Read It Again

I was in fifth or sixth grade when Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen hit comic shops. I knew it was a big deal from listening to the buzz at Best of Both Worlds, my long-lost but never-forgotten Haight Street hangout.

I dutifully purchased every issue, even encasing number one with its iconic blood-in-the-gutter cover in a mylar sleeve. (seventy-five cents! for a plastic envelope? my mom would have killed me) And I'm pretty sure I read every issue... just as I'm pretty sure I glossed over all the text pieces at the end of each issue. But I'm positive I didn't understand what the hell was going on. A twelve year old kid understands what makes Secret Wars II so cool (although even at that age I knew there was something embarrassing about the Beyonder in a mullet and white jumpsuit), but as for who was watching the Watchmen... and why I should care? No clue.

Towards the end of my eighth grade year I had to veto my mom's educentric gift-giving tradition when it came time to pick something out for Mr. Matthews, our math and science teacher and all-around cool (some might say career-inspiring) guy . A pack of highliters or set of stationery might have been fine for Sister Therese Martin, but no way was Bob Matthews getting saddled with some lame, perfectly-forgettable pedagogical present. I wanted to get him a comic book. Barely a teenager and my Read More Comics! crusade had already begun.

What I wanted to buy him was Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. That was a book I had read, fostering my first ever crush on back issue bins in relentless pursuit of old Miller Daredevils. But I remember thinking it was maybe too violent... or inappropriate in some way... at least to give to my favorite middle school teacher. So I opted for the newly-published trade edition of a comic featuring rape, murder, and child abduction, all lovingly woven into a tapestry of Cold War apocalypse. The hell did I know? I didn't actually read the damn thing.

So for the last few weeks of school, every chance he got, Mr. Matthews stopped me as I was leaving class and talked Watchmen with me. How incredible it was to read a superhero story like this! How intricate it was! How prescient! He shared theories with me as to who killed the Comedian but, wait wait -- don't tell me! (Don't worry. I had no idea.) And I nodded along, happy that he liked it, agreeing with every compliment. Wow! This book must be really good!

Even then I was too much of an obsessive collector to risk damaging the original issues, so I bought my own copy of the trade. Twenty bucks was a big deal back then, but if I ever ran into my old teacher I wanted to be able to say something back. Of course I remember getting you The Watchmen! Yeah... I just re-read it myself. Great, yeah?

So as a high school freshman I gave it my first real read... and then again in college. (That second perusal was the first time, I think, that I actually read the text pieces.)

And I read it again yesterday. Obviously the movie was a motivating factor, and yes, I too am excited that Ensign Crusher approves, but really I wanted to read it for the same reason I read it that first time. I mean the real first time. The book is selling millions of copies and it's getting people who wouldn't otherwise read comics to dip their toes into the medium. And with any luck, even if the movie isn't as good as Wesley says, the book will open eyes, counter preconceptions, and create some converts to the cause. So read it again. Or read it for the first time. The real first time.

A Chat with Spider-Man

Last week I had the privilege and very good fortune to speak with Jeri Colpitts, an actor who spent an incredible twenty-three years portraying the Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel's personal appearance program, beginning in 1978. Jeri has had marvelous first-hand experiences inside this industry, throughout the 80s boom and into the present-day, getting to know Stan Lee, members of the famous Marvel bullpen, and avid fans around the world. He shared some of his stories and photos with me, making me feel like a kid on his first trip to Disneyland. I hope to have the opportunity to share as many of these anecdotes and experiences as I can, but first, I'll republish the column I wrote for the winter '09 issue of the Idle Times zine:

SPIDER-MAN REVEALED!
A conversation with Jeri Colpitts, the Man behind Marvel’s Main Mask

1978 was an important year in comic book history: Will Eisner introduced the world to the graphic novel with A Contract With God, direct market comic specialty stores started popping up around the country, and Jim Shooter took over the reins as Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics.

Less newsworthy at the time, 1978 also saw the birth of Marvel’s Personal Appearance Program: live actors in spandex representing some of Marvel’s more popular characters on hand for a variety of media events.

One of the very first actors hired for this fledgling program was Jeri Colpitts, a twenty-two year old theater graduate from the University of Maine. Upon arriving in New York City, Jeri adopted the stage name Jeremy Stuart, the name by which he was known for his entire 23-year career as the most iconic and most popular character in the company’s history: The Amazing Spider-Man.

“For the first nine or ten years Marvel kept me very busy, flying me all over the country,” Jeri explains. “I was opening toy stores, appearing at malls. I’m proud to say I was probably the most recognizable figure in the Macy’s Parade for a number of years.”

The industry boomed in the 1980s, and along with the rise in Marvel’s popularity came a number of more high-profile events for their signature spokesperson. In 1987, to coincide with the release of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, the highly-publicized wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, a capacity crowd of 53,000 Mets fans was treated to a live wedding at Shea Stadium. Jeri, in Spidey-formalwear complete with tie and tails courtesy of well-known NYC designer Willi Smith, was married to a Mary Jane-lookalike by none other than Stan “The Man” Lee. “All the Marvel characters were on hand. Captain America was my best man.” Stan sealed the deal (with this ring I thee web) “and the crowd went crazy.”

When Marvel went public in 1991, Jeri made an unprecedented appearance at the New York Stock Exchange, climbing down the wall to ring the opening bell. Despite practicing for several days prior, Jeri remembers that “heart-in-the-throat feeling. It’s like taking the stage on opening night: you’re nervous, and you know this could go in any direction, but that’s part of the constant thrill of being a performer.”

Unlike, say, a Disneyland character actor, Marvel’s live heroes spoke to their audiences, and Jeri was given a lot of freedom over the years to write his own speeches and dialogues. “It usually involved recycling the expected cheesy remarks: ‘This job has me climbing the walls,’” but it also meant that Jeri was able to embark on more meaningful campaigns, including an elementary school tour in partnership with the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. Coinciding with the release of a special edition comic book addressing the issue, Jeri had the opportunity to speak to thousands of kids in schools and hospitals around the country. “There was a lot of buzz and excitement about this project, and we really did some extraordinary things. I really am very proud of the program.”

Jeri wore the webs for over two decades, and the energy he generated portraying the character was, well, nothing short of amazing. “In traveling with Stan [Lee] over the years we’d often talk about what makes this guy so magic.” Here was a real hometown hero, a guy from New York City, “not Metropolis or Gotham. It was the realistic bent that Stan insisted on.”

This aspect of Spider-Man’s character has, of course, created a very passionate fanbase, and Jeri took on the role, each and every time, with the requisite great responsibility (thanks, Uncle Ben). “My attitude was to always treat everyone as a best friend I hadn’t seen in a while, because they sure know me.” Whether leading tours through the famous Marvel Bullpen, or stopping traffic on the streets of New York City, Jeri’s alter-ego elicited constant smiles, thumbs-up, and photo ops. “This character means so much to so many people. It was such a joy to absorb all that enthusiasm.”

Personally, it was a joy and a privilege to have the opportunity to speak with Jeri. Every story, every anecdote, recanted from a life spent as a central figure in this beloved medium turns me into a wide-eyed attention-rapt little kid all over again, and I look forward to further conversations with the Man Behind the Mask. We warmly welcome Jeri into Idle Time’s extended family, excited that he has already embraced one of our signature mantras. In the words of patron saint Wayne Coyne, “Enthusiasm can save the world.” Enthusiasm, and the proportionate speed, strength, and agility of a spider, natch.

- MDG

Spidey at the '89 Macy's Parade: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wc5l91No2gM&feature=related
The Wedding! http://youtube.com/watch?v=UQwslg6lat8

Bringing Back the Golden Age

The Golden Age of Comics -- generally regarded as beginning in the thirties and continuing through the fifties -- birthed the modern superhero as we know it. Many of the "Golden Greats" are still prevalent in comicdom today. DC's main stable of heroes, including Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; along with heroes from publishers that were later absorbed by DC, like All-American's Wonder Woman and Fawcett's Captain Marvel, are icons that debuted during this comic book boom. Marvel revived some of its Golden Age heroes too, like Captain America and the Sub-Mariner, published originally in the 40's under Marvel's former identity as Timely Comics.

But this is still just a fraction of the Golden Age's legacy of adventure and imagination. Rocketing out of the pulp traditions of mystery, romance, and science fiction, the comics of the day reflected a variety of genres and characters, from the mystical buddhist power of the Green Lama to the shadowy investigations of Witness. Many of these characters were reincorporated into modern continuity, particularly at DC, where an entire universe of Golden Age characters has been the focus of the Justice Society of America for some time (including an excellent current run written by Geoff Johns).

Even more recently, three projects have garnered critical praise for bringing back long-forgotten company-owned and public domain superheroes from decades past. Dynamite Entertainment is publishing Alex Ross and Jim Krueger's Project Superpowers, a limited series that tells of the revival of a number of Golden Age heroes, including Black Terror and Fighting Yank. The initial storyline is currently available in hardcover and will ship in paperback ($19.95) at the end of this month. Come for the Ross covers and new character designs; stay for the engaging plot developments. The team behind Kingdom Come and Justice can do more than just paint a pretty picture.

Over at Marvel, long-time Spider-Man writer and Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski leads a revival of obscure (some appeared in but a handful of comics in the 1940s) Timely heroes in The Twelve. The premise here is that the heroes were captured and cryogenically frozen by the Nazis during the war... and have been thawed out in the 21st century. Hijinks! JMS takes what would otherwise be ridiculously-campy War-era castoffs (like Laughing Mask and Rockman) and drives them through an entertaining modern rendition of the classic pulp serials -- twelve chapters featuring twelve characters, all woven together in this "Thrilling Novel of Tomorrow." The first six issues have been collected in a hardcover edition ($24.99) with a paperback due in March.

Maybe the most exciting Golden Age revival (and the point of this blog in the first place), is Jeff Parker and Leonard Kirk's outstanding Agents of Atlas, finally available (as of last week) in trade paperback ($24.99). The 2006 series brings a number of Atlas Comics characters (Marvel's identity in the 1950s) together for the first time since a brief appearance in a 1978 issue of What If? Badass Jimmy Woo's team takes on the fiendish Yellow Claw in a sci-fi-tinged capes-n-tights mystery staunchly rooted in modern mainstream Marvel U. In fact, later this month, Agents of Atlas launches as a regular series: what better way to combat the Dark Reign than with a killer robot, talking gorilla, and orphaned Uranian? Grab the trade and get up to speed.

One of the best things about the collected edition is the inclusion of gorgeous Golden Age reprints, including stories from such atomically-charged whizbangs as Menace, Men's Adventures, and Marvel Mystery Comics. Pulp-tastic!

Comics have come a long way since their inception, and there's no discounting the modern quality of writing, art, and innovation. But when modern creators can successfully tell an entertaining story while simultaneously paying homage to their Golden ancestry -- especially by mining unfamiliar ground -- the result is something truly special. You don't have to be a comic book aficionado to appreciate the revival, any more than you need to be abreast of cinematic history to appreciate what Steven Spielberg was trying to do in each of the Indiana Jones films. Admit it. You liked Temple of Doom.

Let's All Go Incognito

Look at their names all big, bold, and grayscale. Like a movie marquee. These guys are fucking celebrities. And in case you haven't read anything by Brubaker and Sean Phillips yet (something like Sleeper or Criminal), then understand: these guys are comic book celebrities, of the first order. And your first order is to eat up every goddam thing these two are involved with before they get lured away by TV or movies or freaking video games I guess... one of the many visual literary media that pays a helluva lot better than the comics industry. And then maybe, just maybe, these cats will keep churning out one amazing four-color rag after another and the world will be that much closer to its realization as an idyllic land of free Wi-Fi and rampant funnybook aficionados.

So, today, Friday the 2nd of January in freshly-hatched 2009 (or any subsequent day I suppose... just don't dawdle), run over to your nearest comic shop and pick up the first issue of the new Brubaker & Phillips jam: Incognito. Zack Overkill is a former supervillain in witness protection. He turned his former boss Black Death over to the feds years ago and has been sedated with powers-suppressing medication ever since. Or has he..?

Make it a New Year's Resolution, my friends: Read More Comics. I'm here to help. And start by helping yourself to the year's first really exciting new book. Also includes a pretty great article on the pulp history of The Shadow.

Now What..?

DC's Vertigo imprint has been called "the HBO of comics" and I can think of no more fitting comparison. [Apparently it was Vertigo editor Karen Berger who made the statement, but I'm not going to fault her pride in her company's product for the astute remark.] Vertigo's greatest achievements can't fit into a single self-contained graphic novel any more than the impact of The Wire can be felt in a two-hour feature-length film. And unlike traditional serials, these stories have a finite plotlife, unfolding in episodic fashion. You know The Sopranos is going to end eventually, but that doesn't mean you want it to. Every installment is an entertaining story in its own right, part of a broader epic that keeps viewers/readers coming back for more.

Of course, once these titles have reached their conclusion, you're left wondering... now what? Recently the last of the three greatest Vertigo series reached its memorable conclusion. So now that you've finished reading every volume of Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher, and Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man, you need something to fill the void.

Enter Scalped, the work of American writer Jason Aaron and Serbian artist R. M. Guéra. Many Vertigo titles have excited me over the last year or so (and I'll undoubtedly be blogging about them at some point), but none have elicited that same can't-wait-to-see-what-happens-next feeling produced by the aforementioned comics. Except this one. I have to thank James Sime, proprietor of Isotope comics lounge in San Francisco for insisting that I pick up a book that, admittedly, failed to draw my interest based on subject matter alone.

The story follows undercover FBI agent Dashiell Bad Horse as he returns to his ancestral home, the Prairie Rose Reservation in South Dakota. He begins working for the Bureau's main target, Chief Lincoln Red Crow, on the cusp of the grand opening of the Crazy Horse Casino. Crow has decades of blood on his hands, including two murdered agents in an incident involving Dash's mother and a Native Rights protest gone awry, the echoes of which have haunted FBI Agent Nitz every day since. Nitz will do anything to bring Crow to justice, and his hellbent quest for vengeance is just part of the dangerous character ambiguity that populates any good crime drama: the heroes are often less than heroic and the villains are never quite who they seem to be. Over the course of 24 issues (four "episodes" in trade format), Aaron weaves his vivid, fully-formed characters into an intricate series of plots that are rife with twists more vengeful than a Lakota knife in the back. Aaron has clearly spent a lot of time researching life on "the rez," and despite protests as to the book's veracity, this is still an eye-opening portrayal of one particular seedy underbelly of American society that has yet to be truly explored. I mean really: I no more believe that every Italian family in Jersey has links to Goodfellas, or every Black kid in Compton came straight off the set of Colors, than I'm going to accept that every Dust Bowl Injun is a psychotic meth addict. It's an engrossing noirish Western, and goddamit, I'm here to be entertained!

Guéra's intense, visceral art complements Aaron's narrative perfectly. Scenes of sex and violence are equally disconcerting, supressing a latent rage and tension that simmers in the psyche of every character of the series, both White and Native American. And when you end each of the first two volumes with the brutal image of death-by-scalping, you very clearly state the direction of the series. These are the kinds of scenes that an accomplished author will turn over to his artist, confident that the image alone can both tell a story and convey a powerful emotion. It's intense, frightening, and dark, and, most importantly, it begs the question: what happens next?

Incidentally, the first two volumes of the series, Indian Country and Casino Boogie, feaure introductions by Brian K. Vaughan and Garth Ennis respectively, two-thirds of the Holy Trinity of Vertigo masterpieces, heralding the arrival of Jason Aaron as the Next Big Thing in comics. I'm sure DC tried to get Neil Gaiman to write the intro to Dead Mothers, thus completing the trifecta, but apparently he's been too busy making shitty movies.

December Recommendations

Up to this point I've highlighted graphic novels and series in trade format -- comic book entertainment that can be easily acquired at any decent bookstore or online vendor. Hurray for this Brave New World that exposes so much four-color creativity to the masses. But true geek pleasures, we all know, occur each and every Wednesday down at the local comic shop. Looking for a new series to pick up, maybe something to rejuvenate your childhood zeal for superheroic fantasy? Look no further...

Pick Up:
Uncanny X-Men #504 and 505 Marvel's cornerstone franchise for almost thirty years, dating back to the Chris Claremont/Dave Cockrum/John Byrne era, the X-Men may be the book with more sentimental ties for fans new and old than any superhero apart from Batman. Maybe you grew up with comics in the 80s, like I did, and was sucked into the Dark Phoenix saga in its initial incarnation. Or you became a fan in the 90s because of Saturday morning cartoons. Maybe you even credit your X-interest to the movie trilogy of this decade and the rugged charm of a Hugh Jackman Wolverine. Whatever your reasons, the colossal ever-unfolding saga of Marvel's Mutants, in recent years, has become so twisted, tied, and woven together into a reality-warping web of Jamie Braddock quantum plot strings that trying to make sense of it all after any kind of comic book hiatus would cause a Cerebro-size headache. (make that Cerebra-size; see what you've missed?) So why would I recommend this series to someone who hasn't been following it for the last five years? You have to start somewhere, and the current arc, beginning with issue 504, is an excellent jumping-on point. Sure, you're going to need a quick recap of some key events in continuity (see below), but once you dive in, it won't take you long to settle in with some familiar faces in a new location for what promises to be a brand new weave of rip-roaring yarns in the Mighty Marvel Manner.

First off, the writing duties have been turned over to Matt Fraction exclusively. There was a transition period between Ed Brubaker's run on the book and the current issues in which Brubaker and Fraction had been handling the plotting/writing duties together. I love Ed Brubaker, but, as I said in my Read More Comics! column in the second issue of Idle Times, I'm not so sure his talents are best suited to a major team book like this one. He did bring the X-Men to San Francisco, a recent development for which I am extremely grateful. After years of doing all my New York City sightseeing through the panels of Spider-Man and Daredevil, it's nice to see the Dazzler playing the Fillmore, Colossus eating borscht in the outer Richmond, and the X-Jet launching out of Sausalito from a hillside bunker in the Marin Headlands. But in recent issues the Brubaker/Fraction action was getting crazy convoluted, almost as if the two were wrestling with each other over concepts that refused to gel. As of issue 504, however, there are still a lot of things going on, but at least you can tell that all the ideas are coming out of one guy's head. Action, intrigue, and romance. I think Fraction'll make Claremont proud.

Secondly, the art is sensational. Brubaker opened the "Manifest Destiny" chapter of the X-Men saga, bringing the team to the City by the Bay, accompanied by the lush, beautiful illustrations of Greg Land. Land's dense, almost photo-realistic art is the kind of gift that you appreciate while you can, knowing that it's not something that can be produced with the kind of demanding regularity that a monthly title requires. Marvel, fully aware that this valuable franchise's flagship title shouldn't be turned over to occasional guest pencilers when scheduling concerns mount, presents its loyal readership with a second gift: alternating story arcs with Land will be the equally-breathtaking art of Terry Dodson. Issue 504 is Dodson's first work on the series and, right away, his signature style of solid, animated lines and clean, dynamic layout (not to mention beautiful, curvaceous ladies; check out the spread of Emma's tour through Cyclops's mind and all the women that're on it) is perfectly married to Fraction's pacing and dialogue. Again, while it's too early to make Claremont-Byrne (or Claremont-Alan Davis, perhaps?) comparisons, I'm an optimistic guy prone to flights of breakneck enthusiasm. Aaaand, if you're completely new to the title, then who gives a crap if this creative team is anything like those completely unfamiliar names I've been mentioning? Let's all hop aboard the Fraction-Land-Dodson express. The views are spectacular.

Finally, this current storyline is purported to be the one that starts re-connecting the X-Men universe to the Marvel Universe proper. For too long the X-Men and their associated titles have operated outside mainstream continuity. House of M was the last time Marvel's mutants really had anything to do with any other character groups, but now, as of Dark Reign, things are about to change. I'm not saying reading the last page of Uncanny X-Men 505 is going to sucker you into buying other books... but if it gets you caught up in the beautiful, soap-operatic world of comic book fantasy, so be it. I'll loan you some trades. We'll have coffee and talk comics. It'll be amazing.

So... if you have been out of the office for the last decade, let's get you caught up on some key developments...
Jean Grey died (again) and Scott Summers is now dating Emma Frost, the White Queen, who's turned out to be a good guy (of sorts) but is still all kinds of sexy... Colossus and Psylocke died but have since come back from the dead (the former thanks to Buffy creator Joss Whedon) so forget I even mentioned it... Scarlet Witch went crazy and after distorting reality to create a world where mutants were in charge uttered the famous words "no more mutants," re-distorting reality and majorly fucking with the mutant population so that there are currenly less than 200 mutants with powers on the entire planet... one of the de-powered mutants was Professor X, but he's since gotten his powers back (and he can walk again!) so forget I mentioned that too... turns out Havok and Cyclops have a brother with omega-level powers named Vulcan and he's the current leader of the Shi'ar, wreaking havok through the galaxies (and one of major players in the impending War of Kings event)... in addition to millions of mutants losing their powers, no new mutant births have occurred since the Witch went apeshit, which is a major cause for concern for the now "endangered" mutant race, and the focus of Dr. Henry "Beast" McCoy's current scientific quest... okay, there was one mutant birth -- the "messiah," a red-haired baby girl whisked into the future timestream by Cable... during the war that broke out over the baby, the School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester was destroyed and the X-Men were temporarily disbanded... Kitty "Shadowcat" Pryde died saving the world, right after she and Colossus had reunited, too (sniff)... Scott "Cyclops" Summers, the new leader of the team, gave Prof X the middle finger for lying to him and wiping his mind of his memory of Vulcan, and took his new team out west to San Francisco...

and here we are. (whew)

Put back:
In addition to a recommendation as to what you should pick up on your trip to the comic shop, I'm going to give you some advice on a book to put right back where you found it.

Batman: Cacophony #1
by Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan
I'm almost afraid to write any disparaging comments about this book because I'm fairly certain that Kevin Smith gets up every morning and reads the entire internet before lunch, starting with anything written about him. To be fair, I'm a Kevin Smith fan; like many of my generation I recited Clerks quotes ad nauseum in college. And handling the writing duties on the most iconic comic book character in human history is certainly cause for excitement.

This isn't Smith's first foray into the comics medium, and I pray it won't be his last. Cacophony, however, fails on a couple levels. Walt Flanagan's art is too ungainly and cartoonish to be enjoyed in this type of story. Of course, that's not Smith's fault. What I do blame him for is an inappropriately-idiotic rendition of the Joker that is neither menacing nor truly villainous. There's even a scene in which the Joker bends over and starts taking off his pants to thank the mysterious Onomotopoeia for breaking him out of Arkham. "Seduced and abandoned," he says, when his benefactor disappears.

It's only a three-issue limited series and, honestly, I will ride it out to get the full story. But it's a disappointing beginning and one that can be avoided.

Give More Comics!

Presenting the first ever Read More Comics! holiday gift guide. The best way to encourage the populace to read more funnybooks is to put some four-color fun right in their hot little hands. And in an effort to fit each person with the proper comic, let's take a look at an imaginary assemblage of friends and family members. Hopefully you can find some effective parallels.

For Dad: likes a good bottle of wine and the occasional spy novel
Queen & Country - Greg Rucka
Oni Press has collected bestselling espionage novelist Rucka's most compelling series in four affordable softcover editions (2008, $19.95 each). The first volume contains three self-contained stories and should be enough to convince Pop to take a break from the Patterson paperbacks for a spell. Doesn't hurt that the story's protagonist, Tara Chace, is an attractive, ass-kicking British secret agent ably illustrated by Steve Rolston and Leandro Fernandez. The success and popularity of this comic series, and its realistic portrayal of the modern world of the secret agent, actually inspired Rucka to pen a few Queen & Country prose novels (but don't tell Dad that until he's read all four volumes of the graphic novel).

For Mom: loves her Sunday funnies with a cup of coffee and AM radio
Complete Peanuts Boxed Set - Charles Schulz
In 2004, Fantagraphics began the twelve-year process of reprinting, in perfect chronology, all of Charles Schulz's beloved Peanuts strips, dailies and Sundays included. These beautiful hardcover restorations capture the charm and sophistication of one of the most influential cartoonists who has ever lived, and include biographical notes, essays, and more. They are currently ten books in, and every two volumes has been packaged in a slipcase edition designed by the cartoonist Seth (himself an artist of singular elegance), any one of which will captivate Mom with humor and a touch of nostalgia. The earliest editions (Volume 1 covers 1950-1952; the first slipcase edition stretches to 1954) feature the gang in their early, less-recognizable incarnations; reach for the most recent boxed set (1967-1970) for a glimpse back at the strips she knows and loves. (Fantagraphics, individual volumes 2004-2008, $28.99; box sets containing two volumes, $50.00)

For Uncle Sal: read X-Men "back in the day" but now prefers to let Hollywood handle his comic book entertainment
Marvel Chronicle - Tom DeFalco, Peter Sanderson, Tom Brevoort
Remind Uncle Sal how cool it was to "Make Mine Marvel" back in the 1980s, tantalize him with amazing reproductions from the Golden Age, and give him a peek at everything he's missed in the last few years. This amazing hardcover (strangely packaged in an unwieldy cardboard box) spans the history of Marveldom since the Timely Comics era, giving a year-by-year history from 1939 to the present (DK, 2008, $50.00). The book's authors, longtime members of Marvel's braintrust and Keepers of Continuity, offer more than just a look at characters and titles that have impacted the Marvel U over the years. Of course you'll witness the formative years of Captain America's Invaders, and learn when the Runaways ran away; but reading through this time capsule is also a reminder that the comics medium has served as a touchstone for popular culture and social climate throughout the decades. Whether battling Adolf Hitler or disco-dancing in bellbottoms, comics -- Marvel comics, 'natch -- are a vital and interconnected part of our own history.

For Crazy Cousin Derek: loves horror flicks and Japanese folklore
Crossing Midnight - Mike Carey and Jim Fern
This underrated gem had been one of my favorite Vertigo titles in recent years. Poor initial sales caused DC to pull the plug after Carey wrapped up his main storyline, which actually works out perfectly for Derek's purposes. He can be gifted all three trades that comprise the entire series (DC Comics, 2007-2008 Volume 1, $9.95; Volume 2, $14.95; Volume 3, $14.95) and enjoy a beautifully-illustrated modern Japanese fairy tale about two twins born on either side of midnight, Toshi and Kai, who become pulled into the Japanese spirit world (kami, Derek will correct) to contend with demons, dragons, and the enigmatic Lord of the Knives. DC's Vertigo imprint has a long tradition of well-executed, literate fantasy (Sandman) and horror (Hellblazer), and this series is a compelling blend of both without requiring a lengthy investment of reading time. Mike Carey is an accomplished, prolific storyteller who may be familiar to Vertigo fans as the author of the long-running Lucifer series, or current Marvel aficionados who appreciate his work on the X-Men and Ultimate titles.

For niece Jenny: way too cool for comics, but has nothing left to read now that Potter's all wrapped up
Castle Waiting - Linda Medley
Before Bill Willingham turned the Big Bad Wolf into the the sheriff of Fabletown and began a memorable run on the popular Fables series, Linda Medley self-published a comic called Castle Waiting, now being published (since 2006) by Fantagraphics. That first series has been reprinted and given a snazzy hardcover treatment by her new publisher (2006, $29.95), and a new legion of fans can experience the wizardry and classic storytelling in a world "after 'Happily ever after..." The art is clean and vibrant, reminiscent of Rick Geary, with a fun, fluid style story that, like Jeff Smith's Bone, is as agreeable to kids as it is to grown-up fans of of a good fairy tale. Princesses, poltersprites, and three little pigs. Too cute to deny.

For neighbor Dave: has been loving the recent spate of outstanding superhero movies, but hasn't ever read a comic
Invincible Iron Man Volume 1: The Five Nightmares - Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca
To coincide with the release of the movie last summer, Marvel launched a second Shellhead title to partner with the existing Iron Man. The new series, written by Matt Fraction and spectacularly illustrated by Spanish artist Salvador Larroca, begins with a story pitting Tony Stark against the son of his former nemesis, Obadiah Stane. Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane is every bit as smart as Tony; he has access to Starktech; and he doesn't care how many people get hurt in his revenge-driven attack on everything Stark holds dear. Wizard magazine named this book best new series of '08, and it's ideal for newcomers to the world of capes-'n-tights since it doesn't require any foreknowledge of Marvel continuity. Plus, it references characters and concepts already familiar to anyone who saw the movie. This is actually what my brother is getting for Christmas, being a childhood Iron Man devotee but preferring, in his later years, to only read comics in the collected, bookshelf-friendly form (Marvel, 2008, $24.95). He's going to love it, and he'll be surprised. He never reads my blog.

For buddy Bill: who thinks any idea for a comic would be better suited as a film (and is secretly just looking for an outstanding self-contained graphic novel that will change his mind about the medium)
Black Hole by Charles Burns
Published in twelve volumes by both Kitchen Sink Press and Fantagraphics over twelve years (I was in the middle of reading this in college, then went on a miserable comic hiatus during my several years of auditioning as a "grown-up", only to return in time to see the last issue hit the racks: "This just came out?"), Burns's masterpiece of horror and teenage anguish is now available in a softcover edition from Pantheon Books (2008, $17.95). Burns is a long-established master of comics art, well-known for his taut, eerie lines and surreal compositions; his work is a bit of a throw-back to the pre-code EC days of classic pulp horror. This novel tells the story of a group of kids growing up in the suburbs of Seattle in the 1970s, dealing with a peculiar kind of STD that causes freakish mutations. As if isolation and despondency wasn't enough coming-of-age dread for a kid to deal with... Bill needs to read this now, and truly appreciate Burns not just for his incredible black-and-white artistry, but his ominous, pitch-perfect storytelling as well. Plus, when the movie finally comes out (Paramount release rumored to have David Fincher directing), he may just decide not to bother.