WAITING FOR THE WATCHMEN - NO MORE!

Considered by many, to be perhaps the finest graphic novel of all time - Watchmen by Alan Moore has been out of stock for the past week, but the waiting is coming to an end. Watchmen has been a great seller for us for years now, but the movie trailer that hit theatres in front of the Dark Knight destroyed our inventory of the book.

We usually keep a good chunk of copies of this awesome book on hand, but it wasn't enough after the ad went up. Apparently this happened to a lot of stores -as DC announced it went back to press for 200,000 copies within a few days of the trailer coming out. For those who already put in their request for a copy with us-they are coming on Wendesday! For anyone else, that was thinking about it - they are coming on Wednesday! (that's August 6th).

A full list of Wednesday's books will be posted tomorrow night. Tons of manga! and a few other things too.

Robin Joseph @ House of Cool

Having recently come back from Comic-Con, I can say without a doubt that there are a ton of crazy amazing people out there. Talented to the Nth Degree.

Well, we got that kind of talent here in Toronto too! From time, to time, I will try and spotlight some of them.

As Canadians, many of these artists don't promote as heavily as they should, but that doesn't make their work any less spectacular.

One such artist is Robin Joseph. Robin works at the House of Cool, along with a bunch of other great artists and animators.

If you like his work, let him know he should hurry up and make a book. (actually I think he's working on one. he he.)

check out more from Robin here:
http://www.patchoforange.blogspot.com/

NEW SKETCHBOOKS - in store now

small shipment of books is now in. more copies of some of these expected in the weeks ahead. so if we sell out this week, don't panic.

First off - Battle Milk - funny title, Serious Art. 4 concept artists put together a striking new book not to be missed. If you like books from Ballistic or Design Studio, you need to see this one!

NEW Francisco Herrera - Herrerabox 2 sketchbook finally in stock. Signed.


NEW CHRIS SANDERS: Kiskaloo -signed (image stolen from Louie Del Carmen)

Justin Ridge and Hye-Jung Kim Flavor 01 - Signed


Frank Cho Mars Maidens Sketchbook Signed

Terry Dodson Bomb Shelter Sketchbook (only 5 copies available) -signed -very limited print run.


The Amazing Rod Guenoden! Holding up Louie Del Carmen's newest sketchbook.

Ok - So I don't have a proper image of Louie Del Carmen's newest sketchbook - but I found this image of Rod Guenoden on Louie's blog. There's a ton of comic-con photos - worth checking out. I still haven't had time to download the pictures I took myself. Incidentally, we also got in several gorgeous sketchbooks by Rod (Flight/Dreamworks/Feature Animator) as well as some by Louie's pal Octavio and a couple of older sketchbooks by Louie himself.
http://randomanomalies.blogspot.com/


Mike Mignola More Drawings Sketchbook (only 5 available) -signed and numbered


Travis Charest (the sweet guy that he is) has signed all our copies of his new book Space Girl!


Jim Lee has 2 new sketchbooks -both come signed by the man himself!



David Finch has a beautiful new sketchbook out. Signed!


Adam Hughes -2 brand new sketchbooks - Signed! Cheap too!


J. Scott Campbell - 2 new books (Signed and sold as sets only).


Another Frank Cho book - Jungle Queens Sketchbook Signed.


More books will be announced as they arrive. There are several more exciting books coming -but I am going to hold off listing them until I have them in hand.

PRINCESS AND FROG TRAILER ONLINE

If you haven't seen it already - go, go now and take a look at the new trailer for the upcoming 2D feature from Disney. Brought to you by the same guys behind Disney's Hercules. With such a long time since the last 2D feature (American that is) - I hope that audiances will be ready for it. Incidentally, when we were down in San Diego, we heard from some of the Rocket Johnson artists that working on this film (P&F) was a dream come true. I for one, can't wait!

The Teaser is here:
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/

WHERE IS ROCKET JOHNSON ?

Rocket Johnson has landed in Canada - @ the Labyrinth.



Ok, so truth be told we only have a small handful of copies right now, but the rest should be arriving next week. Who is Rocket Johnson is an anthology produced by dozens of Disney artists and the love that went into it, really shows. A big thanks to Paul for making it possible for us to have the books.

Expect more sketchbook news in the days ahead! Only reason we rushed to talk about this one, is that we got a ton of emails about it.

For those out of town, Yes we can ship to you -but not until the end of next week when the bulk of the books arrive.

check out the rocket johnson blog here:
http://whoisrocketjohnson.blogspot.com/

THIS WEEKS NEW MANGA & GRAPHIC NOVELS

Arriving on Wednesday July 30:

The Art of Herge : Inventor of Tin Tin vol 1


Popgun volume 2- Another really awesome anthology by some truly talented creators. #1 is also in stock in case you missed it.

Yen Plus (+) #1 is finally out. It's a magazine anthology kind of like Shojo Beat or Shonen Jump. Features lots of cool stuff including a new series by Svetlana Chmakova (DramaCon).

Another new Manga to check out: Kujibiki Unbalance. Try saying that 10 times fast!

For the truly die hard fan, or anyone that simply likes the concept of knowing what to do in the event of a zombie war breaking out - here is the wisdom of the Zombie Survival Guide in a nice compact format: Card Deck.
The Complete (rest of the) List is below:

AIR GEAR GN VOL 09

ART OF HERGE INVENTOR OF TINTIN HC VOL 01 (OF 3)

BATMAN GOING SANE TP

BEAR STORIES GN VOL 01

BOLD VISIONS DIGITAL PAINTING BIBLE SC

CAPTAIN MARVEL PREM HC SECRET INVASION

CHOPPER ZOMBIE GN

COLORSCAPE AROUND THE WORLD GUIDE TO COLOR SC

DEATH NOTE DEATH STAFF BLK T/S LG ,MED, XL

DEVIL MAY CRY 4 DANTE VER 2 ARTFX STATUE

DOOM PATROL ARCHIVES HC VOL 05

ELEPHANTMEN TP VOL 01 WOUNDED ANIMALS

EMILY STRANGE NINJA PATCHWORK PLUSH

ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR TP VOL 7

FALL OF CTHULHU TP VOL 02 GATHERING

FEVERISH GN

FORGOTTEN REALMS TP VOL 07 THE LEGACY

HALLOWEEN NIGHTDANCE TP VOL 01

HALO 3 COVENANT BADGE BELT BUCKLE

HALO 3 MASTER 2 CHIEF FIELD OF BATTLE ARTFX STATUE

HOTEL AFRICA GN VOL 02 (OF 4)

IMMORAL DARKNESS NOVEL

JADE OF BANGO GN VOL 01 (OF 7)

JUXTAPOZ VOL 15 #8 AUG 2008

KNIGHTS GN VOL 01 (OF 2)

KUJIBIKI UNBALANCE GN VOL 01

ME & THE DEVIL BLUES GN VOL 01 UNREAL LIFE ROBERT JOHNSON

NOVA TP VOL 02 KNOWHERE

PARASYTE GN VOL 04 (OF 8)

PATHOS GN VOL 01 (OF 2)

POPGUN GN VOL 02

SERPO GN

SHIKI TSUKAI GN VOL 03

SILVER SURFER TP REQUIEM

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES TP VOL 08

STEAL MOON GN VOL 01 (OF 2)

STYLE SCHOOL TP VOL 02

THOR BY J MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI TP VOL 01

TOKYO ZOMBIE SC

TOTO GN VOL 02

TSUBASA GN VOL 18

WALLFLOWER GN VOL 16

WORLD OF WARCRAFT 2009 16 MONTH WALL CALENDAR

YEN PLUS MAGAZINE #1 AUG 2008

ZAREGOTO NOVEL BOOK 01 KUBIKIRI CYCLE

ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE DECK

San Diego Comic Con New Books & Other News.

First off, let me say sorry for not posting anything new since last week. Just got back from Comic-Con in San Diego a few hours ago and without going into any detail, I am happy to report that a lot of cool stuff is coming our way very shortly. I will post details of new artbooks and more as they arrive.

I also hope to post some photos of some of the folks we met there, as well as make some exciting announcements over the next little while.

I know, I know. I am such a tease! Stay tuned.

MANGA REVIEWS - Spiral Bonds Reasoning and Prince of Tennis

Starting this week, this blog will feature Manga reviews by one of our manga experts. Expect new reviews roughly every week or every other week. Please feel free to leave your own feedback about the books, both if you agree or disagree with us. The goal with these reviews is to help you better decide what you might want to read from the sea of books out there.



Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning V4
Narumi Ayumu has many puzzles facing him at the moment: is his older brother, Narumi Kiyotaka alive or dead? Will he ever remove himself from his older brother's shadow? What is the purpose of the Blade Children? Will he be able to save them? Before he presses on however, he is in a direct challenge to save his classmate and partner in crime Hiyono from certain death at the hands of Blade Children Rio and Kousuke... Shirodaira Kyo and Mizuno Eita, with one part skill the other part fun, successfully bring together mystery, teenage angst, suspense and problem solving skills to this series. At turns vulnerable, humourous with plot twists to keep one guessing; the read can not help but root for 'Narumi Junior' to solve ALL the mysteries in his life before the manga series draws to a close.



Prince of Tennis V26
Konomi Takeshi had me hooked from volume one of this series, and if you haven't started yet, it is never too late to jump on the bandwagon!! Echizen Ryoma was raised by his father, also known as the 'Samurai Nanjiro', to be the best tennis player in the world!!! (Or at the very least to become an excellent challenge in their personal battle on the tennis court...) This leads the cocky and arrogant twelve year old to join the Seishun Academy Middle School Tennis Team and be a key player in the team's journey to the Nationals! In volume 26, the reader Echizen and Seishun on their quest, during the Singles Match 1 of the Kanto Regional Tournament, Echizen faces his toughest opponent yet in Rikkai's Sanada "The Emperor" Genichiro. Will Echizen's journey to self actualization help him achieve victory? Or will Sanada's Fuu Rin Ka Zan stop him in his tracks?
Although Echizen is the main character, entertaining and appealing supporting characters with their boyish charms, combined with too good to be true tennis techniques gives Prince of Tennis universal appeal with guys and girls alike.

RAGNAR SYMPTOMATICA + Ballistic Books IN STOCK

Arrived Today!

Symptomatica is the newest artbook by that fabulous artist Ragnar. We also got in restock copies of his two kids books 'got your nose' and 'izzy's very important job'


Elemental 3 features the worlds best autodesk artists - and as usual the book features a ton of great location shots.

Digital Painting 2 slipcase edition is finally here too! check it out in store now/


Animus is not new, but we finally got some back in stock. Its a wonderful book by Seonna Hong. For those who don't already know, she's married to another great artist: Tim BisKup (Gamma Go artist)

CHRIS SANDERS NEW BOOK

Just got word tonight that Chris Sanders will be releasing a new book at comic-con. No specific details -but if you go on his blog (link below), it looks like it could be a collection of his Kiskaloo cartoon strips (possibly with a sketchbook section? we still don't know, but here's hoping!.) Again, for those of you who haven't gotten a chance to read Chris's wonderful strip Kiskaloo, check out the link below.

We at the Labyrinth, love Chris's work and if everything goes well, we hope to make arrangements to carry the new book. Once we know for sure, we'll post on the topic again.

fyi: limited copies of Chris's first and 2nd sketchbooks are still available in store.

here's the link:
http://www.chrissandersart.com/www/blog.php

PONYO ON THE CLIFF - NEW FILM BY MIYAZAKI

Just released in Japan, the newest film from Director Hayao Miyazaki.





and here's the theme song sung in a lovely variety show format. It's soo cute!



as a matter of comparing theme songs, here's the one for Totoro.


and while you're thinking about Totoro -here are a couple of fan videos.(in case you haven't guessed, Totoro is my favourite Miyazaki film, even though they are all great.)



here's the totoro them song, variety style with a little girl playing piano, while more small girls dance in variety style. their parents must be so proud.



and to end things off - here's a guitar tribute to the totoro theme.

WATCHMEN TRAILER

A tip to Brent for finding this one. New Watchmen trailer -might be shown in front of Batman Dark Knight.

CAMERON STEWART SKETCHBOOK IS COMING

In our last post regarding new sketchbooks we forgot to mention one important new book - the Art of Cameron Stewart. Cameron is a local comic book artist who has worked extensively for DC comics. His new graphic novel Apocalipstix (from Oni) is coming out next week, and shortly after that you should be able to get a hold of this hot baby from us too!

To see more of Cameron's work go to:
http://cameronstewart.blogspot.com/

ARRIVING WEDNESDAY JULY 22

WOW - NEXT WEDNESDAY PROMISES TO BE A REAL KILLER!

The first trend to notice is ANTHOLOGIES. Next we got Cameron Stewart's and Ray Fawkes Apocalipstix. These guys are Toronto Based and their new book from Oni is very exciting. The next trend is the Ashely Wood Trifecta: World War Robot, Metal Gear Solid collected and a new editioin of the complete Popbot with extra stuff!

Finally - PLEASE DON'T OVERLOOK SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN. 68 Million years in the making - one of the coolest comics ever is finally complete and all in one massive volume.

Flight 5 - Features a bunch of talented animators, illustrators, including several canucks! Here's a partial list: Michel Gagne, Kazu Kibuishi, Kean Soo, Paul Rivoche, Svetlana Chmakova, Sarah Mensinga, and tons more..

Scud the complete works: What if you were a disposable assassin and you found out that if you killed your target, you would expire? Well, if you are Scud, the answer is not so simple. Find out the whole story in this very, very big book.


Local Creators make good - new from Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart!


The Art of Witchblade featuring a cover by what looks like Toronto Native Francis J Manipul. Tons of artists inside. We expect to see work by : the late, great Michael Turner, Keu Cha, Marc Silvestri and tons more!


The Complete Metal Gear Solid Sons of Liberty - for those who don't want to be bothered with two seperate trades -here's one fat one for you.

Curious Devices: features an interantional group of contemporary artists including: H.R.Giger, Ashely Wood, Stephane Halleux, Viktor Koen, Christopher Conte, Gregory Brotherton, Mike Libby, Nemo Gould and many others. The book features images from the exhbit by Device Gallery of 'Fantastic Contraptions'


COMIC BOOK TATTOO is another one of those cool anthologies I mentioned. This time featuring over 80 creators from every style and genre. What binds these stories together is that they all are inspired by the songs of Tori Amos. Features an intro by Neil Gaiman.

How to Love is a funny collection of stories by the artists of Actus Independent Comics. What makes it interesting is its exploration of some of the more unconventional facts of love. Features 6 provacative stories by: Rutu Modan (whose graphic novel Exit Wounds was named best GN of the year by Entertainment Weekly), Mira Friedmann, Itzik Rennert, Yirmi Pinkus and Batia Kolton.


Scrambled Ink! Is the latest comic anthology by animators. Ok -so you know about Flight (varied assortment of animators and artists) and Afterworks (by Pixar artists) and Out of the Picture (by Blue Sky artists) - well now there's a book by the awesome artists at Dreamworks. We're not surprised this is coming out. Last year at comic con we met a ton of folks from Dreamworks over at comic-con and it was clear these guys needed their own book.


WORLD WAR ROBOT. ASHELY WOOD. 'NUFF SAID!



Yam #1 -All ages Silent story! We loved the free comic book day sample and we really can't wait for this one.





HERE'S THE COMPLETE LIST:

ANITA BLAKE VH GUILTY PLEASURES HC VOL 02

APOCALIPSTIX VOL 1 GN

ARMY @ LOVE TP VOL 02 GENERATION PWNED

ART OF WITCHBLADE

AUTHORITY PRIME TP

BERSERK TP VOL 24

BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #186

COMIC BOOK TATTOO HC

COMIC BOOK TATTOO SC

COMPLETE METAL GEAR SOLID SONS OF LIBERTY TP

COMPLETE POPBOT TP

COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE TP

COURTNEY CRUMRIN VOL 2 COVEN OF MYSTICS TP

DEVICE SC VOL 01

DIANA PRINCE WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 02

DRAGONLANCE TP VOL 04 DRAGONS SPRING DAWNING 2

FLIGHT GN VOL 05

GIRL GENIUS TP VOL 07 AGATHA & VOICE O/T CASTLE

GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY ROAD TO THE ALTAR TP

HOW TO LOVE HC

JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #142

KITTY PRYDE AND WOLVERINE PREM HC

KORGI GN VOL 02 COSMIC COLLECTOR

LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 11 WESTERN CIRCUS

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS TP VOL 01

MAINTENANCE TP VOL 03

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 09 DIGEST

MEATHAUS SOS TP

MINI MARVELS TP VOL 01 ROCK PAPER SCISSORS DIGEST

MODERN MASTERS SC VOL 18 JOHN ROMITA JR

OUR GANG SC VOL 03

RED SONJA TP VOL 04

SCHOOL RUMBLE GN VOL 10

SCRAMBLED INK HC (C: 0-1-2)

SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN THE WHOLE SHEBANG TP

SPOOKS TP VOL 01

TERMINATOR INFINITY TP VOL 01

TSUBASA GN VOL 18

WORLD WAR ROBOT TP

WORLDS OF HP LOVECRAFT TP VOL 01

X-MEN TP ENDANGERED SPECIES

YAM TP

D'ARTISTE DIGITAL PAINTING 2, ELEMENTAL 3 FROM BALLISTIC

Expected in store next week! D'Artiste Digital Painting 2 features tons of great art and learning opportunites. Elemental 3 features the worlds best art done with autodesk (3dsmax). Tons of other Ballistic books in store now.