Friday, December 14, 2007

HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE :: Baron Daniel Von Egidy Humbly Submits--

Kids Comics For Everyone!
I think one of my biggest discoveries this year was how incredibly good kid’s comics actually are. So for those 4-7 year olds I suggest Owly. No words, so if your kid can’t read yet, he can still be fully immersed in the story. For the young man superhero fan the Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man collections are inexpensive for the adult buyer and great fun for the kid reader. The Best of Archie in the… decades collections I think can be admired by anybody. In particular the collections focusing on the 50’s and 60’s which has beautiful, crisp cartooning to be admired by the connoisseurs and family-friendly stories for the rest, because its Archie and that’s what Archie does.

Bang for Your Buck: Essentials and Showcases
These massive black and white reprints are probably the best way to pick up old comics. Without the color you can see just how clear, crisp, and concise these classic artist were and you can get 500+ pages ranging from $10 to $17 and that’s awesome. On the "Essential" side of things I gotta go with Essential Iron Fist, Essential Ghost Rider Vol.1, and Essential Tomb of Dracula Vol.1-3. These are the funnest in the fun of 70’s comics and feature work by Gene Colan, John Byrne, and Mike Ploog that is just spectacular.

"Showcase" wise I’ll say they offer a greater variety of genre. Showcase Presents: Sgt. Rock for war comics (and Joe Kubert), Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex for western stuff, Showcase Presents: Adam Strange for 50’s sci-fi, and Showcase Presents: Legion of Superheroes for superhero adventure. These are all appropriate for kids but there are some darker themes in the Jonah Hex, Tomb of Dracula and Ghost Rider comics, so you parents should look through them first to see if they're appropriate for you and yours.

Across the Board:
For Teens:
Runaways Digest
For the Old School Fan: Spider-Man Visionaries: Robert Stern Vol.1 or Captain America: War and Remembrance
For the Kid Who Wants to Draw Comics: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
For the Fan with a Lot of Money to Blow: Absolute New Frontier
For the Oddballs: Punisher War Journal Vol.1 or Nextwave Vol.1-2

For Mature Readers Only
For the Manga Fan Who Is Ready To Make A Financial Commitment:
Lone Wolf and Cub
For the Fan Who's Looking for Something Really Different (But Can’t Put Their Finger On What): Cerebus. Try the High Society book at the very least.
For History Buffs: Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner
For the Hopeless Romantic: Apollo’s Song
For the No-Goodniks: Criminal Vol.1 or Scalped Vol.1
For the Widely Read Person: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (I enjoyed it and I’m thinly read!)

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