Fresh Comics

323 College Street
Toronto, ON M5T 1S2

Past Events

April 14, 2019: Ruby’s Birds Signing

Little Island Comics is thrilled to welcome artist Claudia Davila to the store on Sunday, April 14th from 3-5PM, to help celebrate the launch of her book with writer Mya Thompson, RUBY’S BIRDS!

March 17, 2019: The Wind Plays Tricks Signing

Artist Charlene Chua appears at Little Island Comics on Sunday, March 17, 2019 at 1 PM to sign her new book THE WIND PLAYS TRICKS!

This all-ages friendly event will include some light refreshments, a chance for kids to draw along with the artist, a Q&A and to get your brand new copies of The Wind Plays Tricks signed!

March 10, 2018 to March 18, 2018: Little Island Comics Grand Re-Opening

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), or check back here on the Little Island blog regularly!

Aug. 13, 2016: Bera The One-Headed Troll Signing

Little Island Comics is happy to welcome Eric Orchard to the shop for the launch of his new young-readers graphic novel Bera The One-Headed Troll on Saturday, August 13th at noon! Eric is one of our favourite Canadian comic creators, and one we were lucky enough to host for a celebration of his previous book, Maddy Kettle: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch, and at long last he’s got a new book for us to celebrate!

Fans old and new are welcome to come to the launch, which will feature a presentation by Eric as well as drawing activities for kids. We will also have some of Eric’s Maddy Kettle art on display, showing off just what his lush artwork looks like before it’s printed as a book!