Toronto is a Comic Book Town!!

This year, Vanguard features not just one, but TWO comic book-related films, Zoom and The Missing Girl!  As much as Toronto is known as a film-loving town, it has a ton of love for the graphic arts as well. So, on your way to your next screening, stop into some of Toronto’s best places for all your comic book related needs!

If you’re headed up Yonge Street from the Ryerson, the Elgin Visa Screening Room, Winter Garden:
Yonge Street has so much to offer! At Silver Snail, you can grab some coffee at the Black Canary Espresso Bar in the store while looking for your latest issue. Or up the street, you can shop comics, games, and more at One Million Comix and Next Move Games. Keep an eye open for Matt Hansen, the writer of Zoom, who stops in for his weekly fix!

• One Million Comix and Next Move Games: 531 Yonge St, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1Z2
• Silver Snail and Black Canary Espresso Bar: 329 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M5B 1R7

If you’re near The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema or Isabel Bader:
The Annex is really where it’s at in the way of comic book finds! First up is Labyrinth Comics is a collector’s friend with a wide variety of comic books, related items, cards, and much more. Though not necessarily a comic book store, I’d be negligent if I failed to mention the amazing used comics collection available at the Bloor Street BMV—sure, look at all the other books, but scour the thousands of back issues in their upstairs section!

• Labyrinth Comics: 86 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1X4
• BMV: 471 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1X9

And now we come to The Beguiling. Don’t be afraid if you get lost in this store that is overflowing with the best collection of comic book art books around—you won’t be the first to lose time submerged in their stacks, and you won’t be the last! Stop in on the other side of the block at their little sister store, Little Island Comics, and pick something up for the kids in your life—or, go ahead and just get something for yourself at the first store in North America to cater exclusively to the young comic book enthusiast. And, if at all possible, plan on coming back to town for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May—organized by Beguiling’s staff and the help of the Toronto Public Library system, TCAF has made a name for itself in a few short years as one of the best independent comic arts festivals and attached librarian and educators conference all in the name of promoting visual literacy and comic book culture. If you can’t make, at the very least, you should check out their year-round shop on the main floor of the Toronto Reference Library, Page & Panel.

• The Beguiling: 601 Markham St, Toronto, ON M6G 2L7
• Little Island Comics: 742 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5S 2R6
• Page & Panel: 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 2G8
• Toronto Comic Arts Festival 

If you are looking to get away from the festival frenzy:
The above are just a small taste of what Toronto has to offer in the way of comics. If you need to get away from the hustle and bustle for a bit, check out the following places and explore a little more of the this comics-and-film-loving town! One of my first stops when I get to Toronto is the amazing Comic Book Lounge + Gallery.

• Comic Book Lounge + Gallery: 484 Oriole Parkway, Toronto, ON M5P 2H8
• Red Nails II: 1700 Wilson Ave, North York, ON M3L 1B2 and 18 Jane St, York, ON M6S 3Y2, Canada
• Atomic Age Comics: 497 Pape Av, Toronto, ON M4K 3R1
• Paradise Comics: 3278 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4N 2L6
• Excalibur Comics: 3030 Bloor St W, Etobicoke, ON M8X 1C4

But whatever you do, be sure to make your way to the screenings of Zoom and The Missing Girl!

Zoom screens:
Tues, Sept 15, 10:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Wed, Sept 16, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK

The Missing Girl screens:
Sun, Sept 13, 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK
Tues, Sept 15, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Sun, Sept 20, 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK

THE MISSING GIRL and ZOOM: Comic Books on Film and Films on Comic Books

The cinematic and sequential arts have grown up together over the past century, so it is no wonder that movies and comic books make quite the team! Superhero blockbusters and graphic novel cinematic adaptations seem to be everywhere these days!

But not all movies about comic books feature the characters and stories from the books. Comic book culture and all the people who make, sell, and appreciate comic books have also found their way in to film. This year, Vanguard features two films that touch on the other side of comics: Zoom and The Missing Girl. As an added bonus, these films use the format of comics—drawings, frames, speech bubbles—to tell their story.

There aren’t many films who fit this unique concept, so if Zoom and The Missing Girl pique your interest, here’s a few other films “about comic books, but that aren’t based on them” for you to check out:

Unbreakable: In M. Night Shyamalan’s directorial follow-up to The Sixth Sense, we see David Dunn (Bruce Willis) as a man who, with the help of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), comes to the realization that he is a kind of real-life superhero. Price, who runs a high-end comic art gallery, expounds on the ideals and tropes of comic book characters, noting that for every strong man superhero, there is a villain willing to put him to the test.

Chasing Amy: A part of Kevin Smith’s View Askew Universe—a comic book concept in itself—Chasing Amy is the story of Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) are the artist and inker (aka “tracer”) of the Bluntman and Chronic comic book series. While at a convention, Holden meets and falls for Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams) another comic creator. The characters learn about one another and about themselves…all of which winds up as the story of Holden’s final book, Chasing Amy—a meta moment tripled in this year’s Zoom!

Cool World: Directed by comic book artist Ralph Bakshi, Cool World is the sees the comic book reality flip inside out as comic strip beauty, Holli Would (Kim Basinger), seduces her creator (Gabriel Byrne), who literally falls head first into the drawn world of his own creation.  Inspired by this comic book noir film, The Missing Girl features a cameo of some of Bakshi’s original artwork.

Artists and Models: Speaking of inspiration, in the 1955 Lewis and Martin classic comedy, Eugene Fullstack (Jerry Lewis) loves comic books but is haunted by the nightmares they inspire. His roommate Rick Todd (Dean Martin), a struggling artist uses the dreams as inspiration for comic books! With Eva Gabor and Shirley MacLaine as the artist models and love interests, this is definitely one to check out!

The Missing Girl screens:
Sun, Sept 13, 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK
Tues, Sept 15, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Sun, Sept 20, 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK

Zoom screens:
Tues, Sept 15, 10:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Wed, Sept 16, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK


ZOOM: First Look and Stills

Set in multiple countries, from the perspective of multiple characters, Zoom is a multi-dimensional story told in a multi-format film. That is a lot of “multis”!  

From Brazilian director, Pedro Morelli, and Canadian writer, Matt Hansen, Zoom promises to be a full-fledged mental onslaught! It follows the connected stories of a comic book artist telling a story about a filmmaker, a filmmaker telling a story about a novelist, and a novelist telling a story about a comic book artist. It’s going to be a spiraling ride of action, sex, and humor. 

Just check out the following still of the always delightful Allison Pill playing comic book artist, Emma, and the above glimpse of rotoscoped Gael Garcia Bernal as filmmaker, Edward, in the animated portion of the film! 

Zoom screens:
Tues, Sept 15, 10:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Wed, Sept 16, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK