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.