It’s that time of year again when we’re trying to find the one gift your friend, family, or significant other hasn’t bought themselves, a particularly hard thing to do when it comes to comics. When there are weekly new comics, graphic novels, and toys galore, it’s hard to pick something right for the avid comic book reader, but we’ve got you covered.
Below you’ll find great deals, incredible collections often overlooked, and more for the comic book lover in your life!
Comics Gift Guide: Digital Comics
Kicking things off, the Marvel Comics fan can get an entire year of Marvel unlimited for only $55. You need to buy it before the end of the year. That’s a savings given the usual $69.99 price tag.
Marvel Unlimited offers:
- Starting Tuesday, 11/29 through the end of the year, you can gift a year for $55 with promo code MUGIFT55.
- Marvel Unlimited Gifting Landing page: https://www.marvel.com/giftmu
- With access to 30,000+ digital comics, Marvel Unlimited is the best way to discover Marvel origin stories and epic moments!
- The Marvel Unlimited app is available for iPhone®, iPad®, Android devices™ and on web. For more information on Marvel Unlimited comics, please visit: www.marvel.com/unlimited.
For the DC Comics fan, there’s DC Universe Infinite, or if you want to fork over a little extra, DC Universe Infinite Ultra. The biggest draw for Ultra is the fact that you can get new comics to read just 30 days after the on-sale date, while the cheaper regular Infinite tier requires you wait 6 months. A deal breaker for the comics reader who wants to keep up to date on everything! You can sign up here.
DC Universe Infinite offers:
- DC Universe Infinite Ultra $99.99
- New Comics available just 30 days after print release
- 34000+ comics accessible anytime anywhere
- Expanded Vertigo and Black Label and DC Collected Edition catalogs available only with Ultra membership
- Free DC digital collectible exclusive to Ultra subscribers
- DC Universe Infinite $74.99/year
- New comics available 6 months after print release
- 27,000+ comics accessible anytime, anywhere
Comics Gift Guide: Hardcovers and Collections
When it comes to hardcover collection options, there may not be a better year as far as selection is concerned. Taschen has recently begun reprinting Marvel Comics classics in a giant-sized format (we’re talking 630 pages at 12.6 x 2.8 x 18.5 inches!), while Penguin has been reprinting Marvel classics in an excellently made gold gilded printed format.
It’d be a crime not to mention Abrams Books’ Fantastic Four: Full Circle OGN by Alex Ross, which is gorgeously made in an extra-large format. It’s Ross’ project from writing to drawing, and it’s a gorgeous collection that fans, new and old, can appreciate. Not tied to ongoing canon, it’s also new reader friendly. Plus, AIPT gave it a 10/10, so it’s a must-read, in my opinion!
As a proud owner of two Taschen Marvel collections, I can say with certainty these books are incredible. They’re huge, reprint the old ads many collections don’t and feature new features and introductions. That includes an intro by MCU mastermind Kevin Feige himself for Avengers, Vol. 1. 1963-1965, and an introduction by uber-collector David Mandel for the Marvel Comics Library. Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964. Both retail for $200, but you can find both on Amazon for about $150. These are genuinely one-of-a-kind collections that feel far different than the usual reprintings we’ve seen over the years.
Far cheaper are the Penguin Random House reprints of Marvel Classics like Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America. Given they’re running for under $30 on Amazon, they’re a steal and have the look and feel of a far more expensive gift. They also feature brand-new introductions by star creators in comics. For instance, the Gene Luen Yang introduction in the Captain America reprinting is fantastic.
Another new collection that might have flown under the radar for the comics lover in your life is the Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man Artist’s Edition. IDW has been publishing these black-and-white artist editions for a few years now–the Jim Lee Artist’s Edition is also great–and the Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man Artist’s Edition was only released this September. This collection runs large (16.13 x 2.25 x 24.13 inches), but this allows the reader to soak up McFarlane’s great pencils.
For the DC Comics fan in your life, do not pass up the incredible The Question Omnibus by Dennis O’Neil and Denys Cowan Vol. 1 which was released this past summer. Running 952 pages, it’s the quintessential run of Dennis O’Neil’s career, and the guy killed it on Batman and many other titles to boot.
Announced in July, DC Comics is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Death of Superman with a new Deluxe Edition. There’s no denying the death of Superman was an iconic moment in comics history, and now it’s getting a 344-page deluxe edition with a new introduction by series creator Dan Jurgens along with additional extras. It’s a nostalgic gift that comes out just in time for Christmas on December 20th.
If you’re looking for comics that may go down as the best ever–yes that’s right, greatest of all time–there are plenty of collections to choose from out this year. That includes the incredible The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (see why it’s so good here), Twig Volume 1, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin (one of the best TMNT series ever).
Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’ epic Die also got the omnibus treatment. It’s an amazing fantasy for the role-playing gamer who also loves comics. Read our review of the omnibus here.
You can’t go wrong with the Razorblades omnibus for the horror fan in your life. Originally self-published, the anthology features many different kinds of horror stories by some of the leaders in comics horror today.
Comics Gift Guide: Toys and Games
The Hallmark Marvel Countdown Calendar Miniature Christmas Tree Set With 12 Mini Ornaments is a fun, festive, and relatively cheap way to celebrate the holidays via Marvel. There’s also still time to snag this 12 days before Christmas so that your loved one can have a gift each day leading up to Christmas.
Released earlier this year, but still just as impressive, is the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Daily Bugle. This is the perfect gift for the Spider-Man fanatic, as it comes with the entire Daily Bugle building allowing for all kinds of play and scenes along the side of it. It also has 25 Minifigures, so you have plenty of characters to play with. They include Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man, Venom, Miles Morales, Spider-Ham, Green Goblin, Peter Parker, Spider-Gwen, Mysterio, Sandman, Robbie Robertson, and many more!
Is it completely impractical to own a pinball machine in your home? I dunno, do you hate fun?
All jokes aside, a pinball machine isn’t for everyone, especially if you don’t have the room, but there are multiple Marvel options for some impressive pinball machines. Sold by Sternpinball, machines come in Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition formats featuring Deadpool, Thanos, and the Avengers. A pro machine will run you $6,899, while a pinball machine will run you $8,999. The limited edition comes with even more bells and whistles for a higher price of $10,499.
Given how cool some of the extra features are for higher prices, it might be worth it to fork over a bit more, if you can afford it.
Regarding action figures, it’s mainly about the taste of the person getting the gift, so it’s hard to pin down in a gift guide. That said, being a proud owner of the McFarlane Toys – DC Multiverse Swamp Thing Mega Action Figure, I can say with certainty anyone faintly interested in Swamp Thing will love this figure. The details are great, the extra-large format is perfect to match with regular sized action-figures, and the price point is good too.
Already mentioned earlier, Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’ series Die also got an RPG this year. The PDF version is now available to purchase and recommended for the DnD-loving roleplayer in your life. The fact that the comic is based on an RPG that’s actually real, and then you can put yourself in their shoes and play it is an incredible notion. You can learn more about the game via my interview with Gillen and Grant Howitt here.
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