Well, the AICN comics gang have put up their holiday wish lists and there’s some really neat stuff up. You can see the picks by going here. I’d submitted my picks for the holidays as well but it looks like my submissions got lost in the ether somewhere. Oh, well…defecation occurs, I guess.
So for anyone who cares, here are my holiday shopping picks for your comic book nerd. Have a great holiday season!
THOR: WALT SIMONSON OMNIBUS: Wanna read some of the best Thor comics ever? I mean EVER? Well, here they are. Yes, this collection’s been out for a while now but if you’ve got a nerd in your life who loved or even liked the Thor movie and wants to know more about the character this is the purchase for you. These are the Thor tales that rocked the Marvel Universe and set the bar for the character that no one’s been able to reach since. No, not even Straczynski. It’s true Odindammit! These are the greatest Thor tales ever told and Walt Simonson rocks Asgard as only Ragnarock should be able to. A must for any geek Christmas!
MILK AND CHEESE: DAIRY PRODUCTS GONE BAD: A carton of hate! A wedge of spite! Evan Dorkin’s classic comedy of chaos is finally released in a hardcover version and these comics are as hysterical as they were when they were first published! You need this for your loved ones this X-Mas! Buy it or you will hate yourself…or risk your comic geek hating you for not buying it for them! Celebrate in Dorkin’s mad genius this Christmastime! MERV GRIFFIN!!!
FANTASTIC FOUR JOHN BYRNE OMNIBUS VOLUME 1: Forget the crappy movies! THIS is the Fantastic Four that I remember loving as a kid and this collection is a cornucopia of love for John Byrne’s work on the FF. This is a mammoth collection that does Byrne complete justice and beautifully reproduces pretty much every tiny bit of FF related work JB ever touched. If you were ever a John Byrne fan you will love this book and if you are fan of comics that just aim to entertain you will love this as well. Discover why John Byrne’s run is second only to Lee and Kirby’s. Worth every penny of the purchase price and more!
NEW TEEN TITANS OMNIBUS VOL. 1: Do you love George Perez? Do you love Marv Wolfman? Sure you do! Then you want this essential gigantic collection of their early work together on another comic title that changed the DC universe and comics in general way before Crisis on Infinite Earths ever happened. This book is the template for everything that’s come since in the DCU. This series made DC grow up and take notice that characterization mattered even when it came to heroes in spandex. This is more superhero fun than you can shake a stick at and it comes packed with some extra little bonuses that will make any Teen Titans fan happy!
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOL. 1: It is finally here! A giant and terrifically reproduced collection of the first TMNT comics! I don’t think these have been reprinted for a very long time but even if they had I don’t think any previous edition could match the amount of care that was put into this re-issue. I was never really a big fan of TMNT but I’d always been curious about it. While this hasn’t made me a fan of the brand, it has made me a huge fan of this early run TMNT comics and Eastman and Laird in particular. A must for any geek who ever was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan!
THE ROCKETEER BLU-RAY: When I found out about this coming to Blu-Ray I just about pooped myself! Sure, it’s not the best “superhero” movie ever but it is a lovingly detailed cinematic tribute to Dave Stevens’s fantastic Rocketeer comics. I’d rented the DVD of this right before going to see Captain America(being that they are both by the same Director)this summer and the aspect ratio was off for my widescreen TV and the sound quality wasn’t great as it channeled through my surround system. But now with this Blu-Ray I fully expect to once again be wowed by the nostalgic adventures of everyone’s favorite Rocket Man Cliff Secord. Can’t wait for this!
ANDREW LOOMIS: FIGURE DRAWING FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: I reviewed this book a while ago. You can check out my review by clicking here. There’s not much more that I can say about it now. The only thing that I will say is that if you have a budding artist in your family you must, must get them this for Christmas! It would be a crime not to. A must buy for people wanting to learn to draw or improve on being able to draw the human figure. Highest recommendation.
And last but by no means least… the thing I personally would love to get this holiday season…
THE HAMMER VAULT: I have no idea what’s in this book. What I do know is that it’s supposed to be full of old school horror Hammer movie studio goodness and I, personally, love that stuff! If Titan Books’s previous releases about Hammer Studios are any indication then this baby’s going to be a whopper. Make sure you get a copy while they’re still available as Titan’s Hammer horror books seem to disappear and re-appear from being available on Amazon at random intervals. If I ever get one you will have to pry it from MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
