Graphic novels make a great holiday gift for anyone that loves comics, or for the more adventurous non-comics reader in your life. Here's my list of can't miss gifts that they'll thank you for this holiday season.
The Education of Hopey Glass by Jaime Hernandez [Fantagraphics Books]
This was my choice for graphic novel of the year, and its beautiful production values and astonishingly good storytelling make it a book that just about anyone would love to receive as a gift. Buy The Education of Hopey Glass from Amazon.com.
Good-Bye by Yoshihiro Tatsumi [Drawn and Quarterly]
If you have a mature manga-lover on your holiday shopping list, they would love this, or any of Tatsumi's extraordinary hardcovers published by Drawn and Quarterly. Tatsumi's tales are dark and political, and sometimes shocking, but they're beautifully produced and provide an amazing reading experience. Buy Good-Bye from Amazon.com.
Marvel Chronicle by Tom Defalco, Peter Sanderson and others [DK Press]
This mammoth, month-by-month guide to Marvel's history will keep the superhero reader on your list busy for months, and frequently checking back to see what month and year the Fantastic Four first took flight, or when John Byrne inherited Uncanny X-Men from Dave Cockrum. Packaged in a lavishly illustrated, heavy-duty box with two art prints, Marvel Chronicle will bring a smile to any superhero fan's face. Buy Marvel Chronicle from Amazon.com.
Ghost World: The Special Edition by Daniel Clowes [Fantagraphics Books]
I don't know anyone who loves comics who doesn't hold Ghost World in the highest regard. It's a brilliantly timeless tale of uniquely American restlessness, focusing on two teenage girls on the brink of adulthood. Fantagraphics released the definitive edition in a gorgeous hardcover this year, the perfect gift for existing Ghost World fans, or anyone else, for that matter. Buy Ghost World: The Special Edition from Amazon.com.
Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko by Blake Bell [Fantagraphics Books]
Steve Ditko is one of the top five North American comics creators ever, a unique voice in comics who has never been equalled or even imitated. If all you know if his Spider-Man, there's much, much more to Ditko's story. This handsome coffee-table art book tells that story and provides hundreds of examples of Ditko's singular, obsessive linework. Buy Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko from Amazon.com.
Watching the Watchmen by Dave Gibbons [Titan Books]
The artist of comics' most celebrated superhero graphic novel goes deeper into the creation of the work than anyone could ever have imagined possible, in a hardcover coffee-table art book that will provide days of fascinating reading and more art than anyone could possibly absorb in one sitting. Gibbons's Watchmen art has always been appealing, and this gorgeously-presented book marries it to glimpses of Alan Moore's scripts and tons of thumbnail drawings showing you how the meticulously-planned pages came to life. Buy Watching the Watchmen from Amazon.com.
Kramers Ergot #7 [Buenaventura Press]
And finally, here's what to get for ME. It's way out of my budget, and way out of most people's, but if you are feeling wealthy and generous this year, this anthology featuring virtually every comics creator of note circa 2008 CE is the gift of the year. If not the decade. Previous volumes of Kramers Ergot have shown editor Sammy Harkham getting more and more adventurous in his choices and style of presentation, and this volume amps that trend up to the ultimate level.
Cartoonists contributing strips to Kramers Ergot #7 include Al Columbia, C. Tyler, Chris Ware, Jaime Hernandez, Daniel Clowes, Mat Brinkman, Kim Deitch, Anders
Nilsen, Adrian Tomine, and Joost Swarte. At 16 by 21 inches, it'll be one of the biggest presents under the tree, but anyone who loves great comics and isn't making a Bill Gates-level paycheck will thank you for it.
It comes with a hefty $125.00 (US) pricetag, but many comics retailers offer a discount and Amazon.com does, as well, plus, if you order right now, Amazon is also offering free shipping. Given the size of this beast, that's a great deal. Buy Kramers Ergot #7 from Amazon.com.
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I'm Alan David Doane, husband and father of two. I've been a radio broadcaster since 1985 and a writer about comics and graphic novels since the mid-1990s. I created and maintain the website Comic Book Galaxy, which first debuted 1 September 2000, and I have written The ADD Blog for Comic Book Galaxy since 2002. I am also a contributing writer for The Comics Journal, and the former reviews editor for Silver Bullet Comic Books (now Comics Bulletin).
I've also contributed editorial material for Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures collection from Avatar Press and consulted with other creators and publishers on a number of projects.
See more of my iTaggit blog posts. |
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