Gift guide 2009
December 23, 2009 | Trades
With a whopping two shopping days until Christmas, now would seem to be the appropriate time for JPK Comics’ ultimate last-minute shopping guide for that comic book fan on your list (and shame on you for not buying for them first!).
Fables: The Deluxe Edition — Book One
Bill Willingham, Lan Medina, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Craig Hamilton
Vertigo/DC Comics
$37.99/$29.99 US (Hardcover)
The characters from all your favourite childhood fairy tales live among us — the good and the bad. And you’re sure to be surprised which is which.
The winner of a whopping 12 Eisner Awards (comics’ version of the Oscars), Fables has been spellbinding since its debut — the first 10 issues of which get the over-sized, bonus-packed treatment here — and the unfolding mystery of why beings like Snow White, Goldilocks and the Big Bad Wolf are living in New York City and not a land far, far away make for a truly compelling read.
Tom Strong: The Deluxe Edition — Book One
Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse
Wildstorm/DC Comics
$49.99/$39.99 US (Hardcover)
The debut adventures of the buff-yet-cerebral hero of Millennium City pack the pages of this wondrous throwback superhero book penned by comic master, Alan Moore.
The first of three oversized volumes collecting the entire 36-issue series sees Tom work alongside his wife, Dhalua; daughter, Tesla; the intelligent ape, King Solomon; and Pneuman, the robotic butler to stop the threats of the Modular Man, techno-Aztecs, Ingrid Weiss and the Aryan Angels and the nefarious Paul Saveen.
Also featured are a wild-west adventure, trips to outer space, the dawn of time and… Funnyland?!
Saga Of The Swamp Thing — Book Two
Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, John Totleben
Vertigo/DC Comics
$29.99/$24.99 US (Hardcover)
He’s learned he was never Dr. Alec Holland, lost his mind (then found it again) and finally accepted the fact he’s a hulking green pile of moss and roots.
In this second swanky hardcover collection of Swamp Thing by Alan Moore and artists Stephen Bissette and John Totleben, the organic avenger must lay his past to rest and prepare for the terrifying return of his deadliest foe — a battle that leads to a trip to Hell in the name of love and eventually to “Rite of Spring” — the most romantic and visually spectacular single comic book ever published.
Bomb Queen Omnibust Vol. 1
Jimmie Robinson
Image Comics
$34.99 US (Hardcover)
Jimmie Robinson takes the old hypothetical: “What if the bad guys won?” and runs with it (through the gutter, an adult video store and several Sam Peckinpah and Quentin Tarantino flicks) in this collection of the uproarious and over-the-top adventures of the vivacious and villainous Bomb Queen.
This 328-page powder keg unleashes the full force of the first three Bomb Queen miniseries: Woman of Mass Destruction, Dirty Bomb and Bombshell — all packed with gratuitous nudity, violence and gore as the hero/villain of New Port City blasts her way through enemies, lovers and pretty much anything else that gets in her way.
Locas II: Maggie, Hopey & Ray
Jaime Hernandez
Fantagraphics Books
$39.99 US (Hardcover)
Jaime Hernandez’s crazy women are back and better than ever.
Margarita (Maggie) Chascarrillo and Esperanza (Hopey) Glass are older, wiser and more mature — as is their creator — in this colossal 416-page collection continuing to explore the thought-provoking and visceral lives of these friends and former lovers and their California town.
Featuring some of the most exceptional examples of Jaime’s transcendent black-and-white art, Locas II is truly worth savouring.
Hellboy Library Vol. 3
Mike Mignola
Dark Horse Books
$49.95 US (Hardcover)
It’s the end of an era and the beginning of a dark new one for the Big Red Dude.
This phenomenal library-quality compendium includes work previously contained in the Conqueror Worm and Strange Places trade paperbacks and features Hellboy’s final adventure with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.) and his first meeting with fan-favourite hero, Lobster Johnson.
Throw in an intro by Hellboy film director Guillermo Del Toro and an incredible sketchbook by creator Mike Mignola and you’ve got a near-perfect package.
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