No matter the tastes of the geek on your list, there is something for everyone below. Use the handy AMAZON PRIME links or take a walk to your local comic shop! Find one near you at comicshoplocator.com
The Art Fanatic:
Dark Horse Comics HELLBOY: INTO THE SILENT SEA, co-written by legendary Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, co-written and illustrated by Eisner Award winning artist Gary Gianni and colored by award winning colorist Dave Stewart. Our friendly neighborhood “Right Hand Of Doom”, Hellboy sets sail from the wreckage of the a deserted island featured in The Island. Is immediately taken captive by the phantom crew of a ghost ship of doomed sailors led by a ruthless Ahab-like captain in pursuit of his own “white whale”.
Inkpot & Eisner award winner Geof Darrow’s The Shaolin Cowboy: Who’ll Stop the Reign?. Written & illustrated by Darrow & colored by Eisner Award- winner Dave Stewart. An action packed tale of bloody revenge.
The Book Lover:
THE WENDY PROJECT (Super Genius/Papercutz / 96 pages / color / everywhere books are sold / $12.99 pbk) The graphic novel debut of actress, screenwriter and creator Melissa Jane Osborne and Featuring artist Veronica Fish (Archie, SLAM!), THE WENDY PROJECT J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan retold through the extraordinary story of a girl named Wendy who survives a car crash with gaps in her memory, and tragedy that may or may not be real. Cleverly, the actual book is written as Wendy’s Journal she’s instructed to create by her Psychiatrist. A composition note book doodled on and raw with the trauma and revelations of a young girl struggling.
Magnificent work!
Everyone Wanting to Discover The Next BKV:
Writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Tyler Boss 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK is the darkly comedic coming-of- age story of four burgeoning child criminals vs. a crew group of bumbling has been criminals looking for “one last score”.
Rosenberg and Boss pull off a seamless collaboration that celebrates favorite, cultural touchstones THE GODFATHER, STAR WARS, SCARFACE, the films of Wes Anderson, Sidney Lumet and Quentin Tarantino.
The Horror Fan:
Papercutz’s Super Genius imprint brings writer David Gallaher’s (The Only Living Boy) Harvey Award for Best Online Series, HIGH MOON into one volume! A unique western and horror genre mash-up I’ve written about previously as Molly Crabapple said, “With werewolves, gunslingers, and the sumptuous artwork of Steve Ellis, HIGH MOON will change everything you thought you knew about the Old West.”
For Kids:
Papercutz GUMBY: 50 SHADES OF CLAY featuring acclaimed cartoonists offering their unique take on the magical world of Gumby and his pony pal Pokey.
The LOTR Completionist:
Flora of Middle Earth: Plants of Tolkien’s Legendarium (Oxford,), botanist Walter Judd gives an account of every plant species found in Tolkien’s Middle Earth. complete with the etymology of the plant’s name, a discussion of its significance within Tolkien’s work, a description of the plant’s distribution and ecology, and an original hand-drawn illustration by artist Graham Judd in the style of a woodcut print. The clear, comprehensive alphabetical listing of each species, along with the visual identification key of the plant drawings, adds to the reader’s understanding and appreciation of the Tolkien canon.
The Music Lover:
Mondo & Z2 Comics are releasing a limited edition MURDER BALLADS this December. The graphic novel and original soundtrack 10″ vinyl record release by bluesman Robert Finley and Grammy-Award winner Dan Auerbach. The MURDER BALLADS Original Soundtrack features Finley and Auerbach’s cover of the classic Leadbelly song “In the Pines” and four original songs created specifically by Finley and Auerbach to accompany MURDER BALLADS along with “Bang Bang,”“Butter Sandwich”, “The Empty Arms” and “Three Jumpers.”
This critically acclaimed rock’n’roll noir graphic novel about the music industry and redemption by writer Gabe Soria and artists Paul Reinwand and Chris Hunt. The MURDER BALLADS graphic novel from Z2 Comics retails for $24.95 and will include downloadable codes to the original soundtrack.
The Limited Edition MURDER BALLADS Original Soundtrack and Graphic Novel from Mondo retails for $200 and features original album cover art by Jon Langford.
From mondotees.com
Dark Horse Comics #1 New York Times Bestseller – The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story Graphic novel. I spoke in depth with Author & Tony Award-winning Broadway Producer Vivek J. Tiwary (Green Day’s American Idiot) about the expanded edition, his personal story and how Art can change the world.
“I wanted to know how did he get them a record deal when every single British label had turned them down? How did he come up the suits and the haircuts? Knowing my history I knew a British band had never made an impact in the United States prior to the Beatles so how did Brian convince Ed Sullivan to book them? These are the questions that I was chasing and I got those answers and they were inspiring and exciting and interesting, but as I became friends with these people I also learned about Brian’s personal life.”
He eventually covered this personal side of Brian’s story, which he found deeply inspiring and resonant.
“He was Gay and Jewish from Liverpool. It’s a felony to be gay in the U.K. Anti-Semitism was rampant in the country and Liverpool prior to the Beatles was a port town without any cultural significance. I don’t want to suggest I had a remotely the obstacles in my life that Brian faced, but I’m a first-generation American, my background goes back to India, I figured If a Gay Jewish kid from Liverpool could bring the world the Beatles, why couldn’t a weirdo Indian immigrant from the Lower East Side write comic books and produce Broadway musicals?”
You can read more of my interview here.
This is a MUST OWN for Beatles fans & those like me that always root for underdogs!
The Raver
Paul Oakenfold is one of the progenitors of electronic music, a platinum selling artist and of one the greatest DJ’s of all time, and now he’s telling the “not quite true” story of his life with his first ever book, a graphic novel. Oakenfold is collaborating with a roster of renowned indie graphic novel artists, including Tyler Boss (4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Chris Hunt (Carver), Ian McGinty (Welcome to Showside) and Koren Shadmi (The Abaddon) for THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PERFECTO: WITH PAUL OAKENFOLD AND FRIENDS, Oakenfold is composing an original soundtrack which will only be available with the purchase of the graphic novel.
The RPG Fan:
Devastator, America’s only all-humor press, has created an officially licensed role playing game (RPG) based on the classic comedy film WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER.
Approved by WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER co-writer and director David Wain, WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER: FANTASY CAMP is an old school tabletop RPG that allows fans to play as a camper, counselor or staffer, such as Coop, Beth or Gene, and experience one insane day at Camp Firewood. Hump a fridge, end up at a secret pizza party, or save the camp from a renegade piece of Skylab, just like in the original film!
The Super Hero Fan:
What if only Black people had superpowers?
This is the premise of BLACK, Co-created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith III, illustrated by Inkpot-Award winning artist Jamal Igle, and featuring a cover by illustrator Khary Randolph. BLACK follows the story of a young man, who, having miraculously survived being shot by police, learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history.
Writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston captivated readers and critics alike with their “sad, dark, and brilliant”* creator owned superhero saga BLACK HAMMER, which follows the forgotten champions of Spiral City long after the age of heroes has passed.
The Tom Hanks Fan:
From the comedic minds of Will Tracy (Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, The Onion), Gabe Koplowitz (VICELAND), and acclaimed international artist Miguel Porto comes the original graphic novel
“The Fatheads who wrote ALLEN, SON OF HELLCOCK don’t laugh at jokes. No. They listen, then nod their heads, sagely, and make comments like ‘ah, yes. That is quite funny’ and ‘I see what you are doing, verbally, with the use of outrage-e-osity vis-a-vis logic.’ They make up words like ‘outrage-e-osity’! Honestly! I have no time for any of them…” — Tom Hanks
You get washed-up sorcerers and swordsmen, terrifying horse-donkeys, sensitive ogres, cynical blob-men, ornery minotaur landlords, an exceedingly polite retired despot, a black-hearted but oddly lovable villain, an idealistic young woman who’s the only one with any brains, and a would-be warrior who can’t seem to escape his own hackneyed destiny . . . But mostly, it’s a story about a boy and his father. See, living in the shadow of your father’s legacy can be a tough thing, especially if your dad was the mightiest warrior to ever live.
This is only a sampling of the offerings to choose from! It’s a banner year for small comic companies, you can’t go wrong with the publishers listed so have at it!
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Art Credit – listed publishers