It’s getting close to Chrimbus time again and folks are getting frisky! Those of you who survived black Friday (which incidentally strikes me as the best time to practice your cudgel wielding skills as preparation for the zombie apocalypse) are probably now fretting and pacing about your home making lists and checking them thrice when suddenly you hit an impasse. That dude or girl in your circle of friends who loves comic books. What to do?
Settle down dude! It’s gonna be okay, it’s just Christmas not the ice age (gee!). Look, I’m here to help. First off, you can just ask. No really. Just ask you friend what they’d like. But if you want to try to surprise them, you could try something unusual. Like …
The DC comics encyclopedia! Does your friend like DC comics (hint: that’s the comics with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman etc)? This gift will keep a DC fan busy for weeks! Just be prepared to hear all sorts of trivia spouting forth from your geeky friends afterwards. “Did you know…”
On the marvel side (that’s the Spider-Man, X-Men and Iron Man one), you could try something like The Marvel Visionaries books. Each one highlights the career of different talented artists and scripters who worked for Marvel.
Other ideas could include items related to comic books which aren’t comics. Like the Walking Dead board game maybe? Or perhaps uber popular Arkham City video game? Or maybe a wicked cool t-shirt!
Do you know what your friends favorite character is? Well you could maybe buy an omnibus collection for that character. Omnibi are over-sized hardcover reprints of popular storyline. They often include additional materials such as sketches, reprints of original art and so on. A great display piece.
Finally, if you want to splurge on your comic x-mas present, try some vintage comics or some pieces of original comic art. Trust me, you’re going to spend a pretty penny on these but you’ll also have the pleasure of seeing your friend do a happy dance and maybe faint like a wimp on the couch.
So go shopping at a local comic shop or on line. Who knows you might find you enjoy comics too.
Im still playing the first arkham, after it sat on the shelf for a year in shrink wrap. But would love some original art pieces.
I’d love some original art from Cowan’s Question run. But it doesn’t need to be for Christmas. I’ll take any time of year. 😀
