10, Now $5: I really dug the author’s previous series, Girl Got Game, and thought this first volume of Heaven was a pretty fun read. Implausible shoujo romance, ghosts, the whole 9 yards. Teen, Shoujo.

Hellgate London Vol 1, by Arvid Nelson and JM – Was $11, Now: $5: Based on the “hit” videogame. A prequel and original story from the game. Older Teen.

Imadoki Vol 1, by Yu Watase – Was $10, NOW $5: Probably my favourite Yu Watase series, this is about a plucky girl determined to make friends and solve problems at a preppy boarding school where shameful secrets are swept under the carpet. Awesome drama. Older Teen, Shoujo.

Kaze No Hana Vol 1, by Ushio Mizta – Was $11, NOW $5: “Four years ago, Momoka Futami lost her parents and her memory in a mysterious accident. Returning to Mitsuragi City for the first time since that fatal day, Momoka is thrust into a battle with a bizarre monster in an alternate world! Eventually reunited with friends and family she no longer remembers, she learns of a local legend about a corrupt god sealed away long ago by a rival god who, in turn, bestowed eight swords on eight Mitsurugi warriors to help protect the seal. But when Momoka is presented with one of these swords and declared as its rightful owner by the head of the Mitsurugi family, she finds the turn of events hard to believe, not least because she’s unable to unsheathe her own weapon! Is she really one of the legendary warriors or just a pretender to the sword?” Seriously, this is why I don’t usually type out the plot synopses for these, that’s ridiculous. I’m sure it’s less ridiculous if you read the book, but OMG that is ridiculous. Still, five bucks.

King of the Lamp Vol 1, by Takano Shigematsu – Was $11, NOW $5: A girl rubs a magic lamp and an attractive man comes out of it. Older Teen, Shoujo.

Lights Out Vol 1, by Myung-Jin Lee – Was $10, NOW $5: An action-filled romantic comedy for teenagers. Fans of SCHOOL RUMBLE or stuff like that should dig it. Teen, Shonen.

Mamotte Shugogetten Vol 1, by Minene Sakrano – Was $13, NOW $5!: This collection of the popular shoujo-esque series features cute girls, dumb boys, fantasy and adventure, more than 400 pages of story (two volumes in 1). Teen, Shoujo (technically shonen, but no one would be able to tell the difference).

MUSEUM OF TERROR Vol 1, by Junji Ito – Was $14, NOW $5!: >From the creator of Beguiling favs GYO and UZUMAKI comes MUSEUM OF TERROR, a fat (372+ pages) collection of horror short stories by horror master Junji Ito, including many of his famous TOMIE short stories. If you only buy TWO comics from this list, make sure Junji Ito’s MUSEUM OF TERROR is the other one! Adult, Seinen.

Notenki Meomors Novel, by Yasuhiro Takeda – Was $10, NOW $5: So we all know the dude who did Evangelion went nuts, now read the story behind the anecdote! This is an infamous tell-all account of anime studio Gainax, from their founding through to Eva. Adult, Novel.

Octopus Girl Vol 1, by Toru Yamazaki – Was $13, NOW $5!: Probably the best comic on this list for non-manga readers, this is BALLS OUT CRAZY. Gross-out humour of the highest order, and hilarious. Seriously, if you only grab one comic from this list, make it OCTOPUS GIRL Vol. Adult, Seinen.

Paradise Kiss Vol 1, by Ai Yazawa – Was $10, now $5!: We’re not going to lie, volumes 2-5 of this series are basically out of print. We have a bunch of volume 1s left. But seriously, it’s my favourite shoujo series of All Time. Pick it up, track down the rest, you won’t be sorry. Older Teen, Shoujo/Josei.

Phantom Dream Vol 1, by Natsuki Takaya – Was $10, NOW $5!: Another new series from the creator of FRUITS BASKET, this one is kinda like a shoujo BLEACH. Older teen, Shoujo.

Rahxephon Vol 1, by Takeaki Momose – Was $10, Now $5: Originally release juuuuust after Evangelion, we’ve got giant robots, reluctant pretty-boy heroes, and angel wings aplenty. Older Teen, Shonen.

RIP, by Mitsukazu Mihara – Was $10, NOW $5: From the queen of Goth Loli comics comes this one-shot story about angels and devils and heaven and hell. Gothy! Older Teen, Shoujo. Lots more Mihara manga in stock too.

Seduction More Beautiful Than Love Vol 1, by Lee Hyeon-Sook – Was $10, Now $5: An older romance series aimed at young women, about the many loves of a new highschool teacher. Older Teen, Josei.

Star Trek The Manga: Kakan Ni Shinkou – Was $10, NOW $5: OMG Star Trek manga. In this volume of short stories set in The Original Series universe, shit goes nuts, manga style.

The Third Vol 1, by Ryo Hishino – Was $9.99, NOW $5: Cute girl with gun and swords fights robots and stuff. Popular anime attached. Older teen, Shonen.

Tsubasa: Those With Wings Vol 1, by Natsuki Takaya – Was $15, NOW $5: Fruits Basket Creator Takaya returns with this fantasy love story. Older teen, shoujo.

Walkin’ Butterfly Vol 1, by Chihiro Tamaki – Was $11, NOW $5: Amazing Older Teen manga about an awkward girl who finds her true self. Older teen, shoujo/josei.

Wasted Minds Vol 1, by Vanessa Satone – Was $12, NOW $5: Original English Language manga collecting the web-serialized comic. Older teen.

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All right! Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you at 11am for boxing day!

– Chris @ The Beguiling

We just received like 3 or 4 cases of R. Crumb’s Genesis, the ‘book of the year’ according to almost every big media outlet. We’d been out for nearly a month and, if the calls we’d been getting were any indication, every other store in the city was out as well. BUT WE HAVE THEM NOW. In-stock, main floor, come get’em.

Okay, I’ll try to be as clear as possible about this, because it’s a little confusing (sorry!).

We are open normal hours and with normal operations, except for the following:

Wed Dec 23: 11am-9pm Open Late/NEW COMICS ON THIS DAY!*
Thu Dec 24: 11am-6pm (Closed Early for Christmas Eve)
Fri Dec 25: Closed
Sat Dec 26: 11am-7pm BOXING DAY
Wed Dec 30: NO NEW COMICS** – Comics will not ship this week at all.
Thu Dec 31: 11am-5pm (Closed early for New Year’s Eve)
Friday January 1^st, 2010: Closed!
– After that, back to Normal.

* Dec 23: This Wednesday, there are In Fact NEW COMICS shipping on Wednesday. It’s not even like it’s a light week or anything. A BUNCH of new comics are shipping. See previous post for info. New Sacco! Complete ALEC by Eddie Campbell!

**Dec 30: So the week between Christmas and New Years, Diamond has decided not to ship new comics at all. That said, a couple of companies are making new books available on that day (shipping them early with instructions to hold): Marvel has a Hulk book and a SIEGE preview, DC has BLACKEST NIGHT #6, some self-publishers have declared it “Indy Comics Week”, etc. We’re also supposed to get Joe Sacco’s newest that week. So, expect us to have lots of new products that week, but that big Wednesday haul of superhero books is being delayed until the first week of January.

Any questions, e-mail us!

– Chris @ The Beguiling

COMICS ARE SHIPPING THIS WEEK! The following comics and graphic novels are scheduled to ship The Beguiling Books & Art on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009. All Prices listed in U.S. Funds. Variant prices are generally accurate to what we will be charging in store, but all disputes between prices will defer to the stickered, in-store price.

Click here for the complete list: /091223shipping.txt

The hits just keep on coming! We got a bunch of great alt-culture and outsider art stuff in today from our friends at Last Gasp and Picturebox, and now we’re sharing it with you! Check it out:

The Snow Yak Show Microportfolio

By Mark Ryden, $14.95

17 Postcard set, 4″ x 6″, with slipcase

Traverse Mark Ryden’s vast wintry landscapes into the frigid domain of the majestic Snow Yak, gracefully depicted within this set of 17 postcards from Ryden’s acclaimed Japanese Snow Yak Show. The works were originally shown at the prestigious Tomio Koyama Gallery in Tokyo in February 2009.

It’s worth noting that every single Mark Ryden release of his career has sold out, and fairly quickly, and increased in value. So if you’re on the fence about this one, at $15 you should probably just go for it. You will feel bad when you see it up on the wall at the store for $50 next year.

Ed Hardy: Beyond Skin

Text by Alan Govenar, $106.95

240 Page Hardcover Art Book, 10″ x 12″, 200 full colour illustrations

Internationally renowned for breathing new life into tattooing, Ed Hardy has created a startling array of artwork “Beyond Skin” over the last four decades. Hardy’s drawings, prints, paintings, and newest pieces in porcelain effortlessly cross boundaries. Text in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Horimasa

By Horimasa, $169.95

228 Page Softcover, with slipcase, Japanese Import

This is a collection of illustrations, sketches and photos from Japanese tattoo master, Horimasa. A tebori artist by trade (the traditional Japanese method of tattooing by hand), Horimasa breathes new life into fundamental Japanese tattoo motifs in this compilation. That he’s studied the masters of traditional ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) is evident in his work, and his approach to traditional Japanese iconography is bold and confident. His lines are incredibly clean and his color use is brilliant. This book includes a wide variety of Japanese traditional tattoo imagery. It features a variety of samurai, Gods and Goddesses, oni, goblins, tigers, Hannya, dragons, geisha, koi, foo dogs, animals and insects… it has a little bit of everything. It includes full color, full page illustrations, complete single line drawings, preliminary sketches and sketches devoted to particularly tricky details, like hands, feet, eyes and claws. It also includes a 50 full page, full color photo section of Horimasa’s tattoo work, shot by world renowned photographer Geoff Johnson. This book is nice and big, printed on thick, high quality paper, and comes in a cardboard slipcase for protection. It is an amazing resource for anyone interested in traditional Japanese tattooing and imagery. Text in English and Japanese.

Gear Worms is the 2009 calendar by Paper Rodeo alumni Leif Goldberg. Gear Worms is a gorgeous hand silk-screened all-purpose calendar by Goldberg, full of new drawings and eye-popping colour. This is a beautiful object, hand-assembled and weighing in at 28 pages for just $27.95. It can be found on the main floor.

Next up is the long-awaited second English-language Herge art book, The Art of Herge, Creator of Tintin, Volume 2: 1937-1949. The second in a three-volume series, this is a selection of Herge’s outstanding and often unpublished drawings, showing the diversity of his work and offering the reader a view of the range of his talent. Georges Remi, better known as Herge, the creator of Tintin & Snowy, was born a century ago. He left an exceptional legacy, the center of which was Tintin, but also included much other work.

This second volume of The Art of Herge covers the years 1937 to 1945. The period illustrated is fascinating on a number of counts, marking the maturity of Herge, the creator and artist. In 1937 Herge was only 30, but he had already laid down enough markers to lay claim to his future territory — the strip cartoon. It was during this period that he began to render the Adventures of Tintin in color. The period covered in this volume was also marked by global political tensions and mounting dangers that boiled over into the Second World War. From his childhood onward, Herge produced a vast number of drawings. The Art of Herge, Inventor of Tintin presents them all in chronological order, with many high quality reproductions, each accompanied by concise commentary allowing us a closer look into Herge’s daily routine, and by extension, his thoughts. Oversized Hardcover, $42.95.

All these and many more products are arriving at The Beguiling every day this week!

– Chris @ The Beguiling