Elfsar Comics & Toys Blog

Your invited to the Yaletown Street party Friday night and Saturday day.

On Friday August 8^th:

We will have DJ Leanne & ZUZU, with Hip Hop performances by Harbour Centre Squad between 5-7pm on our street.

(This is sponsored by Heineken) http://www.ihnglobal.com/banner/Yaletown_video.html

Also at Elfsar, starting at 5pm on Friday meet artist Jordan Oliwa who will be signing his 2 new books (SINS OF GONZO NATION & STICK N PUCK THE RINK RAT CHRONICLES) available at Elfsar. Other Artists scheduled to appear are Robert Valley (MASSIVE SWERVE VOL 1 & VOL 2), Robin Mitchell (ART OF ROBIN MITCHELL VOL 1 & 2) and artist/writer Steven Sanderson (DARKNESS CALLS)

Take part of our SALE as well (*details listed below)

On Saturday August 9^th:

We will have a Fun in the Sun Block party, 12 noon - 4pm, with performances by DJ Joel West, games prizes and sidewalk specials all along our street.

This is in conjunction with the Femsport Street Party, 11am -6pm at Hamilton and Nelson, where elite woman athletes will be competing for the first time in Yaletown. (Think She-Hulk vs Wonder Woman)

• The Toonie Store will be providing Balloons
• DJ Joel is booked to play from noon to 4pm
• A zodiac prize wheel will be available and you can winrandom gifts from all the different businesses on the 1000 block (Including Elfsar)
• CIBC willofferinga caricature artist to do your portrait
• Hamilton Street Grill will have an oyster shucking extravaganza
• Elfsar will have a large 2 day sale and host a comic book artist signing on both Friday & Saturday
• EQ3 will have a special sale
• Van Pet will hand out treats (you may want to give these to your pet or small children)
• TD will have a table, with pamphlets and other goodies (I’m guessing cookies)
• BMO is going to hand out water bottles (Stay Hydrated)
• Flesh is going to have a sale (They sell underwear folks so stop the jokes now)

*SALE DETAILS: Elfsar will have a sale all day long on both Friday (10:30-9pm) and Saturday (11:00-6pm).  Buy 2 get 1 FREE on all Graphic Novels.   50% OFF on all Back Issues and Variant Incentive Covers, 20% OFF on all other merchandise (Toys, Models, Posters, T-Shirts…etc.)

Note some exceptions apply and sale does not include consignment items.

This sale only happens a couple times a year, so come on down to Yaletown to take advantage and have some fun during the process.

********************************************************

IMPORTANT ORDERING REMINDER!
-Did you get your June order in?  They are due this Thursday the 26th!
Did you forget to look through this month’s Previews Catalogue?
Tisk, Tisk… but never fear, Elfbytes http://www.elfsar.com/Elfbytes%20Articles/Elfbytes.htm is here!
Not sure yet about a series, give us a chance to help you decide. You can find this months review here:
http://www.elfsar.com/Elfbytes%20Articles/June_2008.htm

********************************************************
WANTED MOVIE ADVANCE SCREENING!
Anyone who has a saver file at Elfsar and buys a WANTED TP, will get 2 advance tickets for the upcoming film Wanted.  Yes, before you ask this means we are not saving these for anyone.  Quantities are limited and are on a first come first serve basis. 

********************************************************
YALETOWN SUMMER BLOCK PARTY
This Friday and Saturday there will be a party on the streets of Yaletown.  You can find more info here:  http://www.yaletowninfo.com/events/blockparties.aspx

Other events include:
July 20, 2008 - OUTDOOR SCI-FI MOVIE NIGHT IN THE PARK
July 19, 2008 - VANCOUVER COMIC JAM!
July  6, 2008 - HERITAGE HALL SHOW!
July  1, 2008 - YALETOWN GRAND PRIX
********************************************************

We at Elfsar Comics & Toys are big believers in being proactive and spreading the word that comics are a truly a unique form of entertainment and that our medium that we love so much is constantly reinventing itself.  Although, the evolution of the comic book art form is changing almost every year, certain elements of what makes up a good story essentially remains the same.  These elements share a common ground with novels, movies and even video games.  We are working everyday to spread our infectious love for comics and we believe nothing seems to spread it more than Free Comic Book Day (FCBD).

It is now one month after FCBD 2008 and I have had time to reflect on the day itself.  FCBD has been the most successful event that Elfsar hosts and 2008 proved to be no different as we greatly exceeded our expectations. On May 3rd, Elfsar Comics & Toys gave away over 8,000 comics to a count of over 800 people within only 8 hours.  But we did not stop there.  We made a large impact on our community by raising food and money for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. (The result was an overflowing amount of over 3 times of what we generated the previous year).

To get the word out about FCBD we did everything that we had done in previous years by sending out media kits, mailing flyers, posting interior and exterior posters, using bag stuffers, posting on message boards, providing additional info via our website, Myspace & Facebook, and most importantly had staff tell everyone who came into our location about the event (starting roughly 2 months in advance). 

But just like last year there was a missed opportunity with the “Marvel Marketing Machine” and the traditional superhero movie that has annually been linked to FCBD.  It is disappointing that one of our industries top publishers still made no attempt to link the premiere of Iron Man to FCBD, even if just for the one day before (May 3^rd).  Unlike the premiere of Spider-Man 3, this time we were better prepared and took on the responsibility ourselves to get the word out about our annual international geek holiday.

We felt compelled to reach out to our local theatre in downtown Vancouver where two things stood out to provide a fantastic amount of exposure for our store and FCBD/fundraiser. First, Elfsar participated with the pre-screening event that was held on Wednesday, April 30^th where we set up multiple signs and a table promoting the FCBD event. (These signs and table were up until the end of day May 3^rd) We donated prizes to be given away and had a crew there on the night of the prescreening telling the public about what FCBD was and what we were doing for the fundraiser for the Greater Vancouver Foodbank.  We provided flyers telling the public the same information and organized the theater hand them out after each screening of “Iron Man” up until late afternoon on May 3^rd. 

Second, we also created a coupon that was given out on FCBD from our store location that was for a free draw to win a $250.00 Shopping Spree at Elfsar Comics & Toys.  All the public had to do was drop off the coupon at the Scotiabank theatre, thus providing an effective bounceback promotion that the theatre was very pleased with.  Although we were disappointed in Marvel for the lack of any mention of FCBD, It did not hurt that “Iron Man” was truly a fantastic film and that Marvel had released two new well written Iron Man comics (Invincible Iron Man & Iron Man Viva Las Vegas) that the newly inspired public could jump onto.

The FCBD day itself was not only a celebration of comics or to shine the spotlight on what we do; it was also an opportunity to throw a mini in-store-convention for the public.  This year, we had artist Steven Sadowski (Avengers/Invaders, Project Superpowers) doing free sketches and giving fans a sneak peek at some of his future work. We also had donations from Team Epic (a Toronto based free webisodes site) and the Vancouver based Zeroes 2 Heroes also known as the Peoples Publisher.  What convention would be complete without costumes?  We had several costumed Superheroes & Villains who were on hand all day,  we had a store-wide Buy 2 get 1 free sale, Heroclix gaming demos & tournaments, raffles, charity food drive…etc. All of this, made it more than about just giving a free comic away.  FCBD at Elfsar was an experience.  I personally can not fathom or understand how a few other stores seem to participate year after year simply out of a sense of obligation and not embrace the fact that this is the best time to shine. 

Anyone who came to visit Elfsar on May 3^rd got to select from five different comics and for those who also donated to the Vancouver Food bank were allowed to select an extra 5 plus have access to our selected private backstock which consisted of selected books that we felt truly represented good comics.

The number of new faces and the amount of children that came out to this year’s event made it all worthwhile. It is a month later and we are still seeing the benefits from FCBD as we continue to see the number of returning faces grow.  I still don’t understand how anyone would purposely choose to skip this event.  Whether you are a creator, publisher, retailer, collector, reader or fan, we feel everyone should love comics and as an event it is an especially momentous experience.  Speaking as a retailer, just the amount of return visits and the number of people who have recently joined our monthly file saver program alone has been staggering. Equally surprising was the amount of web traffic this event has generated for us.  In the future, I would like to see more product tie-ins jump on board FCBD. It would be nice to see more toys, novelties, games, posters…etc.

My only complaint was with the 2008 FCBD promotional bags.  Don’t get me wrong, the bags themselves are great and the advertising of FCBD on them is highly effective. But this year’s bags only promoted the event on only one side.  (The 2007 FCBD bags had promoted on both sides) Instead, this year’s bags had advertising for the New York Comic Con & New York Anime Festival. Being on the west coast; this was something that I feel we did not benefit from, yet paid for.  Promoting the San Diego Comic Con I guess I could understand, however I still feel a little cheated.  As a retailer, I paid for the bags in full with the intention of promoting FCBD and not the NYCC. If the price was being slightly covered by the New York City Comic Con than I could understand, however the FCBD bags were never solicited as such and the price was not less than the ones offered for the 2007 event.  So I feel that I only got a little more than half the value of what I paid for.  Mind you, a bag is still a bag and my disappointment is not with the function of them.

Regardless, FCBD 2008 was the biggest success for us to date and we look forward to FCBD 2009!

If you would like to see more pictures from our 2008 FCBD event CLICK HERE. Or Join our Facebook Group HERE. To See our short FCBD video CLICK HERE.

-Ethan Peacock

ELFSAR COLLECTION LTD.

WINNER OF THE ELFSAR $250.00 SHOPPING SPREE WAS:

Thomas Tan!

- Here is a list of what he bought with his winnings:

GREEN LANTERN NO FEAR TP,
GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH TP,
GREEN LANTERN CORPS VOL 1 TO BE A LANTERN TP,
GREEN LANTERN CORPS RECHARGE TP,
GREEN LANTERN CORPS VOL 2 THE DARK SIDE OF GREEN TP,
WONDER WOMAN PLASTIC BUST BANK,
SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 SPIDEY STRIKES BACK DIGEST TP,
QEE 2.5 INCH SERIES 3 OXOP VINYL FIGURE,
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS TP,
DETECTIVE COMICS #844,
DETECTIVE COMICS #843,
BATMAN FACE THE FACE TP,
SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT TP,
MOUSE GUARD FALL 1152 TP,
HELLBOY ANIMATED MAGNET LOBSTER JOHNSON,
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #21,
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20,All that & he had enough left over for even a pack of JUICY FRUIT GUM!

 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FCBD 2008 RAFFLE WINNERS!

See more updates from the day here: http://www.elfsar.com/FCBD/FCBD_2008.htm

Man, this is sad news. …this reminds me of river phoenix …who died at 23.   In a world full of all the Lindsy Lohans, Britney Spears this poor chap overdoses.  Sooo sad.  I hope this was an accident and not suicide.   I personally feel that anyone who takes there own life via suicide is a coward and a selfish individual. 

I never met the man so It’s hard to say.
Click Here

It is confirmed that he overdosed with Alcohol and he was found naked with pills around him.   He was in Ashley Olsen’s (Olsen twins) room in California.  That must have been some party.

I wonder if it had anything to do with his bad break up with Michelle Williams.
They had a kid together and he made it public that he felt she was his soul mate.

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news.html

Now Batman the Dark Knight film has legendary status like The Crow did with Brandon Lee.  Difference is they finished Batman before he died.  I guess there’s no hope for the Joker to return in a  sequel.

December 13th, 14th & 15th
December 20th, 21st & 22nd
6 glittering days from noon ‘til 6 pm

Elfsar is proud to announce that the Yaletown Business Improvement Association is hosting the Yaletown Gift Wrap Centre for Charity this year.  For six glittering days from noon ‘til six pm, volunteer elves - direct from the North Pole - will be at the Yaletown BIA office to wrap up your holiday presents by donation.  All monies raised will be donated to the Empty Stocking Fund and Yaletown House, right here in the neighbourhood.  The Yaletown BIA office is conveniently located at the corner of Hamilton and Drake.  Call the Yaletown BIA office at 604-683-7473 or email projects@yaletowninfo.com if you need more info.

Okay, I just wanted to let everyone know about a new Art Course being offered thru the U of A.

Painting in Italy
Department of Art and Design

Division of Painting, University of Alberta

PRE ENROLLING NOW

-check it out on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6034169149&ref=share

Students who do not attend the University of Alberta are more than welcome to come along and request transfer credits from home institutions.
This is a Study Abroad 6 credit Fine Arts Credit option in the BFA program at the U of A, taught by a Senior Full Professor

Spring Session 2008
6 Credits Art 337/437/537
Special Projects
Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced studies of Painting in watercolour from Italian subjects led by Professor Graham Peacock
His c.v. can be found at grahampeacock.com Peacock is a well know abstract painter who teaches BFA and MFA students in all media who has also painted watercolour for many years.

To apply, send an e-mail to peacock@shawbiz.ca, along with application form and other required documents (found below). If you have any questions or want information about the program, e-mail Prof. Peacock at the same address.

Vico Equense, on the Gulf of Naples, Near the Sorrento, Amalfi coast
From May 5th to June 13rd 2008. Approx. $70 a day for hotel, breakfast and full course evening meal. Visit Pompei , Herculaneum, Naples and the towns of the Amalfitan coast, experience the art, architecture and sites of Southern Italy. (This is a six week course, even though facebook only allows 31 day events. Please ignore the start and end date. May 5th - June 13 is correct) Total costs for hotel ,meals , excursions, course fees and flight will be round $5500 to $6000 depending on the cost of your flight.

Instruction in principles of painting in water colour, from various subjects, including seascape, landscape, cityscapes, still life, figure, architecture and antiquities will be provided according to the student’s interests and level of study. Special reference will be made, through 12 days of excursions and museum study, to paintings from Italian subjects and the nature of the ‘painting sketch’ as a means of recording. Further development of these studies into full sheet works will take place at the hotel/studios. Students will paint from the landscape, antiquities and museums in the surroundings on Vico Equense, near Sorrento and Naples in Southern Italy, where they will live and work in a hotel with ocean views and balconies from which to paint. Students will gain exposure to the, art, culture and language of Southern Italy and work alongside students studying Italian with Professor Verdicchio from the U of A’s, Department of Modern Languages, who will be our guide on the area excursions.

See also www.hoteloriente.it, the hotel students will stay and work at. Also see photos below.

See this group to look at pictures from last year:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2412758879

And spread the word about the course to your friends!

Send questions to peacock@shawbiz.ca , or to receive more information.

_________________________________

APPLICATION FORM

Painting in, Italy Spring Session 2008
University of Alberta, Department of Art and Design, Division of Painting

6 Credits Art 337/437/537 Special Projects, May 5 - June 13
Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced studies of Painting in watercolur from Italian subjects led by Professor Graham Peacock

Name Student ID #
Address

Contact Phone Numbers E- Mail

Present Program of Study, year and Institution (if not the U of A please provide a transcript)—————————————————————————————
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Present Art experience, courses taken. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Portfolio provided (submit a portfolio of not less than 20 works which show your involvement with painting and drawing. List works, slides, c.d., or dates medium and sizes (students currently in enrolled in studio classes at the U of A may simply request a studio visit to fulfil this requirement)

Please select and circle one of the following Art 357 Art 437 Art 537 courses you wish to enrol in
NB These special project classes are full credit classes but they cannot be used to satisfy any prerequisite requirements in the department of art and design at the University of Alberta but they can count as a full course Fine Arts Credit.

I hereby grant you permission obtain a reference from my instructors and I grant permission if accepted for you to use my name, photos and email in group emails
———– please initial if you agree

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
I have reviewed the above applicant and hereby approve the above applicant to enrol in Spring Session 2006 to be held in Vico Equense, Italy from May 5 to June 13.

Introductory, Art 337

Intermediate Art 437

Advanced studies Art 537

__________________________________

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Painting in Italy
Application Procedure and Registration information
Information on the course being offered will appear in the Fall. Applications for places can be made as soon as the course is so announced. Places are limited and PRE EROLLMENT ( instructors approval begins in October and continues until February when enrollments are processed) Students who do not qualify will be informed as soon as possible following application.

STEP ONE
Read all the information provided and indicate your ability to meet the financial requirements, Fees, Hotel, Flight, Excursions approx. $6000. Consider whether you fit the profile in the NOTE on page 2. Indicate that you wish to enrol by filling out the Application form and submitting it to Professor Graham Peacock,peacock@shawbiz.ca Department of Art and Design, 3- 98 Fine Arts Building, U of A Campus Edmonton T6G 2C9.
All accepted students must also sign a university study abroad waiver of responsibility prior to enrolment.

STEP TWO
PORTFOLIO
This course is open to begginner painters at the Art 337 level. Appitude to take the course can be shown in any form of artwork. Submit a portfolio of work containing a minimum of 20 examples of your work. Ideally this would show your ability in painting and drawing at the proposed level of study. This can be done by CD or as a low res. attachment by email or my viewing of an actual portfolio. The later may be requested if the electronic images are hard to interpret. A list of works, title date size and media is also required with electronic or CD submissions.
Applicants, who cannot be interviewed in person with their work, should include a c.v. bio. and or a letter giving their background and a statement as to why you wish to take this course and why you feel you would be a good candidate for study abroad.

Ideally the portfolio should contain painting, which demonstrates your range and command of varied palettes of colour ideally with analytical and expressive studies in painting media of any description. Send me what you have and i will advise you. peacock@shawbiz.ca

STEP THREE
The instructor will review your application, portfolio and may consult with your previous or present instructors to determine your artistic ability and suitability for study abroad in such a course. Where an interview can be conducted a meeting will be arranged usually at the same time as the viewing of your work. A phone interview may also take place. You will be notified of the final decision by email that one of the following has occurred

a) You are accepted by the instructor for registration at the level of course desired.
b) You are accepted by the instructor for registration at the lower level of course
c) You are on a waiting list. You will be notified before Registration, February 2008 whether a space becomes available
d) You are unfortunately not accepted.

For u of a students, a copy of your acceptance will be provided to the department programs officer, who will then begin to process your application and ready it for registration on the first day of Special Sessions registration. (February 2008) There will be no need for you to do this in person providing you have met all the registration requirements for admission and enrolment.

For non U of A Students you will be able to register as Open Studies Students online at www.ualberta.ca when Spring Session registration opens in February 15.

UPON ACCEPTANCES STUDENTS ARE ASKED TO SIGN THE UNIVERSITY’S WAIVER OF LIABILITY FORM AND PAY THE 300 EURO EXCURSION FEE TO HOLD THEIR PLACE

STEP FOUR
NB departmental approval and acceptance by the U of A entrance requirements must be met over and above the instructor’s acceptance. All students, including those on the waiting list should determine their university entrance eligibility by contacting their program advisor or the registrar’s office and be prepared to register on the first day of Spring Session Registration. Applicant’s who are approved by the instructor will have their places held until they have fulfilled the universities entrance or registration requirements or have been denied enrolment and have exhausted their appeals, if any. By the end of March Special Sessions, the University department that runs Spring and Summer courses, indicates the confirmation that the class will be offered, based on enrolment.
As soon as possible any waiting list applicants will be offered any places that are available or notified otherwise.
I attempt to pre enroll enough applicants starting in the Fall so that the class will be fully enrolled and offered. http://www.registrar.ualberta.ca/

NOTE
Italy is not like Canada! Students need to be able to travel by car, live in shared accommodation, cope with a new language, new food and working in a close community instructional and social environment. It is important that participants are self reliant, able to adjust to new circumstances and have strong social skills. They must be co- operative individuals who intent to make a contribution to the success of the class. Classes are supervised time but outside class students are essentially independent, guests at the hotel and must be able to take responsibility for themselves.

This class will run alongside an Italian Language class with U of A students studying 2nd. year Italian and cultural studies in English, so there may well be language assisted exchanges and activities outside class. Professor Verdicchio, who will be instructing these Italian classes, is from Naples and has taught in Vico for the past ten years. He will have excellent advice and be able to provide assistance if and when necessary. Professor Peacock is also able to converse in Italian.
The Italaian Language Second Year and Italian liturature in English are also course options.

Entrance to this class is necessarily a competition based on the calibre of the portfolio and on the interview, references, grades and applicants bio and application letter. Students from the U of A have the advantage of access to the instructor and having their work known to him, but some places will be held and made available to students from other institutions, if possible. Hopefully students from other universites,colleges and countries will apply to compliment the make up of the class and widen its perspective for all. EARLY APPLICATION IS ADVISED AS PLACES ARE LIMITED.

MATERIALS
A materials list will be provided. Materials can also be obtained in Naples should we run short of supplies but it is necessary to arrive equipped to work as Naples in a 40 minute train ride away and we have a very busy schedule.

Thank you for your interest in this course of study. I wish you success with your application. Please ask your instructors advice in your selection of work.

The starro attacks event continues at Elfsar.

STARRO ATTACKS AT ELFSAR! -September 20th - October 19th!

Check out the forum on Mysterious-Stranger.

Starro Attacks: Week 1 on September 20th

Starro Attacks: Week 2 on September 27th

Starro Attacks: Week 3 on October 4th

Starro Attacks: Week 4 on October 11th

Starro Attacks: Week 5 CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT on October 19th

Find out more here:

http://www.mysterious-stranger.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1243

************************************

Those who do not know -  the 24 hour comic book day coming up on October 20th-21st.

24 Hour Comics Day is a time when people get together and make a comic book in 24 hours.  It is supported now around the world and often hosted by various Local Comic Book Stores. We are the only store that does it in BC.  (which is a shame in my opinion)

Newsamara has more on it here with a full list of all the LCS hosting events:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=130251

Check and see if you can join in this year. It is very good fun and an experience that you will never forget as you learn a lot about yourself doing it! Check out the 24hr Comics Day website here:

http://24hourcomics.com/

Check out what is happening at Elfsar here:

http://www.elfsar.com/24HCD/24HourComicDay.htm

Join the event on Facebook here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6333106001

************************************

Like always we will be celebrating Halloween at Elfsar.  We do more than just candy and for those who dress up as comic book characters always get the good stuff  ;).

This year Devils Night falls on New Comic Book Day (Wednesday) so although we may not be able to host a costume contest, fear not, we will still feature your great costumes on our website.

Check out the 2006 event here:

http://www.elfsar.com/Events/vancouver_halloween_2006.htm

Check out the 2005 event here:

http://www.elfsar.com/Events/Vancouver_Halloween_Contest.htm

********************************